At Standing Rock, North Dakota, a stampede of a thousand bison
appear magically on the rocky horizon, then thunder across the open plains.
These majestic six feet tall creatures with shaggy brown coats, curved horns,
wispy beards, and tufted tails have arrived to aid the praying protestors, who
dance and chant for peace as White men assault them.
This is America in 2016, not a Kevin Costner movie.
Unleashed against the backdrop of the wide blue sky filled with
white billowing clouds, modern weapons of our militarized state -- rubber
bullets, pepper spray, tasers, and earsplitting concussion canons -- harm
people who fight for their land and natural resources.
The American Bison is a legendary symbol of sacred life and
abundance. Nearly hunted to extinction by usurpers of Native American land and
culture, the epic herbivore holds the power to overcome adversity and
atrocity. The bison’s eyes shine with
the will to face any challenge and the fortitude to overcome. The Bison aligns to the spirit of sacrifice
and inner strength, the place that connects us with the Great Mother, giving of
herself so that others may live.
Local law enforcement decked out in riot gear, the North Dakota
National guard, and sheriffs sent in from around the country, have been arresting
the non-violent Sioux warriors and their allies. “The only weapon I saw among
the protestors,” one Lakota woman witnessed, “was a drum stick.”
The protestors face felony charges for their efforts to halt this
ill-conceived pipeline designed to carry fracked crude oil 1,200 miles from the
Bakken oil fields to a distribution center in Patoka, Illinois, a project that
will displace local people, poison the water of the Missouri River, and destroy
the sacred sites.
So the Tatanke Oyate, the Bison, came to Standing Rock.
The reporters say that someone freed a fenced in herd, and
directed them to the site. So be
it. They needed to be present. Tribes and first nations from all over the
world have expressed solidarity. The UN
and Amnesty International have sent human rights observers to Standing Rock.
This is America in 2016.
But this story has precedent. In 1868, the land beneath the pipeline was
accorded to the Sioux people by the Treaty of Fort Laramie. Eleven years later, the US government waged
war on them, forcing them to cede most of the Laramie land.
This is America in 2016 and war is being
waged against the Sioux nation.
The federal government continues to disregard legal agreements
by failing to engage the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in the permitting
process. The tribe is suing the Army
Corps of Engineers (the same folks who brought us the faulty New Orleans
levees), alleging that the permitting agency violated the National
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA).
The Obama administration temporarily blocked construction. but a federal court intervened to allow the
project to proceed. Because the federal
government has authority over the project’s permits, Obama, or the next
Administration has the power to cancel the project—or at least revoke its
permits after further assessment. But
Obama has not done this!
Hillary Clinton has equivocated on the issue saying
“the path forward must serve the broadest public interest,” read, “DO NOTHING.”
Donald Trump owns stock in the pipeline
construction company, Energy Transfer Partners, and advocates deregulation of
the oil industry.
The struggle continues. I encourage all of us to join Buffalo
Nation! Here’s a list of things you can
do to fight back:
