Dec 20, 2016

Reflecting upon the spiritual context for political struggles



"Research has shown that the smell of humus exerts a physiological effect on humans. Breathing the scent of Mother Earth stimulates the release of the hormone oxytocin, the same chemical that promotes bonding between mother and child, between lovers. Held in loving arms, no wonder we sing in response."
                    ~Robin Wall Kimmerer. From the book "Braiding Sweetgrass"

Oxytocin~ the love drug.
Motherly love. Nurturing. Wholeness. Balance.

It has happened.
A demagogue has been elected and he is appointing a cabinet of military-industrial complex lackeys. I do not need to detail the horrors we are witnessing unfold.
Even mainstream media is covering that!
So it must be out there for 5th grade reading level adults to grasp.
That reference is to the fact that USA Today is geared to a readership who can read at 5th grade level...

So many thoughts swirling around in the context of Standing Rock as political and spiritual renaissance...
...from Lyla June and Waniya Locke's urgent quest to regain influence over Native American children's education to teach traditional ways: including language and spiritual practices. 
How deep are the wounds in the children and adults from the legacy of taking children away from family to indoctrinate them at "Indian Schools".  I love that this is coming full circle to empower the traditional values as they are taught to the next generations.
American Public Education has failed. I dedicated my life's work to changing the status quo.
I was deeply influenced by living near Carlisle, Pennsylvania and feeling such sadness around the Indian School policies that forced children to be separated from parents and cruelly mistreated.

I hold that grief and responsibility as a settler and colonizer.
The Haudenosaunee befriended my ancestors- European colonizers. My ancestors 6 generations past, lie in eternity overlooking the Onondaga Reservation.
So how we educate, what we teach and why weighs on me.

For all our children, we need to teach children the richness of languages that reflect the values of respecting the earth and each other. Language learning opens doors of imagination, friendships and life-long growth.
We need wilderness and outdoor schools for children that encourage building relationships in nature with the abundant learning and living in harmony with the earth can really change our future on this planet.
Guiding one child, one person to the stillness and quiet of a place where water falls over a cliff or a river flows by, or even a walk along a muddy stream to hear the plop, plop as turtles splash off their sunning rocks...can change our future.
The smell of humus, rich with moisture - an earthy aroma- that is the pathway for all to come home to earth mother.When we feel that connection, we won't want to destroy her.

We are protectors. Protectors of water, of earth, of mother.

This struggle against Big Oil and the greedy energy conglomerates will fall to the youth today.
How and what children learn matters. 

... to another struggle that rages close to home.
Another link in the chain that is strangling our planet.

In this video below Jordan compares the Trans Pecos Pipeline to the Dakota Access Pipeline as "not just Native American"....missed the point that DAPL is NOT just a Native American "issue".
But otherwise, this is great information.

https://www.facebook.com/TYTpolitics/videos/1792813254299715/



Dec 5, 2016

A new day. A new dawn.

To prove that Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics do not uphold the Rule of Law, they dismiss the need for an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) and dismiss the ruling of the US Army Corps of Engineers *USACE)to deny a permit for an easement under Lake Oahe to continue to trespass on federal land.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161204005090/en/Energy-Transfer-Partners-Sunoco-Logistics-Partners-Respond

Why did Bundy States Rights followers get kid-glove treatment and Native Americans get beaten and arrested?
Because in this case the Anti-Federalists ARE the militarized Law Enforcement of North Dakota and Morton County. But you already figured this out already, right?

You get the connection between Standing Rock and the white anti-Obama followers of Trump?
Dalrymple fights for his states rights, calling the USACE denying the permit a political stunt.
The LAW states that they did not comply with the EIS.

Good to know to boycott Sunoco now.


Dec 4, 2016

The Black Snake gets put in deep freeze...or does it?

The power of prayers and coming together as relatives~ Wopila!

The one thing constant about Oceti Sakowin Camp is change!
Like a flowing river, everything is in flux. Time is fluid.
One minute one thing may be true, the next moment, that may have changed.

The Department of the Army will not approve an easement that would allow the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, the Army's Assistant Secretary for Civil Works announced today.
Jo-Ellen Darcy said she based her decision on a need to explore alternate routes for the Dakota Access Pipeline crossing. Her office had announced on November 14, 2016 that it was delaying the decision on the easement to allow for discussions with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose reservation lies 0.5 miles south of the proposed crossing. Tribal officials have expressed repeated concerns over the risk that a pipeline rupture or spill could pose to its water supply and treaty rights.
"Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it's clear that there's more work to do," Darcy said. "The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing."
Darcy said that the consideration of alternative routes would be best accomplished through an Environmental Impact Statement with full public input and analysis.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is an approximately 1,172 mile pipeline that would connect the Bakken and Three Forks oil production areas in North Dakota to an existing crude oil terminal near Pakota, Illinois. The pipeline is 30 inches in diameter and is projected to transport approximately 470,000 barrels of oil per day, with a capacity as high as 570,000 barrels. The current proposed pipeline route would cross Lake Oahe, an Army Corps of Engineers project on the Missouri River.

https://www.army.mil/article/179095/army_will_not_grant_easement_for_dakota_access_pipeline_crossing
With Prayers we Stand.
Stand Up for Standing Rock!


Solidarity!
This is good news, but so much remains to be done.
We will not end our vigilance until the Treaties are Honored, until the rights of the Sovereign Nations of Indigenous people are respected.
Now, more than ever, we can move forward to take on what is needed to turn the tide from fear and hate to love and conviction that we are all related.

This is not over until we have overcome the sentiments of people- the likes of Trump- who upheld the lies and violence of North Dakota and Morton County.
Reconciliation is due.
May we continue to respect each other to have the best outcomes for all concerned.

https://soundcloud.com/user-403886554/dr-cornel-west-speaks


Yesterday's press conference:

https://soundcloud.com/user-403886554

Global Unity Day of Prayer with Standing Rock Water Protectors

I am so impressed by the International Indigenous Youth representing themselves as protectors, not protestors. They ask that you not refer to "Frontlines" or "Actions".
These are ceremonies.
It is settler and colonizer mindset to see this as war or battle. It also perpetuates a stereotype of Natives on the "warpath".
It is really important to use words that are indigenous focused and aligned with the outcomes we envision for all concerned.
The youth truly are focused on NEW ways of relating to everybody.
Try it!
Will you talk about our brothers and sisters at prayer camp in Oceti Sakowin Camp and the other camps with words that can empower a future that embodies love and respect for each other?


Imagine.
The youth leaders are in prayer ceremony leading us to imagine what the spirits have given them to share: bring together global community of relatives. Plant the seeds of the blessings yet to come. Share the spirit of the circle of Life.

What is happening at Standing Rock is not so much a battle waged against the Black Snake but an awareness that we must change our hearts to envision ourselves as care takers and protectors.
Mainstream media wants to portray this as WAR as battle.
That is manipulation of the original design of the gathering of all my relatives.

I hope the veterans feel the message that we will turn the flock when our concentric rings are truly peaceful.
Blessings to all on this day of Prayer. #mniwiconi
Stalking Wolf:
"To know the spirit-that -moves-in-all-things is to know that if one part of that spirit is sick, lost or searching, then all is sick.
To work only for the self, is to know not the spirit-that -moves-in-all-things. If one does not know that spirit, one does not love, and thus cannot transcend self."
We are all related.

Dec 3, 2016

Connecting with the Spirit of Place


Upon entering Oceti Sakowin Camp, you are greeted by Camp Security. 
They are willing and able to search your car for any weapons, alcohol or drugs.
These dedicated folks stood out there in the elements – cold air, strong winds. frosty snow with a small fire to warm them occasionally.
One woman in particular was so kind in welcoming me “home” when I would say I was returning to camp. She was strong, no doubt in my mind, she was a Protector.
On Sunday when it was evident that the weather conditions were changing to winter storm conditions, I chose to cut and run south before I had to use the snow chains I had gotten for my truck.

