Water Protectors Attacked

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Jeff Kisling

“On September 3, the Dakota Access pipeline company attacked Native Americans with dogs and pepper spray as they protested against the $3.8 billion pipeline’s construction.”  Amy Goodman, Democracy Now

It is very fortunate the Democracy Now crew was at the site of the above attack against the water protectors Saturday, especially after the Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier tried to place the blame on the protestors.  The Democracy Now video clearly shows the peaceful protestors being attacked.

“We protected our water and we did a good job at doing it,” said a young Native American on horseback at the end of the video.

I submitted the following letter to the editor of the Indianapolis newspaper, IndyStar.  Please consider writing a letter yourself and spread the news other ways, to try to help protect the water protectors.

Water protectors attacked
Thousands of Native Americans and others have gathered in North Dakota at the place where the proposed Dakota Access pipeline would cross the Missouri River.  Similar to Keystone, this pipeline would carry thick, tar sands oil.  Pipeline spills are not widely reported, but occur with alarming frequency.  A leak from this pipeline into the Missouri River would be a catastrophe, polluting this main waterway through the Midwest, and the farm fields along the route.
Permission to build the pipeline across the river has not been granted by the Army Corp of Engineers.
Over the weekend private security guards attacked the unarmed men, women and children with pepper spray and attack dogs, biting several.  Fortunately Amy Goodman and a Democracy Now film crew got the attack on film, proving the statement about violent protestors to be false.  The violence came from the security personnel.
Please help support the people trying to protect our waters.  #NoDAPL

Katrina Coravos asked that this be shared:

To my friends and family: we are all safe here.
Two of our friends were in the attack yesterday, and did get sprayed. But we are all ok.
I am in awe of the tenacity of the people here. …
They will not back down.
We have been traveling to the waters every day with the women to offer prayers to the river.
There is a call to action for women from around the world to pray with us at a water source at 10:00 am Central Time. Together, in unity, our prayers can ripple out and be heard.
Yesterday we went to the river with over 60 women, from many nations and many traditions. We offered prayers to the waters as the life givers. We asked for forgiveness, we asked for a better way. We asked that the waters be held as sacred and we gave songs from our hearts.
When we arrived back at camp, and gathered around the sacred fire. More women followed in the procession up from the waters. We came in with a force of love. We came in with a solution: to honor life as sacred, to love one another, to give back for all that we take, to respect one another, to unify our voices in song and unify our hearts as one. Together, our prayers are healing the waters.
Amidst the turning of violence yesterday, we recognize that we must pray more- we must pray for peace, for truth, for love to prevail. We are behind the warriors here as they stand strong against the machines. WE are behind them with love, prayer, and calling in the ancestors that walk with us to help and guide us.
Make no mistake: the construction company unleashed the dogs on the people. This was an act of violence- both on the people and on the dogs.
So today, we were part of a water ceremony with water drums. We prayed to spirit. We prayed for the women, for the men, and for the unification of the people. We prayed for the construction company to wake up and recognize that this is their water too.
We are coming together. WE must remain in peace and love. No matter what.
Please continue to pray for us here, and for the warriors on the front lines that they do the right things when faced with violence.
Our prayers and our love is our greatest force. May we open inside of ourselves to shine out stronger and stronger…

Peter Clay photo
Posted in #NDAPL, civil disobedience, Keystone Pledge of Resistance, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Public Square 2

Posted on September 4, 2016 by Jeff Kisling

Yesterday I wrote in response to Rev William Barber’s admonition in his article in Friends Journal,  “Quakers, it’s time to get back into the public square. If you believe that there’s life above the snake line, it’s time to get back in the public square.”   The Third Reconstruction, Friends Journal, September 1, 2016.

As I get ready to go to meeting for worship this morning, I’m enjoying how that article begins. “It’s always been one of my great dreams to come and be at a Quaker Friends meeting, even if it meant just sittin’ and bein’ quiet. And that’s because I know enough about history to know about the Religious Society of Friends and the abolition campaigns that began long before the end of slavery in Britain.”

