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- Odette Artime
Mannabliss Tribe Speaks
The Standing Rock Sioux Reservation Stands for Us All...
My belief is that we all want to make a positive difference in the world and leave something of true value behind. With this belief comes my moral obligation to share what many do not know is occurring under our watch.
There is a camp in North Dakota - referred to as the ‘Oceti Sakowin’ Camp - that has grown since April 2016 into a huge mobilization of thousands to peacefully resist the Dakota Access pipeline. This pipeline is being constructed near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, crossing under the only source of water to the reservation, the Missouri River. It is planned to transport approximately 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
A leak from the Dakota Access pipeline would leave the Standing Rock Sioux without any clean water. It would also pollute every tributary that feeds from this main water source, from North Dakota all the way into the Gulf of Mexico. This would cover approximately 1,600 miles running through the center of the United States. The ramifications are catastrophic. The fracking involved introduces methane pollution to the air, exposure to toxic chemicals, severe health risks (cancer, reproductive disorders, respiratory disease, etc), earthquakes, poisoned food sources, and environmental strains on the tenuous climate changes occurring. This doesn’t even begin to cover the additional harmful effects that would occur with a pipeline spill.
Those at the camp, “Water Protectors,” have relocated their families and risked their physical and personal safety to prevent further desecration of sacred burial grounds and the potential threat of poisoning a main water source for all of our children and future generations. They have no firearms
or weapons. They carry only banners, flags, drums, “chanupas” (prayer pipes), and their voices.
These actions have been blocked and censored from getting to mainstream America through news sources until recently. Courageous individuals have taken personal risk by sharing footage demonstrating the militaristic approach our government has allowed. These actions include: the arrest of over 200 protestors; and the use of pepper spray, tear gas and attack dogs to contain peaceful demonstrations.
This is a pivotal moment in history, not only for the environment but also for our ability to support human and civil rights. As those in Standing Rock keep stating, “We can’t drink oil,” yet the interests of Corporate America have continued to have an undeniable negative impact on our climate. The support the oil companies are receiving from the US government has dishonored treaties and is furthering the oppression of Native peoples - the very people that have lived and honored our natural world and are risking their lives to fight for her still today.
Get involved in a way that allows you to be a positive force in what is now an environmental global crisis. Act now to preserve the water, air, and land that has sustained us and that you are leaving behind to the children and generations that follow. Help in becoming part of the solution.
Give $20, $30, $50 or more to support those who are peacefully fighting our fight.
Native Children’s Survival, a non-profit organization, is working directly within the Oceti Sakowin Camp and assisting their efforts for a peaceful and prayerful resistance. Your tax-deductible donation will create opportunities to generate awareness and sustain the camp’s mission of protecting and defending the Sacred Water, Cultural Sites, Burial Grounds, and endangered Wildlife Habitat from the Dakota Access Pipeline, built by Energy Transfer Partners and Enbridge.
Stand in solidarity with those at Standing Rock. We can all be part of the answer to the prayers.
https://www.youcaring.com/oceti-sakowin-camp-standing-rock-nation-677991
MANNABLISS MEDICINE FOR THE SOUL