Around noon, I entered camp for the last time and there she was once again.
I thanked her and explained this was my last time entering camp. She said it was her last time at the entrance and we had a heart-to-heart hug and blessings through all of our winter gear…

Truth. This is a prayer camp. Guests are invited to Stand with Standing Rock at the Sacred Fire in prayer. Guests are asked to offer tobacco with prayers from the heart.

Spirit will guide you to know how to offer and share your gifts.
Distance does not matter. You can do your part anywhere.
Keep our Protectors in your Prayers.

Dec 2, 2016

Connecting the dots...follow the money

Why is a county sheriff and a state governor illegally operating on Army Corp of Engineer (or Oceti Sakowin according to Treaty of Laramie of 1851) land, protecting an oil company's assets?


In Community there is Unity

This is from October, but he expresses so many of the same emotions I feel.
There is definitely a group consciousness that sends out concentric rings.
Keep the spirit moving.
Forward momentum is what we need.

This is beautiful with La Donna and Winona...made in November.

Through the photographer's lens

Tom Jefferson photographer




















Concentric rings emanate from our thoughts...
Why Oceti Sakowin Camp has such a special feeling on earth: the waters of the river to the East where the sunrises, the homelands of many nations to the South, the healing sunset glow to the West and the strong winds from the north blow over the sacred lands and carry the peace of prayer among us.

I guess that is why I like the expression "come correct" so much.

Here I go on an educational theme today...
Did you know that the pipelines are for foreign markets exports? Oil not for domestic use!

Want to know more about these Treaties that were not honored?
http://nativenewsonline.net/currents/cheyenne-river-sioux-tribe-reacts-u-s-army-corps-engineers-eviction-notice-letter-makes-grave-dangerous-mistake/

 In 1970, President Nixon along with Congress did the right thing and returned the Sacred Waters of Blue Lake to the Sovereign Taos Pueblo.

In my cynicism, I would say that was before Big Oil had bought their way into local, state and federal government.

http://taospueblo.com/blue-lake/


National Geographic has high school curriculum to share:
-->
Nov 30

Good morning, relatives!

When I first pulled into camp around midday the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the scene was overwhelming. And that was before the population of camp doubled to around 10,000 by the weekend! You have seen it from photos~ the view is of a sea of tipis, yurts, tiny houses, Army tents, camping tents, buses, cars, truck, vans, uhaul trailers... smoke rising up from the Sacred Fire and streaming out of stovepipes in tipis...
Over the background din and noise of the wind, comes the sound of prayer at the Sacred Fire. Songs, chants, drumming permeate the grounds.
The ceremony is the camp. Prayer camp.
When the songs stop, the MC picks up the mic and makes announcements, "Relatives!" he calls to get the attention of all within ear range.

I find a place to offload the 4 bins of kitchen supplies I am delivering to Kandi at the Indigenous Environmental Network for Maria Morrissey who is setting up a cook shack for camp. It is easy to find help to lift the bins, not so easy to find a person who knows where Kandi is or anything about the project.  I will be sleeping in the camper of my pickup truck until I see what the weather conditions are and if my tent will withstand the winds that come whipping down the plains. I am relieved when I get the space in back to carve out a place to sleep out of the wind.

I don't have alot of photos. The camp restricts taking photos for reasons that I totally agree with.
It is intrusive to have people taking photos of prayer ceremony. This a community of people living here. It would be disrespectful to walk into a person's home and start taking pictures, wouldn't it?
There are people in camp who don't need their photos spread around. If you are being a tourist and snapping photos, you are not participating in the NOW. To take photos with a camera other than a smartphone, you need a media pass.
I know there will be photos out there to tell the story that will be much better than any I can take. So I will share other people's work here. Before I go off in judgement of others' behaviors, I will admit that the biggest cause of tension to me was people taking photos that showed no awareness or respect for the higher purpose of being here. I realize this is my baggage...;-)
I mean....how many people were taking selfies from the hill with the camp in background?
Granted the tourist mind is a trigger for me from living in Mexico for many years and even being a Tour Guide at Casa del Jaguar or Casa Na Bolom in San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico.
I am letting that go now....for in my heart, I know that everyone is drawn to Oceti Sakowin Camp for a purpose...everyone I meet is my teacher....and I do have lessons to learn!

Besides the obvious lesson that Oceti Sakowin Camp is a global village of people united for one cause, helping each other and loving each other with compassion, humility, respect....like no other place in time or history.... filled with dedicated, hard working, happy, healthy, generous and wise souls from all walks of life and all ages....

One huge takeaway was recognition of the great respect the people here have for women.
I no longer view the request to wear a skirt in the colonial context of a symbol of "subjugation", but as a reminder of the sacredness of the female attributes to be caring, nurturers of life.
As a young woman eager to throw off forms of domination in an era of bra-burning, I had scorned the vestiges of control and equated wearing make up and "dresses" in the context of suppression of my choice!
Here I am, 63 and finally able to embrace that in indigenous focused cultures, the long dress represents a very reverent reminder of our sacred nature and symbolized the tipi. Long road to that lesson. In fact, it was so apparent that the success of this movement is based on the wisdom of Elder Women and young women who are sharing their gifts in these times as protectors and leaders.
I don't mean to diminish the roles of the men as Scouts, Protectors, Warriors. It is just an awesome awakening to see women in these leadership roles, as well. I was brought to tears so often as my heart was touched during my time spent among people who welcomed me "home".

Because so many people feel this groundswell of support for Oceti Sakowin, it is important to know that you can support in many ways from your home.
While I was there, Yes Magazine staff arrived and put together this piece that I would like to share.

Nov 29 http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/the-many-ways-to-help-standing-rock-20161129

Dec 1, 2016

Walking the walk

Prayers drifted on the frosty air from the Sacred Fire through the dark. 
I wrapped my gray wool skirt around my waist over my jeans.
Without food or coffee, I joined the prayer circle.
Standing. Listening with my heart.
Praying with my soul, I stood with Standing Rock.
Literally for me, standing is a miracle. Walking is a miracle for me too.
The act of joining in the circle and walking to the river, each step a prayer and blessing, to offer tobacco and stand with prayers as the first sun rays hit Mni Sosa….This is what it means to me to be able to Stand with Standing Rock- to share this moment of prayer and a gratitude for a new day!


My first sunrise at the Sacred Fire, a sister shared the significance of women wearing skirts as representing the tipi. In the dark, her words informed and comforted me. I felt welcomed and at home. She said she was asked often about what to pray for. She said she would pray for blessings yet to come. She also shared that when you say Mni Wiconi, it is like a prayer that starts in Earth and you feel it coming up your legs and then out in your voice to send out into the air with your breath. That is the way to raise your voice with the words Mni Wiconi. She didn’t like to hear it chanted as a political slogan, without the spiritual energy and feeling with it. After the canupa ceremony at the river, we all demonstrated how to raise our voices crying out, Mni Wiconi with deep feeling.

The second morning I joined the circle at the Sacred Fire, we walked to the water where Don Julio, a Huichol marakame shared his reasons for coming and how important water is in his belief system. He blessed us with his feathers and lit a vela with many prayers. He spoke in Spanish with a familiar cadence. He talked of the waters around San Blas island and Wirikura and of medicine.
Conozco Wirikura. We made eye contact and heart contact. He knew I heard him, that I understood. He had a soft-spoken translator with him, but how do you translate all the Don Julio wanted to tell us gathered there?
Don Julio had come a long way to bless us by the River that morning.
We shared our hearts and prayers as dawn broke over the waters at Oceti Sakowin Camp.






Come correct- the context of being a guest on Sovereign Oceti Sakowin lands

That was new to me, "Come correct"*...the expression made sense to me when I heard it.

It goes well with Lakota Values

I'll be processing my time at Oceti Sakowin Camp for weeks, if not months.
For now my thoughts are about how the camp was organized, based on indigenous core values.
I refer to the camp as on Oceti Sakowin lands because even though the Army Corps of Engineers claims it, if the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1851was honored, it would be part of their Nation.

