The following if from the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) today, April 3, 2019
We need your help! The House will vote tomorrow (4/4/2019) to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (H.R. 1585) or VAWA. Not only does this bill secure vital funding for victim services, it also expands tribal jurisdiction to prosecute non-Native American perpetrators of violence.
The 115th Congress let VAWA expire for the first time in 25 years. Its reauthorization in 2013 was a huge win, giving tribal courts jurisdiction over non-Native Americans in domestic violence cases.
Violence against Native American women on tribal lands, which is overwhelming committed by non-Native perpetrators, has reached devastating levels. The newly introduced bill, H.R. 1585, addresses this by expanding tribal jurisdiction to include crimes of sexual assault, stalking, child abuse, and sex trafficking. Provisions from Savanna’s Act, which did not pass the last Congress, are also included in this bill to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which expired earlier this year, has been reintroduced in the House with expanded protections for Native women, who face disproportionately high rates of violence. FCNL advocates have worked hard to secure the inclusion of Savanna’s Act and expanded jurisdiction for tribal law enforcement to investigate non-Indian perpetrators sexual assault, stalking, sex trafficking, and child abuse on Native lands. It also does not protect children who are often victims of domestic violence and abuse. Tribes need the jurisdictional authority to protect their people from all forms of violence, and adequate resources to effectively respond to missing cases. Urge your Representative to support the tribal provisions in H.R. 1585.
Native American women face disproportionately high rates of violence. Most of these violent acts involve non-Indians. Prior to the reauthorization of VAWA in 2013, tribal courts did not have jurisdiction over non-Indians. The Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction returned this jurisdiction, but it offers limited protections.
Many stories have been written about the amazing speech Robert F. Kennedy delivered in Indianapolis on April 4, 1968, the day Martin Luther King, Jr, was assassinated. Below is a video of photos I have taken over the years at the Kennedy King Memorial Park, erected on the site where the speech was delivered, while audio of Martin Luther King’s last speech, and Bobby Kennedy’s speech that day play in the background. Every year a commemoration ceremony, remembering the legacies of these two men, is observed at the Park.
This year I wanted to share the lives of these two men, and their work for a better world, is the reason I treasure the button I selected from a collection of buttons that Sherry Hutchison had collected over her lifetime of activism.
The button I selected from Sherry Hutchison’s CollectionSome of the buttons Sherry Hutchison collected
Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening, because I have some — some very sad news for all of you — Could you lower those signs, please? — I have some very sad news for all of you, and, I think, sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world; and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it’s perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black — considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible — you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization — black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion, and love. For those of you who are black and are tempted to fill with — be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times. My favorite poem, my — my favorite poet was Aeschylus. And he once wrote: Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God. What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black. So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King — yeah, it’s true — but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love — a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We’ve had difficult times in the past, but we — and we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it’s not the end of disorder. But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land. And let’s dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Thank you very much.
The Pine Ridge Reservation is flooded! The aftermath of Winter Storm Ulmer, which hit the Midwest on March 13th, is still wreaking havoc on the territory where I now reside. Our tribal president, Julian Bear Runner, has been working around the clock with a barebones staff for the past two weeks to keep catastrophe from turning into apocalypse. I was honored to serve as President Bear Runner’s campaign manager last year, and I am all the more pleased that we have a leader of his character during this crisis. I and other members of the Lakota People’s Law Project team have now set up shop at tribal headquarters in Pine Ridge to join the effort. Over the past several days, we’ve observed that 1,500 tribal citizens remain displaced from their homes and 75-100 structures have been damaged by the flooding. 500 people remain without access to potable water, culvert systems are plugged, and roads are impassable.
Wopila! — Thank you!
Chase Iron Eyes, Lead Counsel, Lakota People’s Law Project
If you have trouble with that form, here is an example you can modify:
I stand with Oglala Sioux Tribal President Julian Bear Runner in requesting federal flood relief for South Dakota now. As a recent public statement by President Bear Runner makes clear, weeks after Winter Storm Ulmer flooded Lakota Sioux reservations in South Dakota, still no federal disaster support has been provided to the state or the tribes within it. Numerous Sioux communities have been hit hard by the extraordinary weather event. On the Pine Ridge Reservation (Oglala Sioux Tribe), 1,500 citizens remain displaced from their homes and 75-100 structures have been damaged by flooding. 500 people remain without access to potable water, culvert systems are blocked, and roads are impassable. The tribe is facing millions of dollars of damage. Indeed, all of South Dakota has been affected, and for this reason the state senate has passed a resolution, SR-7, calling on you to declare the entire state a federal disaster area, as you have done for Nebraska. This would expedite funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to South Dakotans, including tribal nations. I join President Bear Runner in supporting SR-7. Please use your authority to help people in need as soon as possible.
This is an initiative of the OST President’s Office. Your support now can help provide direct aid to people and rebuild areas within the Oglala Sioux Nation devastated in flooding resulting from Winter Storm Ulmer. Your help goes directly to the tribal government and those affected by the storm.
In-kind donations of the following are needed now. Please inquire before sending at chase@oglala.org and send directly to West Hwy 18, OST President’s Office, Pine Ridge, SD 57770
— Bottled water and water storage containers — Nonperishable food — Diapers, toilet paper, and hygiene products — Heavy equipment (e.g. Bobcats) — Cars and trucks — Shovels — Solar-powered chargers — Solar panels and wind turbines — Green building supplies — Tiny homes — Electric generators — Fuel containers — Water pumps
Today’s message in the book “365 Days of Walking the Red Road” by Terri Jean is:
You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight to our hearts. —COCHISE, CHIRICAHUA APACHE TRIBAL LEADER, 1812–1874
Jean, Terri. 365 Days Of Walking The Red Road: The Native American Path to Leading a Spiritual Life Every Day (Religion and Spirituality) (Kindle Locations 1424-1427). Adams Media. Kindle Edition.
Writing on this blog is a spiritual practice for me. I don’t know what I’ll write until I sit quietly in front of my computer, and either something I read in the day’s email messages or a leading of the Spirit will let me know. Then, I do my best to speak straight.
This morning I just read an email message from my friend, Ed Fallon, summarizing the topics on yesterday’s radio program. The Fallon Forum is broadcast every Monday at 11:00 am, discussing environmental and other justice topics with many interesting guests.
The first interesting thing was another friend, Jon Krieg, of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) was the guest host of the program. Jon has an excellent radio voice, I found. He was hosting yesterday’s episode because Ed was traveling to talk about his book, “Marcher, Walker, Pilgrim”.
Come hear Ed Fallon share the incredible story of the 2014 Great March for Climate Action as chronicled in his memoir, Marcher, Walker, Pilgrim. Ed also discusses the growing urgency of the climate crisis and Bold Iowa’s “Climate Bird Dog” campaign, urging presidential candidates to prioritize the climate crisis. Books will be available for purchase and signed by the author. All proceeds support climate action work.
Yesterday, Ed was speaking in Indianapolis, at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, where I received my degree in Respiratory Therapy many years ago. I had contacted my friends there, and hope a number were able to meet Ed and hear him speak. This morning Ed posted “Exciting kick off to the Marcher, Walker, Pilgrim climate speaking tour. Kathy and I enjoying dinner with our new Indianapolis friends — awesome advocates for climate action.” In the accompanying photo I see my friend Jim Poyser, who does amazing environmental work with youth in Indianapolis. Jim and I were Action Leaders in the Keystone Pledge of Resistance and involved with Stop Dakota Access Pipeline efforts, amongst other things.
Ed, Kathy, Jim Poyser and friends in Indianapolis
On this week’s Fallon Forum, guest host Jon Krieg facilitates a discussion about immigration: – America Duran, a young immigrants’ rights advocate, joins the program to report on her lobbying trip to Washington, DC. – Erica Johnson, who directs AFSC’s Immigrant Rights Program in Des Moines, discusses legislation at the state and federal levels.
When I read that this morning, I wished I had heard the program. Fortunately recordings of each episode are available on the Fallon Forum website. I began listening to the podcast this morning, and you can, too, at the following link:
America Duran was the first guest, talking about her recent trip to Washington, DC, to participate in the Friends Committee on National Legislation’s Spring Lobby Weekend.
America is a DACA recipient who come to the United States from Mexico when she was 3 years old. “The experience (Spring Lobby Weekend) was very surreal. Being there with students from Simpson College and Iowa State was an experience I have no words to describe.”
Wow! Here was yet another interesting thing to learn. My friend (I’m blessed to have so many awesome friends) Rezadad Mohammadi organized the group from Simpson College that America spoke about, to attend this year’s Spring Lobby Weekend.
While he was a student at Scattergood two years ago, Reza went to Washington, DC, to participate in the Friends Committee on Legislation’s (FCNL) Spring Lobby Weekend. This year he has spoken with friends and to some classes to explain what FCNL and Spring Lobby Weekend are about, so that he could find several students to go to this year. He found 5 Simpson students to go with him. He also spoke to the Simpson College administration about FCNL, and convinced the college to provide some funds to help with the students’ expenses.
Reza and I are involved with a new FCNL program called “Meetup Motivators”, which involves inviting people in the local community to come together to discuss their concerns, and find ways to act on them. Reza’s work of speaking about FCNL is what meeting motivators is about.
At Spring Lobby Weekend this year, Reza was able to talk with both Iowa Senators, Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley.
On March 15th this year, Reza and I traveled to Scattergood Friends School and Farm, that we both graduated from. There, again, Reza spoke about FCNL and the Spring Lobby Weekend.
“I was thrilled to be back at Scattergood yesterday (March 15, 2019) to visit my instructors and friends and also educate Scattergoodians about my social justice activities. During this time, I elaborated how individuals could take action to be an activist and tackle social problems while big entities such as corporations or government can’t/won’t. I also talked about climate change and shared possible ways that could help individuals and a community like Scattergood to fight for a clean environment and climate. Besides, I discussed my trip to D.C. that will happen from March 23rd-26th as I will be lobbying for immigration policies and reforms with FCNL and members of Congress with five student from Simpson College.”
As I wrote yesterday, Sherry Hutchison continues to teach peace. A great many people’s lives benefited in many ways from their connections with Sherry. I’ve been thinking more about my own experiences with her. She played a very large role in my life.
While I had always been aware of Sherry and her work, having lived most of my adult life in Indianapolis, I didn’t get to know her very well until five or six years before she died.
Despite living in Indiana, there were a number of ways I worked to maintain close ties with Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) and my home meeting, Bear Creek, in the countryside a couple of miles north of the small town of Earlham, Iowa. There are a number of committees that do the work of the yearly meeting. One of the ways I remained connected to the yearly meeting was by serving on some of those committees, something made possible with modern technologies like email. For over a decade I was clerk of the Publication Committee, which is responsible for printing the Minutes of the business proceedings of the yearly meeting. For example, this is a link to the 2009 Minutes.
One of the other yearly meeting committees is the Peace and Social Concerns Committee which, as the name implies, meets to consider matters related to peace and social justice. During the annual gatherings of the yearly meeting, this committee hears about the peace and social justice work being done in each of the local Quaker meetings, and sometimes letters to our Congressional representatives about these matters are written. Statements on these topics, called Minutes, may also be written. Sherry had served for many, many years as a co-clerk of this committee.
Eight or nine years ago, the yearly meeting needed someone to be the co-clerk of the Peace and Social Concerns Committee with Sherry. I really can’t adequately express how shocked I was when I was asked to do that. I was glad this was done via a phone call, so that AM Fink couldn’t see my face, though my stammering gave him an idea, I’m sure. After I recovered, I asked if I could have some time to think about it, and he agreed.
You see, the people who are members of this committee are Friends with deep convictions, who have done all kinds of work related to peace and social justice during their lives. We sometimes call these “weighty” Friends, Quakers who have provided wonderful examples to us with the work they have done, i.e. people like Sherry. I wasn’t sure that I measured up.
I was also familiar with the wonderful letters and minutes that had come from this committee over the years. As well as the detailed reports from this committee each year. I wasn’t sure I could do those things.
I thought and thought about this. The one thing I kept coming back to, though, was the chance to learn from Sherry. I have been concerned about peace and social justice issues all my life, and intended to for the rest of my life. So I thought, what better way to learn how to do more, than to learn from Sherry? What a rare, precious opportunity that would be.
I also knew from other such situations, that the way to grow is to take risks like this. Scary as these choices often are, the results are always so much better than expected, if it is something you are really being lead to do. So I prayed a lot.
After two weeks, AM called to see how I was doing in considering this. By that time I had decided to say yes, almost solely for the opportunity to learn from Sherry. I remember also saying, “thank you for the opportunity”.
The first meeting of the Peace and Social Concerns Committee after that was actually at Midyear Meeting. Sherry and I had corresponded a good deal prior to this, so I was as prepared as I could be, thanks to her. The only time she scolded me was when I made the mistake of spelling her last name wrong, “Its Hutchison!” I never made that mistake again.
We talked a little at Midyear Meeting prior to the committee meeting, too. She was very kind and understanding. I clearly remember how nervous I was. I had planned to take notes, but my hands were shaking so badly, I simply could not write. I ended up just making scribbles on the page. I kept looking at Sherry, and getting visual encouragement. And asked her a couple of things during the meeting. But we got through it, and things have gotten better since.
I’ll always be indebted to Sherry for her friendship, and what she taught me. And for giving me the courage to take the chance.
The percentage of renewable energy production is rapidly increasing globally. Costa Rica’s electricity has run entirely on renewables for 300 days in 2017.
As renewable energy systems grow to provide nearly 100% of energy production, issues related to the intermittent nature of wind and solar power generation, and fluctuating power demands, become increasingly important. The use of water reservoirs to store energy are called Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), or short-term off-river pumped-hydro energy storage (STORES).
As the proportion of wind and solar photovoltaics (PV) in an electrical grid extends into the 50-100% range a combination of additional long-distance high voltage transmission, demand management and local storage is required for stability [1, 2]. Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) constitutes 97% of electricity storage worldwide because of its low cost. We found about 530,000 potentially feasible PHES sites with storage potential of about 22 million Gigawatt-hours (GWh) by using geographic information system (GIS) analysis. This is about one hundred times greater than required to support a 100% global renewable electricity system. Brownfield sites (existing reservoirs, old mining sites) will be included in a future analysis.
Pumped-hydro is one of the best technologies we have for storing intermittent renewable energy, such as solar power, which means these sites could act as giant batteries, helping to support cheap, fully renewable power grids.
ANU (Australian National University) is leading a study to map potential short-term off-river pumped hydro energy storage (STORES) sites that could support a much greater share of renewable energy in the grid. STORES sites are pairs of reservoirs, typically 10 hectares each, which are separated by an altitude difference of between 300 and 900 metres, in hilly terrain, and joined by a pipe with a pump and turbine. Water is circulated between the upper and lower reservoirs in a closed loop to store and generate power. Dr Matthew Stocks from the ANU Research School of Engineering said STORES needed much less water than power generated by fossil fuels and had minimal impact on the environment because water was recycled between the small reservoirs. “This hydro power doesn’t need a river and can go from zero to full power in minutes, providing an effective method to stabilise the grid,” he said. “The water is pumped up from the low reservoir to the high reservoir when the sun shines and wind blows and electricity is abundant, and then the water can run down through the turbine at night and when electricity is expensive.”
The green areas in the figure below are times when electrical demand is low and some of the renewable energy generated is used to pump water to the elevated water reservoir. The areas in red are times when energy demand exceeds the power being supplied by the renewable sources. In that case, the water from the elevated water reservoir flows down, spinning turbines which generate electricity.
Pumped storage is the largest-capacity form of grid energy storage available, and, as of 2017, the United States Department of Energy Global Energy Storage Database reports that PSH accounts for over 95% of all active tracked storage installations worldwide, with a total installed nameplate capacity of over 184 GW, of which about 25 GW are in the United States.[3] The round-tripenergy efficiency of PSH varies between 70%–80%,[4][5][6][7] with some sources claiming up to 87%.[8] The main disadvantage of PSH is the specialist nature of the site required, needing both geographical height and water availability. Suitable sites are therefore likely to be in hilly or mountainous regions, and potentially in areas of outstanding natural beauty, and therefore there are also social and ecological issues to overcome. Many recently proposed projects, at least in the U.S., avoid highly sensitive or scenic areas, and some propose to take advantage of “brownfield” locations such as disused mines.[9]
Sherry Hutchison would have been 99 years old on January 13th in 2018. She died peacefully December 31st, 2017, in Des Moines, Iowa. Sherry was a member of Des Moines Valley Friends (Quaker) Meeting, which belongs to Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative).
Sherry embodied Quaker values, in particular living according to her beliefs and what God lead her to do, regardless of the consequences. Following is a minute approved by the yearly meeting in 2017.
The death of Don Laughlin, and absence of Sherry Hutchison, are keenly felt at these annual sessions of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative). We have appreciated their life long examples of spiritual integrity and tireless work for peace, social justice and care for our environment and for all those who have been fortunate to have worked with them.
Minute approved by Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) 2017
As the minute indicates, there are Quakers whose lives are an exceptional inspiration to us, and that was certainly true of Sherry. As one example, in 2002 she was arrested for an act of civil disobedience during an anti-war demonstration at the National Guard base in Des Moines. This is a link to the story she wrote about that experience, that she titled Diary of a Jailbird.
Sherry Hutchison–Quaker peace activist
This weekend the annual Midyear Meeting of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) Friends was held at Bear Creek Friends Meeting, in the countryside 3 miles north of Earlham, Iowa.
Bear Creek Friends Meeting (Quakers) just north of Earlham, Iowa
This morning Ann Robinson, member of Des Moines Valley Friends (Sherry’s meeting) and I talked with the young people, including some Scattergood Friends School and Farm students, about peace, conscientious objection and draft resistance. Interestingly, Claire told us one of the assignments they did in the public high school she attended was to write their own letters about conscientious objection. Ann’s idea was to show the kids photos of peace signs, and then they would draw their own. Some of the photos of peace signs we used included:
One way Sherry continues to teach about peace was by giving us a container full of buttons she collected over her years of peace and justice activism. We showed these buttons to the kids and told them about some of the causes and organizations they represented.
So, here are some of the peace and justice signs the kids created. Sherry’s spirit was felt among us this morning.
A comment made about yesterday’s post, “Just know it will be alright” made me think that phrase might be interpreted as something along the lines of giving up and just hoping the answer to a problem you are dealing with might appear out of nowhere.
What I intended was “just know it will be alright” in the sense of practicing hope:
“Hope isn’t just looking at the positive things in this world, or expecting the best. That’s a fragile kind of cheerfulness, something that breaks under the weight of a normal human life. To practice hope is to face hard truths, harder truths than you can face without the practice of hope. You can’t navigate dark places without a light, and hope is that light for humanity’s dark places. Hope lets you study environmental destruction, war, genocide, exploitative relations between peoples. It lets you look into the darkest parts of human history, and even the callous entropy of a universe hell bent on heat death no matter what we do. When you are disciplined in hope, you can face these things because you have learned to put them in context, you have learned to swallow joy and grief together, and wait for peace.”
To complicate this further, people of faith do wait for answers from the Spirit. But they actively, intentionally listen for the Spirit’s message, and thus do believe it will be alright when they hear and follow that message.
Today’s passage from A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume Two, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler follows:
Real power is often just knowing when to keep our mouths shut. We have so much we want to say and so many to say it to that it is almost impossible to stay silent.
But silence teaches in a way that nothing else can. The mind makes deep adjustments in the quiet times. True laughter bubbles up from humor too precious for words–and brings with it a joy that dissolves disappointment.
Real, mind-changing power is of the spirit an can clear a path a mile wide through pain. The human spirit fights valiantly, and when it is blended with this power, it comes out like a tiger.
Even though it’s been eight years since the death of my life long best friend, Randy Porter, there are still times when I feel his absence acutely. We played the song Storm by Jason Wade of Lifehouse over and over in those days. And it’s the song I return to when the sorrow returns again and again. In the lyrics he says “I know everything will be alright”. I
STORM Jason Wade – Lifehouse
How long have I been in this storm? So overwhelmed by the ocean’s shapeless form Water’s getting harder to tread With these waves crashing over my head If I could just see you Everything would be all right If I’d see you This darkness would turn to light And I will walk on water And you will catch me if I fall And I will get lost into your eyes I know everything will be alright I know everything is alright I know you didn’t bring me out here to drown So why am I ten feet under and upside down? Barely surviving has become my purpose Because I’m so used to living underneath the surface If I could just see you Everything would be all right If I could see you This darkness would turn to light And I will walk on water And you will catch me if I fall And I will get lost into your eyes I know everything will be alright And I will walk on water And you will catch me if I fall And I will get lost into your eyes I know everything will be all right I know everything is all right Everything’s all right Yeah Everything’s all right
So I immediately recognized a similar phrase Nahko Bear said during the Water Protectors Youth Concert, which was held at Standing Rock just three days after the youth and adults were attacked by security dogs as they were returning from prayers.
When you’re feeling bad, when you’re feeling frustrated, put all your prayer into your palms, put them to the ground, put them back to the sky, honor the Father, the Mother, just know it will be alright.
This weekend we are gathering at Bear Creek (Quaker) meetinghouse for the Midyear Meeting of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative). We meet to learn how our friends are doing, and to share our spiritual journeys. It is an act of faith to believe “everything will be alright”, perhaps even more so in these troubled times.
We knew there would be escalating attacks on those of us who continue to resist the construction of pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure. A growing number of states are passing legislation against “riot boosters”.
Bills to clamp down on pipeline protests have spread to at least nine new states this year, part of an industry-backed push that began two years ago to heighten penalties for activists who try to block fossil fuel infrastructure projects. Several of the bills also allow prosecutors to go after people or organizations as “conspirators” or “riot boosters” for merely supporting or coordinating with others who violate the law.
In the video below Dallas Goldtooth tells the story of the prophecy of the Black Snake.
The black snake as I see it, it’s a concept, it’s a narrative, it’s a story we tell of the snake that is destructive. It’s a concept, it’s a narrative, it’s a story we tell of the snake that is destructive. It’s purpose, it’s instruction, was to bring sickness and destruction to the communities. To cast a shadow upon our heart and our spirit of negativity, of dysfunction, and unhealthiness.
And the pipeline that we see with Dakota Access, just like the proposed Keystone XL, is a manifestation of that black snake that is hell bent on sowing destruction and disease through our lands. But also doing so at its origin and all the way down to the point of refinement. To the communities that have to deal with it on the other end.
The black snake is the manifestation of the sickness of society. The black snake is the manifestation of the sickness of capitalism. And of the system that is hell bent on the destruction of those that are dependent on the land, that have a spiritual relationship to the spirit of Mother Earth.
And so when we talk about rising up against the black snake, it’s rising up against that sickness of capitalism. The sickness of that actual physical pipeline and igniting the fires and utilizing the spiritual essence of water to fuel our movement.
Dallas Goldtooth, Mdewakaton Dakota/Dine
Following is a full length documentary telling the story of the resistance to the Dakota Access pipeline from April 2016 to March 2017.
Black Snake Killaz: A #NoDAPL Story [2017] Full Documentary
President Trump has signed another executive order approving the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Promise to Protect is an organization training activists how to engage in nonviolent direct actions at the Keystone construction sites. This is similar to the Keystone Pledge of Resistance I was involved with, that also trained activists to nonviolently resist the Keystone XL pipeline, beginning in 2013.
The following video of Nahko Bear singing his song, “Love Letters to God” reminds us of the struggles that occurred at Standing Rock.
Nahko Bear, Love Letters to God
My hope is the Sunrise Movement and the Green New Deal will kill the black snake.
Quakers, social justice and revolution 