My Trip to the Camp of
Sacred Stones
at Standing Rock Reservation
by Rev. Paul Henschen, PEC Steering Committee
Paul Henschen drove to Standing Rock Reservation, where tribes
were camping to protest the Dakota Access pipeline, with water supplies and
food from his Presbytery’s (Northern Plains) Earth Care Team. Here is part of
Paul’s account, sharing what tribe elders had to say about the pipeline after a
large delegation of Native Americans from the Northwest arrived bringing a huge
Totem Pole they were taking to a tribe in Manitoba.
After the procession that brought the Totem
Pole ended, everyone gathered with drumming, chanting and dancing.
Speeches were made to welcome everyone. Elders from all the tribes formed
a circle and took their turn delivering speeches. They were very
eloquent, and much of what they said was hard for me as a middle-class
Caucasian to hear, but they spoke the truth. They talked of how the
present white-dominated society was harming the earth and that this pipeline
was just another in a long history of acts of desecration of the Creator’s
world. They declared that this campsite was a place founded on prayer,
and that no drugs or weapons were allowed. They spoke of how their people
had been on this land from the beginning, and how white society had tried to
get rid of them, but that they, the Indigenous People, would still be there in
the end. They said that they would pray for what was happening at
Standing Rock, and that they would especially pray for the whites, because they
would need it when they came before the Creator and had to answer for what they
have done to the earth. All the elders expressed a strong sense of family
and unity for the tribes gathered there, and that the stance by the Standing
Rock Sioux against the Dakota Access Pipeline had made them a stronger
family. These and many other things were said—all of them with conviction
yet with a calm and gentle spirit. Violence of any kind was forbidden.
After two hours of speeches, songs were sung and a prayer circle
was formed--much of this in Native American language. A press conference
was held after which I left to return home. Going home I took a northerly
route toward Bismarck, ND, and about 20 miles north of the campsite a roadblock
had been set up by police. Why, I have no idea. They were checking
vehicles headed south toward Cannonball and the campsite. The Native
American elders had spoken of this roadblock and how many of them had to pass
through it. Days earlier, the North Dakota governor had also sent
police to the protest because of unfounded rumors. This roadblock seemed
to be there as a reminder of police power—an action that was totally
unnecessary. The Standing Rock Sioux and the other tribes of Indigenous
People had gathered peacefully to protest—as is their right. Instead of
coming together with them to learn, white society raised its ugly head in a
show of force that created tension and resentment. As I stood there
listening to the elders speak, there was a great deal of wisdom being shared
that our white-controlled society needs to hear. I was personally
challenged by what the elders said, and I am continuing to wonder how my life
needs to change. And what will be the response of our society? Will
we listen and learn from those who were here long before our ancestors
arrived? Or will we stay on the same course toward destruction of the
earth and ultimately of ourselves?
Click here to donate to the Northern
Plains Earth Care Team to purchase more supplies for them to take to
Standing Rock. Mark your donation for Presbyterians for Earth Care Team and
note that it is for Standing Rock.
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