About
The 2023 Western Dual Power Gathering was a three day event that took place June 2-4 at a campground in so-called "Northern Oregon", about a 40 minute drive from the PDX International Airport. The gathering took place on the traditional lands of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, and Clackamas Bands of Chinookan people, the Tualatin Kalapuya, and the Molalla.
Although the collective that came together to organize this event was meant to be temporary a lasting bond was built that weekend, and promises were made to renew this gathering as a annual retreat for organizers to come together in the woods.
This gathering was a follow up to the national Dual Power Gathering at the Indiana Dunes in 2022, but was more regionally focused on bringing people together from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean (but those beyond this region were certainly welcome).
It is structured like an unconference, and is an experiment in collective learning and relationship building. For more information about this structure check out our FAQs.
During the event, we hope to foster an atmosphere of generative co-learning and co-creativity. We want to connect people and bring them together around shared work. We seek to create a space where ideas are exchanged, stories are told, and futures are imagined, especially in the context of building and maintaining dual power. With a few exceptions, the gathering won’t have a solid schedule going into it. Rather, we’ll collectively create the spaces we want and need to see throughout the weekend. Some ideas around what we would like to see include:
- Mapping and growing Dual Power in your area
- Crafting stories and narratives around our movements and building utopian visions
- Workshops and skill-shares on: trauma, healing, collective grieving, food growing and preservation, community self-defense, hands-on skills for mutual aid groups, medic training, etc.
- Workshops and conversations about how white supremacy, ableism, transphobia, and other forms of violence arise in social movement spaces
- Learning about and analyzing specific theories and strategies
- Building local food sovereignty and food justice
- Preparing for ecological disasters
- Regionally-focused conversations, like building resource-sharing networks, growing the capacity to act in regional solidarity, discovering our shared struggles
ADA accessible camping space, bathrooms, childcare, a limited shuttling service, and food will be available to all participants. Participation in the gathering is open to everyone, not just those camping: feel free to participate on any day in any activity or session that you choose to! We are trying to make the event as accessible as possible. If you have any access needs that you would like to share or any questions about the accessibility of the event, please feel free to get in touch with us at westdualpower@proton.me. We also want to let everyone know in advance that there is no cell service at the campground. In addition to the self-organized unconference sessions, you can also expect many shared meals, river frolicking, maypole dancing, live music, and collaborative art making :)