Screening

About Pickaxe: The Cascadia Free State Story

Year Released:

1999

Genres:

Documentary

Metadata:

Directed by Tim Lewis, Tim Ream

Pickaxe documents the struggle to halt logging at Warner Creek, a federally protected forest in Oregon. Following a suspicious fire in 1991 that cleared the land, Congress suspended environmental regulations to allow logging in the area. Since arson was determined to be the cause of the fire, however, activists argued that logging at Warner Creek was illegal and should be resisted with radical direct action. What followed was an 11-month battle complete with a 79-day hunger strike and a remarkable blockade of a remote logging road. (Digital presentation)

From the historic Labor, Anti-War and Civil Rights Movements to the contemporary mass-resistance against austerity, globalization and climate change, both activists and academic historians have long understood the utility of direct action in times of struggle. This series aims to open more channels of examination, discussion, and critique of direct action within a university setting. The series is co-sponsored by IU’s International Studies Program, Departments of Criminal Justice and Labor Studies, and IU Cinema. Special thanks to Bradley Stroot.