‘ The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 14, 2005-B1 . QUEZADA DUSTIN a WHAT? CHARLYNN TOEWS Rock, paper, Gore-Tex get so annoyed when people protesting log- ging do so. with placards.or signs made of cardboard and sticks. Maybe they don't realize a. that cardboard and sticks are made of WOOD, eh? Or maybe they don’t see the irony. My husband said the other day, about people objecting to mining, “They better not have. a nose ring or tattoo!””.1 asked him why. “Well, the needles won't be’ made of animal bone, now, will they?” Got a point there. But what are needles made of? Pins and Needles . -A manufacturer of sewing ‘needles in Asia de- scribes their products as “manufactured from high _carbon steel wire, drawn to perfection. Finished ‘with the most modern bright nickel plating sys- _ tems, we offer you what is truly the best needle in the world.” Hmm, impressive! The wire is cut and polished to a point, then has the eye stamped. - manufactured “from the finest hi gh tensile steel and brass wire.’ And what is steel wire? Iti is made of steel, which is made of rocks: iron ore, to be exact, as well as coking coal and a bit of limestone. Things that need to be mined. Nickel is mined in northern Manitoba, , among other places, and in addition to being an additive in cast iron and steel, is used in batteries for elec- tric cars, in jet engines, and turbine blades. Brass is made of zinc and copper, and copper has been found north of Terrace. '. Without mining, not only would we have unsafe piercing and tattooing, we couldn’t sew clothes. We need needles. Hand sewing needles, sewing machine needles, hypodermic needles. Then'we were watching a Nature of Thingies show where an earnest couple were camping at a caribou habitat that was to see a petroleum (I think natural gas) pipeline put through the area. They were opposed to the pipeline. My hubby snorted, “That sure looks like Gore-Tex to me,” he said, re their cold weather gear. made of. ‘ Welcome to the Wonderful World of Plastic Well, who knew? Gore-Tex was invented by Bill and Vieve Gore in 1958, when they were ex- perimenting with fluorocarbon polymers. These in Gore-Tex is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), “Without mining, not only would we have unsafe piercing and tat- tooing, we couldn’t sew clothes. We sewing machine needles, hypoder- mic needles.” which is also known as Teflon. The ethylene in polytetrafluoroethylene means it’s made of natural gas. Or, as a Kids’ Science web- _ Site puts it, “Plastic is made from petrochemicals!” warm and dry, yet not want to use petrochemicals, tions not eco-friendly) or use the hides of animals — perhaps caribou. The American Plastics Council is understand- Plastics even allow doctors: to replace worn-out body parts.” -. Ina section called “Not-So-Roughing lt,” the Council says: iW you’ ve ever carried everything you need for a camping trip on your back, you know how. im- sible. Lightweight, moisture-resistant fibers such as nylon and polyester are helping to make roughing it a little easier. These polymer-based ‘fibers have all but re- packs, tents and sleeping bags. Plastics’ water re- fittings and toggles won’t corrode when. exposed to the elements. Super-thin layers of PTFE — the same coating used on nonstick pans — help make water- resistant fabrics that breathe. The PTFE membrane has micro-pores that are large enough for air and vapor to pass through, but too small to let in drops of liquid. mum impact camping” - taking out everything they bring into the wilderness. Lightweight, odor-shield- - ing plastic trash bags make waste removal easy and sanitary. Seeing as how this couple was from a southern city (I believe it was Vancouver) we can also as- sume they used some petrochemical products to get to the remote northern spot. Perhaps an airplane or helicopter took them there, or a boat (either gas or diesel) transported them. I really don’t think they hiked all that way. What are hiking boots made of, anyway? A Malaysian maker of safety pins says they are. So then I had to find out what Gore-Tex was . days, the most common fluorocarbon polymer used _ need needles. Hand sewing needles, That means if that couple wanted to camp and stay © they might have to go back to rubber (hmm, planta-_ ably excited about all the uses plastics have in mod- ern life, including “televisions, cars and computers. portant it is for your pack to weigh as little as pos- . placed heavier canvas and cotton in today’s back-’ sistance means that acetal and nylon zippers, snaps, Plastics can also help campers practice “mini- . _ granted a Development Standard Term Certificate or con- ’ ver and the four public schools in the Nass Valley are loca- ‘for post-secondary courses has surged in recent years. TERRACE STANDARD 7 co: COORDINATORS of Terrace’s Take Back the Highway | event this Saturday Ar- - lene Roberts, left, and Shelby Raymond are unified in their zero tolerance stance against violence. The event is a way to remember the victims who have disappeared: along Hwy 16 where the pair stands. Raymond says she was aghast recently when she Saw a young woman hitchhiking under the sign. DUSTIN.QUEZADA PHOTO O! {MUI \ ITY... By DUSTIN QUEZADA | WOMEN, PREDOMINANTLY have taken to the streets once a year as an opportunity for those who have been victims of violence to walk without fear. Take Back the Night is an international tradition, which cities around the world have, participated in since: 