In yesterday’s blog article I was trying to illustrate ways that I have been trying to express a spiritual, moral, Quaker voice in public.  I was hoping there might be some ideas there that you might use in your own efforts to speak out in public.  I might not have made it clear enough that I am hoping more of you will speak out more in the public square.

Some of the key issues are how you feel comfortable in sharing what you have to say, who your intended audience is, and how we can identify what we are saying as coming from a Quaker viewpoint, if you want to include that.  It is my hope that more of us find ways to identify ourselves in public as being Quaker.    Is it time to bring back plain dress, the broad rimmed hats, and bonnets?

I would encourage emphasizing the Quaker part for a couple of reasons.  One is that it sets an historic and spiritual context for what you are doing.  Your interested readers/listeners may be led to make a Quaker connection, to answer the spiritual seeking they are doing.  They may not live anywhere near you, but may look for a local Quaker connection as a result of your writing.

I believe a great number of people are trying to find a spiritual home right now, and that Quakerism may be an answer for many of them.  But they need a way to find us.  That means (1) sharing your work in a way that is identified as Quaker, and (2) sharing in places where seekers are looking.

Without overdoing it, you can mention that you are a Quaker when you write things.  When introductions are made at public meetings, you can include that you are a Quaker.  And consider various ways to use graphics/art for Quaker identification, like the ‘Quaker man’ icon I use to identify my blog posts.  Including photos and drawings in your writings often adds interest, and there are many Quaker related images you can use–meetinghouses, peace vigils, gatherings.

Social media seems to be where many seekers and others look for news and interest items.  Facebook is a quick and interactive way to engage.  Besides just following your friends on Facebook, look for Facebook groups, where you can find like minded people to share with.  Type the subject you are interested in in the search box, and a list of related groups will appear.

As I mentioned, I have found writing on a blog to be the best solution for me, thus far.  There are a number of places that will allow you to have your own blog, free of charge.   www.wordpress.com is one of the most popular.

Listen to your inner light.  Are you being led to share?  Don’t hide your light under a bushel.

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It’s time to get back into the public square

Posted on September 3, 2016 by Jeff Kisling

“Quakers, it’s time to get back into the public square. If you believe that there’s life above the snake line, it’s time to get back in the public square.”  Rev. William Barber, The Third Reconstruction, Friends Journal, September 1, 2016.

More from the article:  “That’s what Quakers were doing when they stood against slavery. They said slavery was below the snake line. Hate is below the snake line. Racism is below the snake line. Homophobia and xenophobia are below the snake line. Greed is below the snake line. Injustice is below the snake line. It’s time for us to raise the moral standard above the snake line.”

I have great respect for Rev. Barber.  I had followed his work with the NAACP and the creation of the Moral Mondays movement in North Carolina.  I was there when he came to spend the weekend with us to launch Indiana Moral Mondays, with the march to the Capitol building and his speech there.  His excellent speech at the Democratic National Convention articulated his call for a moral revolution.  And I was very grateful to get to spend the day with him recently at the MPOLIS (Moral Political Organizing Leadership Institute Summit) to organize faith leaders for the a moral revolution of values.

For this moral revolution to succeed it will take masses of people going to the streets to let the world know that our society needs to move above the snake line.

One of my first experiences with this was standing in front of the old Capitol building with Don Laughlin for the weekly peace vigil during the Vietnam War (1969).  I remember feeling uncomfortable, not knowing what the public reaction might be.  But I also felt grounded in the spirit, and the support of those I was standing with.  It became easier with time.

Sadly, peace vigils are still needed, and I go to our weekly vigil in front of the Federal Building in downtown Indianapolis.

Peace Vigil
Weekly Peace Vigil at Federal Building, Indianapolis

I almost always carry my camera wherever I go, which has an FCNL War is not the Answer button on the strap.

DSC04032

After a while, I replaced my War is not the Answer sign with a Stop Keystone Pipeline sign.  Destroying our environment with fossil fuels is also below the snake line.

