Thank You, Standing Rock

Water Protectors hold the line at Standing Rock. Photo by Rob Wilson Photography.

The uprising unfolding at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation has been front and center of my prayers and gratitude.  Not only because of the resolute courage to protect water, land, and life but because the centuries long struggle for Native survival is more than gaining traction in our collective western consciousness.  The time is now. 

November is often the month we give thanks, turn inward for contemplation, reflect on all that life has provided.  This month I invite you to open your hearts and minds to the multiple dimensions of the work being done at Standing Rock to oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline. 

I invite you to give thanks through your prayers and your actions. Research what is at stake.  A pipeline in Alabama just burst, killing one and injuring four.  And countless other pipelines have spilled or burst in this country, polluting our communities, lands, and waters.  As Kandi Mossett of Indigenous Environmental Network stated, "There are alternatives to oil. There are no alternatives to water."

There are many ways to give your thanks (here are just a few):

• If you are able, self-reliant, and able to act from a place of service, GO to Standing Rock and with humility and respect, share what you are able.
  
• Educate your family and friends of what is going on. Share on social media outlets.
  
• Hold ceremony and pray for the water protectors, the oil company, the governor, the police, the horses, the land, the waters.  Pray, in whatever way that means to you, that we may find a path forward that looks radically more harmonious than present.
• Sign the petition to permanently stop the pipeline
• Call the governor of ND and ask him to stop the assault on the Water Protectors
• Call Energy Transfer and tell them to stop the pipeline
• Donate DIRECTLY to the cause (there are many non-affiliates out there, do your homework)
• Contribute to the legal defense fund
• Take action in solidarity on November 15th with the #NoDAPL movement
  
• Learn about, and take action to protect your local watershed
  

#NoDAPL #Waterislife #StandwithStandingRock

Photo by Rob Wilson Photography