Of course when I lived in Central Mexico from 1971-1976, the context of colonialism was very evident to me. The social structure placed those of Spanish colonial/Hispanic heritage (or white) at the highest rung and the indigenous people at the bottom. I had interesting conversations with people who wanted to talk about the social problems in the US with Civil Rights and African American protests, who would proclaim that in Mexico, they didn't have such issues...it was as if they didn't even see how the indigenous were treated.

The paradox of Mexico, the context of  a culture so deeply steeped in colonialism was something I embraced early on.  How could you not? I studied "art history", the colonial art and architecture, but soon lost interest in those stories to dig deeper into the indigenous culture that was alive everywhere!
Nahuatl, Otomi, Totonaco people interacted with me almost daily in the markets, on the buses and in the streets. I loved how in the Colonial art and architecture you could find evidence of resistance by the indigenous craftsman building the churches...in what anthropologists called "syncretism". As a gringa and guera living in a brown world, I stuck out and got alot of attention - mostly unwanted attention in form of wolf calls, sexual innuendo, etc. It was a really interesting experience to be a racial minority, yet still representing colonialism. I am grateful to find that Oceti Sakowin Camp is educating all visitors about these themes.

DAPL lights on the Hill
We understand this moment in the context of settler colonialism
• Settler colonialism is a process of “destroying to replace.” A colonizing power exports resources and people, and seizes and settles on land, exercising violent control over the original inhabitants. Indigenous versions of governance, land management, cultural practices, etc. are destroyed through conquest, disease, land theft, and cultural genocide, and are replaced with the settler versions of those things. Settler colonialism is not an event that we can neatly box into the past, but rather a persistent form of violence that impacts every aspect of life in settler states. Settler colonialism is still happening.
• Indigenous history in the Americas is one of uninterrupted resistance to colonization, from 1492 to today. You may be unaware of this history, or not recognize the forms it takes in indigenous cultures. Be curious.
• We do this work as ourselves. We bring all of who we are and where we come from. This includes gender identity, race, class, sexual orientation, age, body/mind ability, culture and place of origin. We all have inherited historical relationships to sort out in order to become more powerful, effective and whole.
o As white allies we must figure out how to shift out of European cultural modes, unlearn and interrupt settler colonial patterns and develop anti-racist awareness and skills.
o As Non-Native People of Color we have many different historical relationships to settler colonialism and Indigenous struggles, and may have unconsciously internalized settler attitudes toward this land and indigenous people. Native leaders and scholars have asked us to recognize that although we are targeted by white supremacy, we also participate in settler colonization, and are settlers in relationship to Indigenous people.
We DECENTER settler worldviews/ practices and RECENTER Indigenous worldviews/practices and leadership
• Whiteness and Christian dominance, which are the basis of US settler identity, are built on perfectionism, superiority, purity, competition, individualism, binaries, and suppressed emotion. This impacts how we do our ally work, how we approach the tasks of dismantling oppression, and how we treat each other and ourselves. It’s hard work to recognize and abandon these familiar attitudes that don’t serve us, but it’s the only way forward. Harshness only reinforces settler culture. Practice compassion and humility with yourself and others.
• Practice noticing and regulating how much space, energy, attention, and resources you take up. When you are with indigenous people, listen more than you speak. Let indigenous people speak first. When you feel the urge to speak, check with yourself about how important it is to the group effort?
• If you have questions about how things are done, try to observe and follow by example. If necessary, find times to ask outside of meetings. Keep in mind that Native leaders have an enormous amount to do and think about. Practice being ok with not knowing everything you want to know.
• For 500 years, white people have been exploiting, betraying and destroying Native people, culture and resources. You may feel the impact of this legacy as distance, coolness, cautiousness, or distrust. Do not take it personally. You have been invited here and your presence matters. While you are expected to keep indigenous people in the center, it’s not your job to make up for all the past devastation by yourself. But you do have the opportunity to start creating a new legacy. This will be built through practice, with many mistakes. Go easy on yourself when you trip, and practice getting up quickly when you fall.
We understand cultural appropriation and make every effort to not perpetuate it.
• Being in this sacred space can be life altering, especially if you are not grounded in your own spirituality, ritual, healing traditions, ancestors, or connection with the earth. If you feel the pull to take on indigenous peoples’ spirituality, customs, and lifeways, know that it’s been a central feature of colonial oppression for non-Natives to help themselves to Native culture without building the necessary relationships, asking permission, or supporting indigenous survival. Although it can feel like respect or honor this dynamic is inseparable from genocide and colonialism. Remember, you are not here to ‘access’ Indigenous culture or knowledge; you are here to support a struggle for Indigenous peoples’ lifeways, and to protect water, land, and all of our futures.
• Own your history. European settlers came bearing the traumas of violence, lost connection with the land, and severe repression of their spiritual traditions. Becoming settlers deepened that loss. Being around indigenous people who still have those connections can bring up feelings of longing for white people, or the illusion of having found “home” in Native culture. It’s important to face our own historical losses, and draw on our own roots, rather than trying to claim the cultures that Native people have fought so hard to preserve. If you feel this pull, make space to grieve lost connections and knowledge. Learn about your own ancestral traditions, and develop a spiritual practice rooted in them. Native people, non- Native white people and non-Native people of color are all healing from different aspects of colonialism. Seek out people who share your experiences and histories with whom to connect and find healing.
• Never attend a ceremony without being expressly invited.
• You must register at the media tent to use a camera in camp, and you MUST ask permission to take photos or video of anyone at the camp. Be very careful in how you represent Native people in images. Make sure to connect with the people you want to photograph. Think about the story you are telling. Avoid portraying Native people in stereotypical and objectifying ways. Never photograph ceremony unless you are specifically told it’s okay.
• Impact is more important than intention. It is up to you to show that you know you are a guest and not an owner of indigenous traditions.
Creative commons (cc) the Standing Rock Solidarity Network. Reprinted with permission.


