Indigenous Peoples Spirit
The UN set aside August 9 to celebrate the world’s indigenous peoples, but the idea of Indigenous Peoples’ Day as the perfect replacement for celebrating Columbus (ie Invasion) Day is starting to catch on in a number of cities across our country. And the heartening indigenous news to find and follow right now is about the Dakota Access Pipeline Protest.
Though the recent news that the pipeline has been given permission to resume construction is nothing short of shameful, the land defenders and water protectors who have joined the protest encampment in southern North Dakota have said they won’t leave until the pipeline is defeated, and they will continue to resist through the winter. The tribe asserts the pipeline impacts sites of historic, religious and cultural significance and threatens the water supply for its reservation and millions of people downstream!
The project has faced months of resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and members of nearly 100 more tribes from across the U.S. and Canada and Central America. This is seen as the largest gathering of Native American tribes in a century. The movement — branded #NoDAPL — has rallied support across racial, geographic and generational lines. For me this encampment, growing in size every day, is a true cauldron of change, a sign that this land and its natural resources is being taken back by those who respect and love her.
Sioux Tribal Historian LaDonna Brave Bull Allard in an interview by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now on September 21 describes the macing and security dogs attack on protestors. She laments, Is this America? Allard is co-founder of the Sacred Stone Camp that launched on her land on April 1 to resist the pipeline. Inspiring Elder and Grandmother LaDonna affirms they are there to stay.
On the issue of the suppression of news of this encampment protest, Vogue Reporter Rebecca Bengal writes:
“Why has an arrest warrant been issued for the acclaimed journalist Amy Goodman, host of the long-running news program Democracy Now!, for her coverage of the standoff? Why was it not issued until two days after she broadcast video footage of protesters apparently being attacked by security guards brandishing pepper spray and dogs? And what does the arrest warrant mean, not just for the future of the land, the water, the Standing Rock Sioux people, and for all indigenous Americans, but for our fundamental right to freedom of the press?“
On a personal note, I got a call from an Asheville woman who said she was going to drive up to the Pipeline Protest in Standing Rock to bring supplies, and she was looking for donations. She asked if I’d be open to donating the Roof Bag I had advertised on Craigslist, saying they’d be filling it with blankets, hoodies, first aid supplies, and food to help the protesters get through the winter. And that she’d leave it there so that if they need the Roof Bag to get more supplies, they’d have it. I was so happy to do it, to have a tiny concrete part in what I consider the best thing happening in my country at this time. The Dakota Access Pipeline Protest is the hidden and heartening US news to follow and SUPPORT.
Thanks for helping support this awesome cause and movement.
I listen to Democracy Now without fail every day and was well aware of this; you are right to spread the word and give support. Same for the climatedisobedience.org folks who halted flow of tar sands oil by turning off the valves; story at Democracy Now Oct. 12.