1973. But this year in Terrace and other Northwest centres on Saturday, Sept..17, an offshoot of the event is localizing the: - problem of violence against women, says it CO- “coordinator of | Take Back the Highway. - -“Take Back the Night is the basis for Take Back the High- way, in addition to'the relevance of missing women,” says Shelby Raymond, the head of the Terrace Amnesty Interna- tional Action Circle A80. The highway that .will be symbolically reclaimed, says Raymond, is the 720-kilometre stretch of Hwy 16. between Prince George and Prince Rupert. The road has been dubbed the Highway of Tears due to. a ‘number of disappearances — almost all First Nations wom- en.. An Amnesty International report done i in 1996 pegged the . number of missing women in the area at 33. Of the 33, five have been found dead and all but one was indigenous. ‘“When you look at the stats and indigenous women are — five times more likely to die from an act of violence than oth- ers in Canada, it becomes a really important issue and impor- -. tant to find out why and address the issues,” says Raymond. The 40-year-old secretary at Northwest: Community Col- lege says that indigenous women have been made histori-' _ cally more vulnerable by several means.. ' She lists the residential school legacy, the’ vulnerability to social and economic marginalization and the cultural depri- vation stemming from unjust laws. “Up to 1985, if an indigenous woman of status married a. non-indigenous man, she wasn’t allowed to live on reserve,” says Raymond. “It creates long-lasting effects.”? Arlene Roberts,.a contractor for health and healing ser- ~ vices and co-coordinator of Saturday’s. march, says the dis- appearances aren’t just a First Nations issue. : '" “We should all be concerned with highway safety and press for a continued investigation,’ ” Roberts says. . Roberts says her husband drove her around the Northwest for six months when she was travelling between 32 towns _ and’ villages as the regional coordinator for the Residential Schools Survivors’ Society, “He wouldn’t let me drive alone,’ ” she adds. Raymond and Roberts say they’re happy to have rep- resentatives from the RCMP at the march even though the police force only recognizes six disappearances along the highway. “(The RCMP) are part of the solution and we don’t want to alienate them,” says Raymond, though she adds police could i improve how they work with indigenous people with- out creating fear and suspicion. ‘ Roberts says she questions whether all RCMP receive enough training in dealing with other cultures. “The disappearances are obviously not a priority (for po- lice),” Roberts says. “Over five, 10, 15, 20 years of women ~ missing and there have been no posters.” Constable Kelly Martin of the local RCMP says since 1974 there have been two local disappearances, One woman was found dead, the other was never found. The Terrace portion of Take Back the Highway will take place this Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to about 2:30 p.m. at the Millenium Trail. While the Prince George event organizers have decided to keep their march a women and children only event, Terrace’ S.. ceremony is open to anyone. “Amnesty International agreed men 1 should be involved, ” says Raymond. “Ihave a husband, a’father, a brother and a son and they should be included.” “My husband said, ‘I would like to support (the march) because I’d like to know you'd be safe on the highway,’” adds Roberts. Participants will start marching from the west end of the ; trail where it meets Kalum Lake Rd. and they’ re encouraged to bring percussion instruments to drum and rattle. Roberts, 50, will lead marchers in singing the “Prayer . Song,” and the procession will continue to 2 p.m. when a regionally-coordinated minute of silence will be observed. ‘After that, marchers will move to the trail’s east end park- ing lot for a series of speeches. College grooming language teachers Demand for language and culture courses ups need for instructors By DUSTIN QUEZADA DEANNA NYCE is a proud mother. Not only does she have three successful adult children but she’s also the CEO of a> university college that's expanding its academic limits. ' Wilp Wilxo’oskwhl Nisga’a (WWN), the New Aiyansh- based college, now offers an education diploma in Nisga’a language and culture. . om. “WWN's claim to fame is our Nisga’a language and cul- ture program,” said Nyce of the diploma program offered by the institution in its 12th year of operation. Its success spawned the education program, based on a similar one of- fered in the Hazelton area that recently produced seven qual- ified teacher graduates. , As-of week one, the program had 16 full and part-time students. Nyce described the diploma program, which con- sists of 33 courses for a total of 92 university credits, as edu- cation courses wrapped around cultural classes. Upon completion, Nyce said, the institution would rec- ommend to the B.C. College of Teachers that graduates be tinue for two years to earn a Bachelor of Education degree. “Grads can teach where Nisga’a language experts are needed,” said Nyce, adding Prince Rupert, Terrace, Vancou- ° tions where the demand for that instruction exists. Nyce said Nisga’a language instruction in the public sys- tem began in the Nass Valley in the mid ‘70s but the demand Continued Page B3 college in New Aiyansh. THINGS are looking up for Deanna Nyce and Wilp Wilxo’oskwhl Nisga’a university DUSTIN QUEZADA PHOTO