*come correct.  To behave properly or decently; to do the right thing. Act with respect, not ignorance.

The journey is the destination

From the south ~ straight up north right towards the Ogallala Aquifer, my trip took me through oil country.  Yes, oil and aquifer country. 
Fracking country. Big Oil Country. Dallas. Oklahoma. Kansas. Then got into the Ogallala area Nebraska and South Dakota.
The irony was not lost on me.
I avoided the gas stations I know directly owned by Energy Transfer Partners like Stripes.
Then I avoided BP, Exxon, Mobil, Shell….it got harder and harder to find fuel.

I fell in love with the Great Plains. The earth tones of the hills, the openness,  all shades of brown. Wide open places.
Straight through the Heartland. Agricultural. Rural. People living close to the land.

I wonder why they had not felt the land speaking to them to protect her soils, her rivers? 



Why is this region considered desolate and waste land?
The rivers in spite of dams, sing and sparkle in the sunlight.
Red River
Arkansas
Missouri


Somewhere in Nebraska or South Dakota, for about 30 minutes a flock of large white birds flew above me in V formation, gracefully arcing across the sky. They would swirl around over head, then drift out of view as I drove through the hills.
I was reminded of the metaphor of "turning the flock" ; of the "murmuration" of birds
when all together they seem to synchronize and change to go in a new direction. This must be a sign, I thought, that our action in North Dakota can change the direction we are headed by coming together in prayer and unity.

 All of a sudden, the road turned and there they were! The sky was now full of these white birds settling into the field! I still don't know what they were. Not cranes. Large heads, almost like pelican beaks. They must have been large, since I was quite a distance away. Lots of them.

