Saturday I participated in the Standing Rock Reservation’s protest for the land, water & people to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline from coming onto their land!
The Dakota Access Pipeline is set to pass beneath the Missouri River less than a mile from North Dakota’s Standing Rock Reservation, where tribal members rely on the river as the sole water supply.
The youth ran from North Dakota to DC to tell Obama no on the pipeline which will go through the Missouri River into the Mississippi River down to the gulf.
This protest started off in North Dakota where the Lakota, Nakota, Dakota (Sioux) tribe have been protesting for months and is sueing the government 3.5 million for treaty violations yet no one was listening. So the youth came together & decided to start a run to Washington, DC to make sure their voices where herd on this important issue.
You have to remember that indigenous people all over the world understand that we are one with the earth not separate from her. That being said we know if we hurt her we hurt ourselves. So to pollute our waters which are sacred will hurt us all.
Now you might be wondering what is an oil pipeline is & why it is dangerous? Basically it’s a pipeline they build under water with crude oil inside. They have to drill into the earth to get that oil out. Over time that toxic crude oil will seep into the water due to old pipes bursting. This effects the water people drink, bath in, the fish they eat & the creatures who live in the water. Then of course drilling into Mother Earth is hurting the land people live on. It’s just wrong over all.
Every day, the planned pipeline will transport 450,000 barrels of North Dakota oil 1,172 miles across North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois, according to Energy Transfer Partners, the Dallas-based company behind the project.
For Native tribes this goes against their long standing treaty rights, environmental rights & causes health problems.
The youth of Standing Rock ran over 1,800 miles across the country staying in small towns each night thanks to the support of communites.
Once they hit DC on Friday the youth & tribal members talked with the Army Corps of Engineers at the Supreme Court and delivered their petition with over 160,000 signatures. Then Saturday which I participated in they organized a protest during the day to raise awareness & to sign their petition. It was held at Lafeyete Square in front of the White House.
The protest started at 1 and I got there around 2:30. When I got there people where holding signs & tribal members where singing and drumming in a circle. We all did a round dance around the singers while chanting until it started to rain. It was a beautiful blessing from mother! Then at one point the police made us go up onto the side walk to let an ambulance go by.
Shailene Woodley who had just come off of her Up to Us tour to the DNC came on board to this cause and even ran a little with the youth. She was in attendance Saturday as one of the celebrity guests. Also in attendance was Elvis’s great granddaughter.
For most of the rest of the protest we danced, sang, chanted & held signs under the hot sun. I helped hold one of the banners that said “Mni Wiconi- Water is Life” on it. Many different people came up to us to ask about the protest or just to see Shailene who was great at using her fame to direct people to the cause.
Some of the chants which were all call & response:
“We Can’t Drink Oil” “Keep it in the Soil”
“What Do We Do When Our Water is Under Attack? Stand Up Fight Back!”
“We Run for our Brothers & our Sisters”
“We Run for One People” “We Run for water, for life…”
“We Run for our Brothers & our Sisters”
“We Run for One People” “We Run for water, for life” “We run, we run, we run”
“Mni Wiconi” “Water is Life”
“Honor our treaties, honor our land”
This event was well attended with people from all walks of life chearing and dancing. The protest ended at around 5 pm and by then we were all very tired & hot but rejuvenated from our good work.
This is everyone’s issue in the end it will effect us all.
If you wanna help go to change.org/rezpectourwater
Magical the power of the people! ✨ #rezpectourwater #waterislife #Nativepride #OfftheRICtorscale
Tell Next Time… “What Do We Do When Our Water is Under Attack? Stand Up Fight Back!”
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