Recent Actions Blog:

Backbone Campaign ED and Solutionary Rail Lead Bill Moyer gave a presentation on the Rosalia to Pasco Shortline Rail Access Corridor on Toki TV.  Listen to this overview of SR's Proposal for shipping grain in SE Washington by short line rail.   Continue reading

In an effort to stand against those who supply weapons harming the Palestinian people, a group of projectionists were out in the cold and rain projecting on Monday night.  Continue reading

The Backbone crew, including Lucy, Jeff, Rod, Jacqui, Amy and Bill took many of the salmon and orca related props to Olympia to support the Breach Now! Rally at the Capitol Steps on Monday, March 11. Continue reading

Backbone took its Vulture Props and banners to support a Health Care Rally at the Capitol Steps on the eve of the Washignton Legislature's final day in session. Over 100 people attended to listen to testimonials and get involved. Continue reading

A fun, eventful, successful, and inspirational prop training happened at our warehouse on Sunday, March 3rd.  Continue reading

We love to see our Denver, CO Solidarity Brigade members out projecting in support of Palestine.  Continue reading

One of our Solidarity Brigade members in the Oakland, CA area has been incredibly busy these last few months. We are incredibly honored to know such a bold and skilled digital projectionist.  Continue reading

We were proud to be a part of the first indigenous and water warrior-led climate action in Tacoma for a couple of years.     Continue reading

Activists in Seattle and Portland took the overpasses to honor Jim Waddell who recently lost his battle with cancer.  Continue reading

Activists throughout our Solidarity Brigade network are banding together to across the country to say: “Not One More F’n Bomb for Israel!” Continue reading

On January 16, members of Backbone East projected on the Rayburn Congressional Office Building together in the bitter cold, while two journalists covered the action as part of a documentary on light projection as a form of protest/political speech. Continue reading

Portland PEST, our Oregon member of the Solidarity Brigade, have been busy projecting this month and we can’t get enough of their visuals! Continue reading

Our Portland Solidarity Brigade members have been busy projecting as the newly formed Healthcare Workers for Palestine. Continue reading

On the first day of 2024, our orca/salmon activists did a combined Free the Snake and Ceasefire Now projection in downtown Seattle.  Continue reading

After lighting up the Rhode Island State House dome with “Ceasefire Now,” PSL Rhode Island was back on the streets to march to the Providence New Years fireworks show with the message: no business as usual during a genocide! Continue reading

Here's something fun for our 20th Birthday (Dec. 12, 2023). It's an imperfect, LoFi low-production-value peek into Backbone Campaign's normally pretty high-production-value imagery - and one of the team's geniuses behind making the magic.  Continue reading

Backbone East was out shedding light during a recent projection. Continue reading

Our empowered salmon/orca activists were at it again this past Friday in Seattle. This time they stopped by Town Hall to project outside of the event Not Mars: Tools to Save our Home Planet hosted by Patagonia.  Continue reading

People with Party for Socialism & Liberation Rhode Island, Dare PVD, and other local organizations rallied at the Rhode Island Statehouse in Providence at 2pm to speak out against RI government for not opposing Israel's attacks on Palestine.  Photo credit: Roni M Continue reading

TODAY  - December 12th - Backbone celebrates 20 years!  Out of our scrappy beginnings of freeway bannering and constructing giant puppets, today we have evolved into an organization at the forefront of progressive change. We remain dedicated to amplifying the voices of everyday people and to empowering communities to express their needs, aspirations, and demands. While a lot has shifted over these 20 years, one thing remains constant: we wouldn’t be here today without you - and the many ways you have collaborated with us, supported, taken action, and cheered us on. Thanks to you, Backbone Campaign is the go-to for progressive causes seeking creative tools and solutionary approaches to address today’s crises. If you are able to help keep this work going, we invite you to make an end of year contribution, sign up for a small monthly gift by joining our "Lumbar Club", or mail in a check to PO Box 278, Vashon WA 98070. Please read on for more from the letter we recently sent in the mail - about how this work is grounded in principles of grand strategy and how your donation makes an impact.     Continue reading

Team Backbone had the honor of collaborating with Jewish Voice for Peace in Seattle this week. Working together, we built, practice with, and then deployed a type of banner we rarely use anymore - a helium & weather balloon powered banner.  This was exactly the appropriate situation as a benner drop would have been dangerous, risky and more costly.  The banner LIFT encouraged the crowd and provided a way connect with others whose hearts are also breaking. Photo by Logan Price  Continue reading

A continuation of the projection for salmon for this projection season!  Continue reading

 Here's a map featuring the proposed corridor enhancements. Scroll down to watch Solutionary Rail Lead, Bill Moyer's presentation of our latest research and proposal for rail transportation resilience in the Lower Snake River region.   Continue reading

Backbone Campaign was recently asked to support a projection with local activists in San Francisco. Continue reading

Orca and salmon activists projected onto to the Seattle Convention Center. Continue reading

Over the course of late October through November, our Solidarity Brigade projection members across the nation took to the streets to demonstrate the need for Ceasefire in Gaza.   Continue reading

Harriet's Wildest Dreams, a Black queer femme led abolitionist organization in DC, recently projected in support of Palestine.  Continue reading

Backbone E.D. had an out of the ordinary day of action recently. He brought Backbone's inflatable orcas and some percussion instruments to Hazelwood Elementary in Edmonds WA. (Home turf of Sen. Maria Cantwell). Continue reading

Activists across 7 different PNW cities came together throughout the week in honor of Indigenous People's Day on October 9th and World Orca Recovery Day on October 14th for bannering actions. Continue reading

  Drone videography by John Carlos Frey. Backbone supported the indigenous led Flotilla on the Snake River, as part of the All Our Relations Journey.  A crew of helpers traveled to Hells Gate State Park, just south of Lewiston Idaho on the Snake River, to deploy an on water banner that read Free the Snake, as well as land based banners and props. Continue reading

Bill and Amy traveled to Spokane for the Trout Unlimited CX3 National Conference, to introduce attendees to Solutionary Rail's Trains Can Save Salmon Plan.   Continue reading

350 Wenatchee hosted a green drinks event in Cashmere, Wa. Continue reading

As part of Farm Aid 2023 in Indiana, Block Corporate Salmon and allies held a press conference to draw attention to the harms of genetically engineered salmon produced by biotech company AquaBounty; share accounts of misconduct at AquaBounty’s GE salmon facility in Indiana; sound the alarm on a new salmon “farm” the company is trying to build in Ohio; and amplify Native-led solutions to the Salmon crisis, such as dam removal and Salmon habitat restoration. Photo by Noel, Block Corporate Salmon Continue reading

Backbone collaborated with several allied organizations to bring props to the NYC Climate March on September 17th, supporting Code Pink's War is Not Green contingent and Move To Amend's Money Out of Politics messaging. Continue reading

Backbone Campaign supported the Stop Raiding Our Medicare rally on the Anniversary of Medicare, at the Federal Building in downtown Seattle.  Continue reading

On Saturday, July 15, the Backbone Campaign inflatables of Tahlequah the orca, her baby orca, and the salmon led the way as Backbone Campaign took part in Vashon's Strawberry Festival.  Continue reading

Led by Vashon artist, Linda Moore, a packed number of participants had a blast creating patches and banners with imagery inspired by salmon and orca.  Continue reading

Dear Friends, I just returned from London and Scotland where I met some incredibly bold and creative activists. I am so grateful for the hospitality and solidarity I received in both London and Glasgow. Sharing our stories and strategies reminded me that our two decades of work and struggle has delivered priceless lessons that we must continue to utilize and share with others as we journey forward. Continue reading

The LA Solidarity Brigade showed up for Black Lives Matter LA for a solidarity action to #StopCopCity Continue reading

Backbone recently partnered with Snake River Savers for a Flotilla event on Green Lake in Seattle. Continue reading

From Seattle to Portland to Whidbey Island to Bainbridge Island to Lewiston, we took to the overpasses and streets to stand up for our Southern Resident Orcas during Orca Month! We celebrated in 8 different cities across the Pacific Northwest by bannering in support of removing the Lower 4 Snake River Dams.  Continue reading

Backbone's Minneapolis Solidarity Brigade traveled to General Motors' Headquarters in Detroit, to project in solidarity with the campaign against dirty steel and dirty aluminum. Continue reading

May 19th was Endangered Species Day (and 2023 is the 50 year anniversary of the Endangered Species Act). In cities and towns across the Pacific NW, advocates for a free-flowing Snake River showed up to banner that day, to call for a halt to the extinction of wild salmon and resident orca. Continue reading

Backbone's Globe traveled to VT to deliver a critical message to Secretary Vilsack and Senators Peter Welch and Bernie Sanders  - Climate Forests are Worth More Standing! Residents of Burlington VT took the streets for a rally, march and tree theater, in support of protections for climate forests  - including Telephone Gap. Continue reading

Ever wondered where the name Backbone Campaign came from? Executive Director, Bill Moyer, shared not only the beginnings of our Backbone Campaign, he also gave insight into his personal background on Extinction Rebellion Radio.  Continue reading

Backbone Campaign's giant salmon helped activists deliver the message to NOAA: "Say No To the EO - Don't Cage Our Oceans." Indigenous activists fighting for clean federal waters, encountered a stupid amount of cops and security for a respectful and beautiful petition delivery. Continue reading

Backbone projected an image of the Lorax as addition to an action for climate justice outside the White House Correspondents Dinner. Continue reading

9 intrepid activists from Backbone Campaign and Snake River Savers met on the 50th Street overpass in Seattle, to honor Earth Day. The two banners - on both sides of the overpass - spread the message about the urgency to stop salmon extinction by breaching asap the four dams on the Lower Snake River.    Continue reading

WASHINGTON – Even hard rain could not stop a diverse group of activists and organizations who took to the streets of DC on Earth Day to demand that decision-makers end the era of fossil fuels now for the future of people and the planet. It was the largest gathering of climate activists in D.C. in over a decade. Continue reading

A projection on the Japanese Embassy in DC called on Japan to stop using dirty energy. Continue reading

Backbone Campaign and Oregon Wild projected on USDA and Dept of Interior Buildings to call for protecting of climate forests. Continue reading

Our Solutionary Rail project recently hosted a virtual panel of heroes!  Labor leaders and environmental justice organizers came together to share their stories and lock arms for a struggle that is truly transformational - putting US railroads back into service of public interests, rather than Wall Street greed.  Continue reading

Backbone supported Starbucks workers with projections on the clock tower and near SB HQ.  Messages told Starbucks CEO and corporate leaders that that Starbucks cannot be an industry-leading, forward-thinking employer AND the country’s leading union buster. Continue reading

Backbone joined with Youth Salmon Protectors and other allies working to save Snake River salmon and stop climate change, for a youth-led rally and march on Friday, Jan 13th in Olympia, WA. Continue reading

BLMLA asked the West Los Angeles Solidarity Brigade for a projection, to support LACAN and Union de Vecinos in the Latino neighborhood of Boyle Heights, at a protest calling for LA Councilmember Kevin de Leon to resign over his racism caught on tape.   Continue reading

Backbone supported the Journey for Justice, organized by Witness at the Border, with light projection and LED banners. Our Solidarity Brigade in Brownsville projected at the border station, and LED banners were deployed in El Paso and outside Fort Bliss. Continue reading

Workers at MSP1 Amazon fulfillment center in Shakopee, MN (near Minneapolis) walked out for better wages and working conditions. Backbone worked with Athena, Awood Center, and their allies to support this action with projections.   Continue reading

A Backbone Team traveled to Montreal during COP15, to bring awareness of the urgent need to protect the Tapanuli orangutan. The 3-day projection, in both English and Chinese, was at the COP15 meeting place and around the city, to support Mighty Earth's campaign. Continue reading

The plastic pollution crisis is a planetary crisis. Backbone outfitted a team with digital projection gear, for their travels to Uruguay for the UN's Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. The team did several nights of digital projection. Continue reading

Backbone Campaign and our Solutionary Rail project joined with Climate Rail Alliance for a rally on Dec 1, 2022, the first day Legislators were back on campus.    Continue reading

Backbone sent gear and trained up folks at Missouri Workers Center, in time for Black Friday strikes against Amazon. St. Peters Amazon Workers Join Mass Global Walkout to 'Make Amazon Pay' The Action was part of a global Make Amazon Pay Campaign and was supported by Backbone's Athena Coalition partners. Continue reading

Sign the Petition to "Tax The Ultra Rich!" HERE    Continue reading

BlockCorporateSalmon members, along with the Backbone salmon inflatable, visited the Local Catch Summit on October 2-3 in Girdwood, Alaska, and hosted an ad hoc workshop at the conference. The conversation focused around education and building relationships with fisherfolk from around the country, as well as strategizing on ways to prevent genetically engineered (GE) salmon from coming to U.S. and global markets. After the conference, BlockCorporateSalmon members continued to travel to Homer and Anchorage, Alaska, to build local relationships with fisherfolk and build solidarity around blocking GE salmon. Continue reading

Nurses at UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin have been trying to get their union back since 2014. Governor Walker had signed a bill into law in 2011,  Act 10, that eliminated the ability for public employees to collectively bargain. Because negotiations had not been fruitful, the nurses voted to do a 72-hour strike, September 12-14. SEIU Healthcare asked Backbone to provide props for the strike, including large LED signage, a custom made printed banner and other activities such as speech bubbles and nighttime projection. Continue reading

The work continues to pressure policymakers for an actionable and urgent timeline to breach Snake River dams.  The clock is ticking - in 2021 the Nez Perce Fisheries reported that by 2025 the salmon will be quasi-extinct unless these four barriers are removed and the river is restored. To amplify calls for urgency, Backbone mobilized teams in cities across the Pacific Northwest to banner and light project on World Rivers Day. Held the 4th Sunday of September, it is one of the largest global days of action on the planet. Continue reading

Backbone's "Declare a Climate Emergency" banner appeared outside the North Carolina Utility Commission Hearing, on Sept 23, in Raleigh NC, supporting residents' demands to reject Duke Energy's dirty energy carbon plan. Continue reading

Pro Choice Messages Projected at Anti-Roe Gala Backbone East joined with DC organizers to project pro-choice messages during a noise demonstration action. The projection and action happened while an anti-choice group celebrated the fall of Roe v Wade.   Continue reading

Senator Cantwell is home for the congressional recess. Because of her silence on the issue of Lower Snake River dam breaching, a giant salmon and baby orca - as well as over 30 people calling on her to stop salmon extinction - took to the streets of Edmonds (the Senator's home town). Their message was to call on the Senator to step up, stand with tribes, listen to the scientists, and breach the four dams on the Lower Snake. Only by breaching the four dams on the Lower Snake can we stop the pending extinction of salmon and orca. Continue reading

A group of salmon-loving Washingtonians - along with an inflatable giant salmon and baby orca - showed up at Seattle City Hall to protest the City Council's comments submitted on the Draft Murray-Inslee Report.   (Click HERE for Seattle City Council and City Light's Letter) Our message was to tell the Council that their letter did not represent the views of orca- and salmon-loving residents, was not in alignment with tribal leadership, and that there is no other science-based option but to breach the dams on the Lower Snake River, to save endangered salmon and Southern Resident orca. Continue reading

The Denver Solidarity Brigade team projected on the Denver Art Museum, and then on the Rogers Federal Building, messages in support of abortion protection.   Continue reading

Activists with Appalachian Voices, Sunrise Movement AVL, Poor Peoples Campaign, Reject Raytheon, Alliance to Protect the People and the Places We Live, and Beyond Extreme Energy rallied before the NC Utilities Commissions' Carbon Plan Hearing, to demand a better carbon reduction plan from Duke Energy. Continue reading

Standing up for Southern Resident orca and the wild salmon on which they depend as their primary food source, folks in 9 different cities took to overpasses, intersections, bridges and other locations to call for breaching of the 4 Lower Snake River dams. Bannering happened on World Orca Day, Thursday, July 14th, 2022. Continue reading

Backbone worked with Arm in Arm and Shut Down DC to deploy our "We The Corporations" prop in front of the Supreme Court, calling out corporate influence on Justices' decisions. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/07/01/payoff-40-years-dark-money-supreme-court-delivers-corporate-america Continue reading

Backbone Campaign helped organize and facilitate a flotilla on the Willamette River, June 25th, to call for the breaching of the Lower Snake River dams.  Over 100 boats took to the water and crossed the Willamette to raise banners, saying "Stop Salmon Extinction!" This video, created by Jeff Dunnicliff captures the spirit and power of the on-water action Backbone Campaign helped facilitate. Gratitude to 7 Waters Canoe Family, the Four Directions drummers and singers, Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Youth Leadership Council, Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment, Save Our Wild Salmon, Columbia Riverkeeper and all those who work to restore the Lower Snake River, as well as Mosquito Fleet members who provided essential on-water safety at for this flotilla. Thank you to Jeff Dunnicliff for this incredible video!   Continue reading

On Saturday, June 4th over 40 environmental justice organizers, members of the Moving Forward Network took to the water to demand that the Biden Administration and global leaders in attendance for the Summit of the Americas hear a clear message from our communities: ¡Cero Emisiones Ahora! (Zero Emissions Now!).    Continue reading