Like a Mountain

Naomi Littlebear Morena (extra) is a Portland singer-songwriter who wrote  “Like a Mountain,” performed at many protests over the past forty years. In 2017 a large group performed it at the national women’s march the day after Trump’s first inauguration, and that year a five-minute video was made by videographer Bev Standish, including a number of stills I made at rehearsals for the 2017 performance.

Today Naomi and a group of trusted friends organized a flash mob to perform the song downtown. The event began with drumming, then chanting, then a shared heartbeat (the main blip), and finally the song. Most of those who showed up are in Naomi’s age cohort, women 65-80, and I loved photographing their faces.

Kelly Hayes, a young political journalist, writes powerfully about the ways “protest” has to change now. Not direct action, not street marches, not shutting down expressways, because the authorities are looking for ways to beat up on protesters, and being arrested is no longer useful. “We are entering a new era. We will not submit to the norms or edicts of the fascists who would rule us, but we must be thoughtful, strategic, and calculating in our actions.” Hayes suggests affinity groups, small collectives, spaces where we can learn together and adapt. I think Naomi’s flash mob is an example of that kind of action.