The mission-
What drew me there? What was my purpose?
Recently I had left a career in higher education to spend more time exploring my world again. As a young adult I had left home in upstate New York to live in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico and study anthropology. I learned a second language and became accustomed to a second culture. I backpacked and camped in Mexico and Guatemala and traveled in places where there were no roads with an open heart and Swiss Army knife in my pocket. I was drawn to the wild places in Central America where indigenous people lived close to the earth. From the Selva Lacandona in  Chiapas to Barranca del Cobre in Chihuahua, I roamed. What I was seeking was not in the anthropology books. I felt something intangible from the Huicholes I met. I felt a unique spirit from the Tzotzil and Tzeltal Mayan people who welcomed me to eat in their homes. The Raramuri drums echoing in Copper Canyon spoke to me at a visceral level.
I had worked in archeology in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico, explored caves in Oaxaca and Texas, spending time living expedition style outdoors without electricity or running water.  I had camping gear and experience spending much of the day in cold and snow, too.
Over the decades I had worked to end the Vietnam War,  Free Leonard Peltier,  marched with Cesar Chavez, worked for migrant worker’s rights and organized opposition to nuclear power in Austin. It felt right to head North. But I knew this would not be like any other experience, this was an indigenous led action based in prayer.

This made sense to me. This resonated deeply with me.
One HEART. One MIND. One SPIRIT. One beautiful MOTHER EARTH
My mission from home now is to educate, to help by sharing truths from so many wisdom keepers.

Please inform yourselves and others about what is at stake, what you can do and what is happening today.


November 29, 2016


December 1, 2016
Tulsi Gabbard speaking to Congress
 Video

For up-to-date information, I rely on ocetisakowincamp.org

Nov 30, 2016

A personal journey to Oceti Sakowin Camp

This may have been a personal journey, but it was not about me. It is about "we", it is about our grandchildren's children...it is about so much more.
I was seeking what it means to Stand for Standing Rock: as individuals and collectively.
Fortunately people who have been there since April have gotten a fairly good handle on those answers.
Today, Lisha Sterling wrote what it means to her to Stand for Standing Rock.
Something simple everyone can do it, read this.     
Take it to heart. 



 
We may simplify the cause to #nodapl because we have to.
We may reduce our message to fit on signs to Defend the Sacred or Mni Wiconi/Water is Life...
But this is a watershed moment in so many ways for all that is Life.
#defendthesacred
#ocetisakowincamp
#nodapl
#mniwiconi
#honorthetreaties


I set off to North Dakota with the intention to contribute what I could to the forward momentum of the mission of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation in stopping the Dakota Access Pipeline. I had an inner knowing that this was about so much more than a political action, but was about human survival, about a new way of relating to each other and the world around us.
I wasn’t going just to “show up” for a selfie. I wasn’t really taking up stuff, although I did haul a camper full of kitchen gear for another person’s mission to set up a cook shack that could be utilized during the winter months. Since April, I had donated money to the Sacred Stone Camp and the school.

My intent was to pray with one heart, one mind, one purpose for the water, for our earth, for the people, for my relatives.

Today many good things have been written and need to be shared.

These are sentiments that I share~
Chase Iron Eyes wrote on his Facebook page today:
We must take the fight to DAPL, Big Extraction, Big Finance, on every front. This is much bigger than Native Americans & clean water. This is the latest on a continuum of soul seeking liberation. In those spaces where humans break free from economic, political, "legal" oppression. In those precious spaces when you live, when you face explosions, water blasts, less lethal bullets & attack dogs, when your spirit decolonizes the mind. This is the same fight Martin Luther fought, the American revolutionaries fought, the same liberation Harriet Tubman, Tecumseh & CrazyHorse sought. There is oppression which is perpetrated by humans on other humans, and there is oppression perpetrated on all humans by the logic of capital-debt.


This is what it means to Stand with Standing Rock!
"Soul seeking liberation."
Join us in the place where your "spirit decolonizes the mind."


Related article to the time when I was there.



I stand with Standing Rock




My purpose in writing isn't to provide news or keep you updated on what is going on in North Dakota.
I am writing to share my experiences, feelings and thoughts. Through the process I will share other people's work that I feel provide a context for what is happening there.
What I brought home with me is a purpose to share the truth about what is going on, what the actions mean in a wider context.
I am grateful to see the groundswell of support for Standing Rock! #standwithstandingrock
My purpose is to help folks learn more, do more and bring about the change we so desperately need to live on the earth and protect her for seven generations.