Pipeline fighter
Keystone Pipeline Fighter
Stop extreme fossil fuel extraction

When the Iran deal looked like it might be rejected by Congress, we took to the streets to support it.

Delivering petitions to support Iran deal to Sen. Donnely

These days I have a new sign, Quakers Know Black Lives Matter.  Jenny, a Bear Creek Friend, made the sticker below, another way to make a public statement.

IYMC Peace and Social Concerns Committee 2016

Taking that sign out in public renewed those old feelings of discomfort.  I was really unsure of what the reaction of either white people or people of color would be.  The second time I used the sign, I ended up in the middle of thousands of Black people who were downtown for the annual Black Expo event.  I was really unsure of how that would go, but was surprised by the numerous indications of support.

Yesterday a very articulate young Black man stopped and said “a white man holding a Black Lives Matter sign”.  I said, “yes, a white man holding a Black Lives Matter Sign”.  He started to go away, but returned and asked “why are you doing it?”  I told him about the Kheprw Institute (KI) that mentors Black youth that I had been involved with for several years now.  And how those kids had become friends of mine.  And I want a better life for them.  He nodded, then said it was a brave thing to do.  I only mention this to show how other people might see what you do in public.  He went on to say how he felt justice had to be grounded in faith.

Also yesterday, an energetic young Black man came and said “Quakers, Black Lives Matter”, and began to take a video of us, then had a friend take more video as he stood with his arms around our shoulders, narrating all the time–“Quakers”, “Black Lives Matter”.

Last night I was at the White Pine Wilderness Academy making signs to use when we take to the streets next Friday to support those who are resisting the Dakota Access (Bakken) Pipeline.

I am so glad that Quakers in Iowa were at the civil disobedience action against the pipeline at Pilot Mound, Iowa, earlier this week.

Then there are the possibilities for participation in the digital public square, with blogs, Facebook, letters to the editor, etc.  I wrote another blog post about that.

To repeat what Rev. Barber said: “Quakers, it’s time to get back into the public square. If you believe that there’s life above the snake line, it’s time to get back in the public square.”

In the public square:

Black Lives Matter

Baltimore

Bernie

Homelessness

Environment

Moral Mondays

Iran

Kheprw Institute – KI

Living Wage

Middle East

Keystone pipeline resistance

Palestine

Religious Freedom Discrimination

Silence the violence

Youth

 

 

Posted in #NDAPL, Arts, Black Lives, civil disobedience, climate change, Indiana Moral Mondays, Keystone Pledge of Resistance, Kheprw Institute, peace, Quaker Meetings, race, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

NoDAPL Solidarity

Posted on September 2, 2016 by Jeff Kisling

Resources to support the Dakota Access Pipeline resistance can be found at the NoDAPL Solidarity website:  https://nodaplsolidarity.org   More information can be found on the Sacred Stone Camp website:  http://sacredstonecamp.org/

Our group in Indianapolis is meeting tonight to make signs and plan a demonstration in downtown Indianapolis.  Transportation has been arranged to take donated supplies from Indianapolis to the Scared Stone camp.

Here is some video about the arrests in Boone.

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Why Stopping the Pipeline is So Important

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Jeff Kisling

I am so grateful to those who are standing up against the Dakota Access (DAPL)/Bakken Pipeline.  I am also very disappointed that more people are not.

I understand there are so many things to be concerned about these days.  And that people have limited time and energy.  But it is important to identify what is most significant.

maslow-pyramid

Maslow’s Hierarchy or triangle is instructive.  Everything rests on meeting basic needs–food, water and shelter.  If we don’t have clean water, we die.  As the Native Americans say, “Water is Sacred”.

The mainstream media is the tool of the corporations that own it.  The suppression of the news from the Sacred Stone camp and the amazing gathering of indigenous and non indigenous peoples, and about the pipeline resistance is very intentional.

