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| The route of the 1,172-mile, 30-inch diameter Dakota Access Pipeline that the Standing Rock Sioux and others protest. Image Source: Wikimedia |
This morning the howling wind woke me. For many years I did not like windy days, but, in the temazcal, I learned to love the wind. “El aliento de los abuelitos,” the Osos called it. Translated from Spanish, it means "the breath of the grandparents."
They told us that in the wind were the secrets of the elders who had gone by the way. If we paid attention, they said, we would hear their secrets. If we paid attention we would hear the answers to our questions. They are always whispering to us, but we do not pay attention, and we miss the answers to our questions. We miss the solutions to our problems.
The answer always lies in the here and the now, but we do not pay attention to it, and we do not hear it. We constantly look for it somewhere else … somewhere we are not. We constantly look for it in some moment, in the future, or dwell on it, at some time in the past. We’re missing it while we search.
Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung wrote of an encounter with Chief Ochwiay Biano (Chief Mountain Lake) of the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico:Chief Ochwiay Biano and Carl Jung
“Chief Mountain Lake: ‘See how cruel the whites look, their lips are thin, their noses sharp, their faces furrowed and distorted by folds. Their eyes have a staring expression; they are always seeking something. What are they seeking? The whites always want something. They are always uneasy and restless. We do not know what they want. We do not understand them. We think that they are all mad.’
When Jung asks why he thinks they are all mad, Mountain Lake replies, ‘They say they think with their heads.’
'Why of course,' says Jung, ‘What do you think with?’
’We think here,’ says Chief Mountain Lake, indicating his heart."
Although I, a white man, cannot see the white man as the Native American may see us, I certainly wonder the same thing that Chief Mountain Lake wondered. What are we seeking?
The Continuing Saga of Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
My ancestors, the Europeans, in the name of their progress, initiated the demise of the American Indian. Since then, little has changed except, possibly, the skillfulness and diplomacy by which we Americanized descendants legally justify the continued pillage of our earth, air, water, energy, and selves.
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| The seige upon Wounded Knee that ended Dee Brown's classic book did not mark the end of the American Indian's battle. Image Source: Wikimedia. |
Today my contemporary brothers and sisters of all races and colors and I, myself, no longer need to live divided, but we continue divided against ourselves. We continue to fight and squander our time, efforts, and natural resources. We even abuse our own bodies and minds. The luckiest among us will die before my brothers, and I see the tragedic end that our children have already begun to inherit.
As I write, our culture of “progress” continues the saga told, in part, by Dee Brown, in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, which tells North America's history as the plight that European-bourne "progress" brought on the continent's peoples and natural resources. Today the battle continues.
As I write, our culture of “progress” continues the saga told, in part, by Dee Brown, in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, which tells North America's history as the plight that European-bourne "progress" brought on the continent's peoples and natural resources. Today the battle continues.
The Standing Rock Sioux Nation vs. Energy Transfer Partners
Near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, the Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners company builds the Dakota Access Pipeline, just north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. According to the New York Times, ...
"Energy Transfer Partners, calls the [Dakota Access Pipeline] project a major step toward the United States’ weaning itself off foreign oil. The company says the nearly 1,170-mile buried pipeline will infuse millions of dollars into local economies and is safer than trucks and train cars that can topple and spill and crash and burn."
"[Standing Rock Sioux] tribe says the pipeline’s route under the Missouri River near here could threaten its water supplies if the pipeline leaks or breaks, and it says the United States Army Corps of Engineers failed to do proper cultural and historical reviews before granting federal approvals for the pipeline."
In addition to the threat to tribal water, the Sioux point out that the pipeline invades sacred lands. "For many, the effort was about reclaiming a stake in ancestral lands that had been whittled down since the 1800s, treaty by broken treaty," wrote Healy in the New York Times article.
“ 'Lands were constantly getting reduced, shaken up,' said Dave Archambault II, the tribal chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux. 'I could give you a list of every wrongdoing this government did to our people. All of that is frustration pent up, and it’s being recognized.
He added, 'It’s a tipping point for our nations.' ”
He refers, of course, to the wrongdoings described by Dee Brown and many others, through those that continue today.
"Energy Transfer Partners has sued Mr. Archambault and six other people over the protests. In a federal lawsuit filed last week, the company accused them and other protesters of blocking access to the construction site, threatening workers and trespassing onto private land."As of earlier today, police had arrested more than 35 people related to the pipeline protests, including a Red Warrior Camp organizer. In addition, Morton county, North Dakota authorities issued a warrant for the arrest of "Democracy Now! executive producer and host Amy Goodman" for filming "security guards employed by Dakota Access Pipeline attacking protestors with pepper spray and dogs." (Gold 2016)
Why Don't We Hear the Winds?
What are we seeking? Why don't we hear the winds? What do we want? Are we all, as Chief Mountain Lake suggested, mad?Both the Sioux and the people working on the ground at Energy Transfer Partners likely want the same things: a healthy environment, food for their families, security, education, comfort, and peace. History tells us that it is unlikely either will have those things; it seems less likely that either will be able to leave them to their children. Standing Rock Sioux Chairman, David Archambault II, though, has invited peaceful participation in the affair:
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| David Archambault II and the Standing Rock Sioux have gained worldwide attention in the news and social media, as they protest the Dakota Access Pipeline. Source: Facebook |
“Any act of violence hurts our cause and is not welcome here, ...We invite all supporters to join us in prayer that, ultimately, the right decision—the moral decision—is made to protect our people, our sacred places, our land and our resources.” (Braine 2016)
I give thanks to brothers, native and non-native, at the protest site, including those of Energy Transfer Partners, who can hear the wind and come to a peaceful agreement. I give thanks to those who share their knowledge and live peacefully. I give thanks to those who hear the wind. Everything that's important is with us already.
...con todas mis relaciones.
References Cited
Braine, T. 2016. Standing Rock Sioux Chairman David Archambault II Calls for Peace as Dalrymple Activates National Guard. On the Indian Country Website (http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/09/08/standing-rock-sioux-chairman-david-archambault-ii-calls-peace-dalrymple-activates), Reviewed 11 September 2016.
Brown, Dee. 1970. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Holt Rinehart Winston.
Gold, H. 2016. North Dakota Issues Arrest Warrant for Democracy Now! Host Amy Goodman. On the Jezebel Website (http://jezebel.com/north-dakota-issues-arrest-warrant-for-democracy-now-h-1786500166), Reviewed 11 September 2016.
Healy, J. 2016. Occupying the Prairie: Tensions Rise as Tribes Move to Block a Pipeline. On The New York Times website (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/24/us/occupying-the-prairie-tensions-rise-as-tribes-move-to-block-a-pipeline.html?_r=0), Reviewed 10 September 2016.
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