The Black Mesa Water Coalition came into Denver on Saturday December 06, 2008. There were 40 plus members in their caravan, which included citizens of the Dine and Hopi Nations. Their purpose was to demonstrate their opposition to a life-of-mine permit on Black Mesa for the corporation Peabody Coal. The permit is granted by the Office of Surface of Mining, which is located in Denver, Co.
On Monday December 8, BMWC arrived at the OSM building for a scheduled meeting and gave moving testimony to OSM officials. Outside, local supporters carried out a demonstration in solidarity. Despite the cold weather, the demonstrators were highly visible because the OSM building lies in downtown Denver, at a convergence of 5 intersecting streets.
An afternoon press conference followed the meeting with OSM. The people of Black Mesa gave impassioned speeches and vowed to continue the fight to its successful end. Putting an exclamation point on the days events was a banner drop which served as a visual backdrop the press conference.
IP3 members were responsible for training the demonstration participants the day before the action. They also organized the security for the action and served as traffic marshalls for the delegation. In addition, they made up the bulk of those who carried out the banner drop.