The suppression of the news of frequent pipeline ruptures and oil train explosions is very intentional.  It is nearly 100% guaranteed that a pipeline under the Missouri River will leak.  Even if the chances were unrealistically, slightly lower, would it be worth the risk?

Similar reasoning of importance, related to overwhelming the atmosphere with carbon dioxide (CO2) was why some of us put so much time and effort into the Keystone Pipeline resistance.  There again, surprising few people engaged in that effort.  The Keystone Resistance was a success because of the sustained efforts of indigenous people in Canada and the United States, the 4,000 activists of the Keystone Pledge of Resistance, and the courage of President Obama in taking on the fossil fuel industry and its supporters in Congress.  A handful of people made that happen, but it was a close call.

This is truly a struggle for the future of our environment, and for future generations. This should be our highest priority at the moment.  Please don’t stay on the sidelines.

Peter Clay photo

 

 

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Dakota Access Pipeline Resistance today

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Jeff Kisling

Today is the nonviolent civil disobedience training and action that will occur at Pilot Mound, near Boone, Iowa.  Quakers from Bear Creek and Des Moines Valley Friends meeting plan to attend.  The pipeline company, Dakota Access, sought an injunction against the protest, but a Federal judge denied the injunction.  Please send prayers their way today.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 30, 2016

Contact:
Ed Fallon, Bold Iowa: 515-238-6404, ed@boldiowa.org
Adam Mason, Iowa CCI, (515) 314-2655, adam@iowacci.org

Iowans Will Risk Arrest Wednesday to Protest Dakota Access Pipeline and Protect Our Water
First of series of actions planned by organizers of the “Bakken Pipeline Pledge of Resistance” 

Des Moines — A group of Iowans including several landowners living on the pipeline route will hold a rally and participate in a peaceful, nonviolent act of civil disobedience on Wednesday afternoon, to send the message to President Obama to revoke Army Corps permits and halt construction of the Dakota Access pipeline that would traverse the state of Iowa and threaten our land, water and climate.

Participants who have committed to risking arrest signed the “Bakken Pipeline Pledge of Resistance,” organized by Bold Iowa and partners Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI), CREDO Action, and 100 Grannies for a Livable Future. 

On Monday, Dakota Access filed for a restraining order against Bold Iowa and director Ed Fallon, and Iowa CCI and state policy director Adam Mason, asking a judge to prevent our organizations from participating in First Amendment-protected speech and peaceful assembly, and nonviolent civil disobedience actions that are a time-honored American tradition for effecting social change.

no bakken iowa cci

In Indianapolis our group of Dakota Access Pipeline resisters has a website up with information about donations and upcoming activities.  My Keystone Pledge of Resistance colleagues and I are discussing civil disobedience training sessions and plans for rallies and marches.

whitepine2

Below is information on ways to provide support:

sacred stone camp support

 

 

 

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Water is Life

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Jeff Kisling

It was wonderful to meet so many water defenders at the White Pine Wilderness Academy last night.  Four of us Keystone Pledge of Resistance veterans were present.  The focus is on supporting those at Standing Rock, and raising awareness in Indiana.

NDAPL Indy 2

Raising awareness is critical because of the blackout, thus far, by mainstream media.  That is why tomorrow’s nonviolent civil disobedience training and action at Pilot Mound, near Boone, Iowa, is so important.   Those of us not able to be at Standing Rock need to raise our voices because we know the pipeline construction will destroy tribal sites, farmland, and pollute the water and soil along its route.  The crossing under the Missouri River is a potentially catastrophic threat, with the potential to poison the entire river, and the farmland along it.

