It's Day Zero: On the road again this time to take some supplies to the camps on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota to support the Water Protectors in their peaceful resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Packing a small trailer's worth of donations and gear into the hatchback of a Pontiac Vibe is quite fun, no really, considering these materials have to survive nearly 2000 miles plus provide some shelter for me for a few days. There are so many of us heading out from different locations across the globe now that I hope my time can be of service.
Day One: Leaving the Tuck
Early morning on the Tuckasegee River near our home in North Carolina, I say goodbye to the mountains and begin the trek west. Morning fog or smoke? Can't tell today. Smoke is our constant companion these past weeks. Purification? Could be yet as part of my pilgrimage to Sacred Stone Camp, I am bringing blessed water from our sacred rivers to the elders at Standing Rock. I hope the rituals and the intentions poured into them will help to soothe the pain and fear and disconnections between all the people out there as well as in the hearts and minds of those who continue to support extracting the innards of Gaia for profit without regard for future generations. May those prayers then join the Missouri and move down the heartland of this continent to return to the Mother Ocean in the Gulf where much healing is still needed. May these prayers be for rain to soothe our tortured forests and woodlands and allow all sentient beings to be safe.
Early morning on the Tuckasegee River near our home in North Carolina, I say goodbye to the mountains and begin the trek west. Morning fog or smoke? Can't tell today. Smoke is our constant companion these past weeks. Purification? Could be yet as part of my pilgrimage to Sacred Stone Camp, I am bringing blessed water from our sacred rivers to the elders at Standing Rock. I hope the rituals and the intentions poured into them will help to soothe the pain and fear and disconnections between all the people out there as well as in the hearts and minds of those who continue to support extracting the innards of Gaia for profit without regard for future generations. May those prayers then join the Missouri and move down the heartland of this continent to return to the Mother Ocean in the Gulf where much healing is still needed. May these prayers be for rain to soothe our tortured forests and woodlands and allow all sentient beings to be safe.
My other reason for this trip is to see for myself the "Black Snake" as the indigenous people call the pipeline and to document its mark upon the land. For that I needed a map that allowed me to see exactly where the pipeline was relative to the landscape and the roads I have to travel. Nitin Gadia and his team made that possible with this interactive map from the oil fields to the discharge location in central Illinois. I'm inside the blue circle somewhere resting tonight. This is my guide for the next week. If you are along the route, give me a holler and we can meet up. Wherever we are on this map, we are already connected. Now we need to share our stories so we each can understand one another and support one another.
Tomorrow: Patoka.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment