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Rod Coronado is a Pascua Yaqui warrior who has spent the last 18 years fighting for environmental justice. In 1985, at the age of 19, he joined the crew of the indomitable Sea Shepherd. The next year, Coronado and fellow crew member David Howitt sunk two illegal whaling ships off the coast of Iceland. Later that year, from the bow of the Sea Shepherd he began writing about his direct action experiences for the Earth First! Journal. Coronado is also an experienced hunt saboteur on land, defending bighorn sheep, desert pronghorn and other threatened species.
Coronado has utilized his skills to infiltrate fur farms and document their abuses. He acted as a media spokesperson for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) during Operation Bite Back, a series of fur farm raids in 1991-1992, which caused more than one million dollars in property damage. He lived underground for three years, while he was sought by authorities for a 1992 arson at Michigan State University's (MSU) mink research facilities.
On September 27, 1994, Coronado was arrested for the MSU arson by federal law enforcement officials on the Pascua Yaqui Reservation near Tucson, Arizona. Despite facing intense pressure from the US government to reveal how the ALF is funded, Coronado refused to talk to authorities. He served a four-year prison sentence and continued to fight from inside.
Coronado re-emerged from prison with that same strength of spirit that originally led him to move beyond the rhetoric of direct action and to fully embody it. This consistency is rare among us, highlighting everyone's potential for empowered action.
EF!J: There comes a point in a child's life when they realize that injustice exists. How would you describe your childhood, and when did you first become aware that injustice exists in the world?
RC: I grew up in a loving, working-class family, and my mother's love and strength always came through in her teachings. My childhood was first shattered when I was 12 and saw a documentary on the Canadian harp seal slaughter. Never could I have imagined there existed such barbarity in the world.
EF!J: When did you realize that you could make a difference?
RC: In the same film, I saw Paul Watson physically interfere with the killing, and...