Far too often in the past people have not stood up to the fossil fuel industry.  Far too often people have continued to choose the convenience of personal automobiles, air conditioning, etc, knowing the environmental costs.  This is a “watershed” moment.  If we the people don’t step up to stop this madness now, the damage will be unimaginable.  Future generations will wonder why we let this happen.  It is time for each of us to take responsibility.  Please, for your own sake and the sake of the earth, do something.

whitepine2

 

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Statement of Solidarity with the Red Warrior and Sacred Stone Camps in North Dakota

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Jeff Kisling

I agree with this statement from Rising Tide North America.  As I recently wrote, now is the time to rise up.  Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is holding training session and a civil disobedience action in Pilot Mound, Iowa (near Boone) this Wednesday.   There is a meeting here in Indianapolis tonight to discuss how we can support the Dakota Access Pipeline resistance.

 

dakota_access_pipeline

Pittsburgh, PA: Rising Tide North America released this statement in solidarity with the continuing resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota:

“For months, the Standing Rock Sioux nation and Indigenous communities from across the continent against have captured the imagination of the world with a bold stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline and the energy companies, the politicians and police that are determined to build it. The actions of literally thousands have delayed the pipeline’s construction and brought its construction to a standstill.

The Dakota Access Pipeline is a 1,170-mile long oil pipeline that originates in the Bakken oilfields of western North Dakota. It will carry 470,000 barrels of crude a day to Pakota, Illinois where it will link with other pipelines and be carried to refineries around the country. If built, the pipeline will be a cultural and environmental threat to the Standing Rock Sioux. The pipeline crosses the nation’s traditional hunting, fishing and burial territory as well as directly crossing under the Missouri River, the Sioux’s main source of water.

Police have responded with heavy handed arrests of Indigenous activists and removed free access to the Red Warrior and Sacred Stone camps near the pipeline construction site. Politicians in North Dakota have declared a state of emergency to discredit the protest camps. Corporations seeking to profit from the pipeline have filed civil litigation against hundreds of protesters to silence the dissent of communities facing a future of poisoned land, water and air.

We believe that the extraction of fossil fuels like Bakken oil, and the expansion of pipelines and other transportation infrastructure, is a dangerous threat to our communities, our wild places and the climate. We further believe that these practices gravely threaten the health, safety and traditional land rights of Indigenous communities.

If we are determined to prevent the pursuit of extreme energy from destroying our communities, natural systems and climate, then peaceful, but confrontational, protests like the Red Warrior and Sacred Stone camps are necessary actions for change.

For over a decade, there has been an unprecedented show of unity from environmental and social justice communities for those fighting for justice and ecology and this time is no different. There is not an inch of daylight between us and those blocking construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota. We stand with them as we’ve stood with those fighting mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia, those that fought the Keystone XL Pipeline from Alberta to Texas, those challenging fighting fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure across this country and those that continue to fight for Indigenous rights.

We stand in solidarity with those who stand up for us all.

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Higher Ground Moral Declaration

Posted on August 28, 2016 by Jeff Kisling

I believe the adoption of the concept of the separation of church and state that our government is founded upon is one of the most significant reasons we have had some success in trying to create a just society, though we have a very, very long way yet to go.

An article in the New York Times yesterday by Samuel Freedman, For Hillary Clinton and Democrats, a Public Shift Toward ‘God-Talk’ discusses how the Clinton campaign has used love and justice as connected concepts.

“Liberals have been more comfortable talking about justice than love,” Jennifer A. Herdt, a professor of Christian ethics at Yale Divinity School said. “What we’re now seeing is the recovery of an understanding of love and justice as connected to each other, this notion of love reviving the heart of democracy. Because democracy has a heart. It’s not just about your individual project. It’s about coming together.”

That is the very language Rev. William Barber used in his amazing speech at the Democratic National Convention.  He said we need to be the “moral defibrillators” of our time, and “shock this nation with the power of love”.

In the article, Freedman says “On issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage and aid to parochial schools, the Democrats have coalesced around separation of church and state.

The one contrary example in modern liberalism was the civil rights movement. No matter how much progressives might wish to play it down, that political effort was organized by members of the clergy, mobilized through churches and infused with religious language. In a 1962 sermon, “Levels of Love,” Dr. King based the quest for civil rights in agape’s command that humans should emulate God by loving others, even their enemies, however different in class, race, religion, and political belief.”

I recently wrote about the MPOLIS (Moral Political Organizing Leadership Institute Summit) I attended with  Rev. Dr. William Barber, which was about organizing the faith community to launch the civil rights movement of our time.  You will be hearing more about this soon.

As a beginning step, people are urged to sign the Higher Ground Moral Declaration:

Higher Ground Moral Declaration 

We declare that the deepest public concerns of our nation and faith traditions are how our society treats the poor, those on the margins, the least of these, women, children, workers, immigrants and the sick; equality and representation under the law; and the desire for peace, love and harmony within and among nations.

Together, we lift up and defend the most sacred moral principles of our faith and constitutional values, which are: the economic liberation of all people; ensuring every child receives access to quality education; healthcare access for all; criminal justice reform; and ensuring historically marginalized communities have equal protection under the law.

Our moral traditions have a firm foundation upon which to stand against the divide-and-conquer strategies of extremists. We believe in a moral agenda that stands against systemic racism, classism, poverty, xenophobia, and any attempt to promote hate towards any members of the human family.

We claim a higher ground in partisan debate by returning public discourse to our deepest moral and constitutional values.

http://www.moralrevival.org/moraldeclaration

Peter Clay photo
Indiana Moral Mondays

 

 

 

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Rise Up Now

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Jeff Kisling

Few people deny climate change is real these days.  Here is an excellent summary.  Extreme drought and resulting raging fires, extreme rainfall and flooding, and rising sea levels are a few of the most obvious signs.  Worse changes are not as obvious–rising CO2 concentration in the air and sea, resulting in more acidic water, killing coral reefs and other marine life.  Rising sea temperatures resulting in melting glaciers, less ability to absorb heat from rising air temperatures, and greater evaporation of water into the air which produces downpours of rain.  Climate refugees from flooding, fires, drought stricken areas, famine, and/or the political consequences of these, such as in Syria, Louisiana and California.

There are some hopeful signs, mainly related to the expansion of renewable energy sources, resulting in electricity prices that are falling below that from fossil fuels.  As has most often been the case throughout history, money is driving the change.  In this case, away from fossil fuels.

Each gallon of gas, each pound of coal burned, adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, adding to the environmental damage.  There is no moral justification for continuing to do so. We just have to stop burning fossil fuel now.

And yet the fossil fuel industry and those who profit from it continue to expand extreme extraction practices such as tar sands mining and fracking, and the pipelines and other infrastructure needed to support it.  At the same time, billions of dollars worth of fossil fuel infrastructure is at risk because of rising waters along the Gulf coast.  It seems the ultimate irony to try to force the construction of new pipelines, when the infrastructure to process that oil may be flooded as a result of burning fossil fuel.

Water is a critical issue now.  Fracking contaminates huge volumes of water with cancer causing and other chemicals and impurities.  Huge tailings ponds hold the waste from tar sands extraction, and release methane gas.  Oil spills contaminate rivers.

After years of work by the environmental community, including building a national organization and providing training for nonviolent civil disobedience in preparation for nationwide direct actions to oppose the Keystone pipeline, President Obama announced his decision to not approved it.  For the first time the people prevailed against the fossil fuel industry.

Native Americans were in the forefront of that effort, as they are again today, resisting the construction of the Dakota Access (Bakken) Pipeline.  That pipeline would go under both the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.  The inevitable spills will threaten the water supply for the people and crops of the agricultural belt of the country.  It will be a disaster for the nation’s food and water supplies.

This is not the time to sit on the sidelines.  Our children and grandchildren’s future will be determined by what we do, or do not do, to protect our water and environment now.

Please do anything you can to raise awareness, and to support those trying to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline.  Be a leader if no one else is.  Support one another.  Rise Up Now.  This affects us all.  Protest and resist wherever you are.

Camp of the Sacred Stone

warriors1

Photo taken by Peter Clay, Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) Friend, who just returned from another trip to North Dakota.

 

 

 

 

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