Indian Giver.

Neil Young’s song about what’s happening at Standing Rock! Thank you, Neil.

Young has campaigned against big oil for years, and he drives a car that runs on plant-based ethanol. Along with Willie Nelson and Lakota hip-hop artist Frank Waln, he performed at a concert to rally supporters opposing the XL Keystone Pipeline. Earlier in 2016 he provided the background music for the American Indian College Fund’s new advertising campaign.

When the Apache Stronghold movement traveled throughout the United States to oppose the degradation of sacred Oak Flat by the Resolution Copper Mine, Young welcomed the Apache to drum at one of his concerts in New Jersey before they rallied in Washington D.C. The iconic performer has also been actively engaged in First Nations’ battles. He donated the proceeds of select concerts on his Honor the Treaties Tour to the legal fund for the Athabasca Chipewyan’s struggle to halt the expansion of the Alberta Tar Sands.

Vincent Schilling’s full article is here. And please, heed Neil, and share the news!

Hands Up, Shot to Death.

Dash cam video shows Terence Crutcher with hands above his head (screen grab)

It is with queasy despair followed by anger that I see yet another person dead, murdered by cops.

Dash cam video released by the Tulsa Police Department on Monday showed 40-year-old Terence Crutcher with his hands above his head moments before he was shot and killed by one of the officers at the scene.

At a press conference on Monday, Chief Chuck Jordan explained that the video was “very disturbing — very difficult to watch.”

The video shows multiple police cruisers approach Crutcher’s vehicle, which appears to be broken down in the middle of the road. Crutcher is seen with his hands in the air. Both hands appear to be empty.

Pastor Rodney Goss of Morning Star Baptist Church, who was able to view the dash cam video as well as video from other department vehicles, said that all views showed Crutcher’s hands in the air.

Goss also denied claims made by a police spokesperson that suggested Crutcher was shot because he refused to obey commands.

“It was not apparent at any angle from any point that he lunged, came toward, aggressively attacked, or made any sudden movements that would have been considered a threat or life-threatening toward the officer,” Goss told Tulsa World.

The article at Tulsa World is full of assurances that justice will be done, and the cop who murdered Mr. Crutcher, Betty Shelby, has been placed on administrative leave. I have to question those assurances of justice, because we’ve all heard that one before, over way too many corpses. There’s also much murmuring about “can’t talk about it yet” “might be criminal charges, we need to investigate” and “we don’t know how long an investigation will last”.

We have to stop asking what the dead person may or may not have done. This is akin to justifying rape as something caused by the victim. We need to be asking, in our shoutiest voices, why cops are murdering, and why they are allowed to get away with it. I don’t much care what any ‘suspect’ does, it’s going to be a very rare case indeed which actually calls for being gunned to death. There are plenty of examples of cops handling highly dangerous people, and everyone gets through it alive. We need to asking why, if cops are so darned scared, why are they being allowed to wander about with weapons, and interacting with people? This has to stop, and if police, as they have so far shown, continue to be unwilling and unable to police their own, we will have to do it for them.

My heart and thoughts go out to Mr. Crutcher’s family and friends, who must be lost in shock and grief.

Via Tulsa World and Raw Story. There’s ground and air video at Tulsa World.

And then you have things like this, a cop viciously assaulting a person on the ground, and who was left to carry on as a cop until late August (the assault took place in April this year) because

“It all had been documented,” Lawson said. “It just did not move as quickly as it should have.”

Via Raw Story.

Marc Jacobs Apologizes. Sorta.

FILE – In this Sept. 15, 2016, file photo, the Marc Jacobs Spring 2017 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York. Jacobs was criticized for showcasing white models in dreadlocks during the show. A screengrab showed Jacobs later responding on Instagram that he doesn’t see color or race. In a separate post on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, Jacobs said he was sorry for “the lack of sensitivity” in responding to critics. (Mary Altaffer, File/Associated Press).

NEW YORK — Marc Jacobs has apologized for his response to criticism over showcasing his models in dreadlocks during the final day of New York Fashion Week.

The white designer was criticized on social media after his mostly white lineup of models was outfitted with rainbow dreadlocks for his Thursday show. Some accused Jacobs of appropriating black culture.

A screengrab shows Jacobs responding to his critics on Instagram by saying it was “funny” that they don’t “criticize women of color for straightening their hair.” Jacobs also wrote that he doesn’t see color or race and that he was “sorry to read that so many people are narrow minded.”

Jacobs apologized Sunday on Instagram for what he called “the lack of sensitivity unintentionally expressed by my brevity.”

“Unintentionally expressed by my brevity”? Really? There wasn’t much brevity to Mr. Jacobs’s initial bristly response, which was very defensive and disrespectful. Oh, he’s another one of those magical white people who don’t see colour or race. Thanks for another stroke of the eraser, Marc. In a world which is seeing its 21st century, women of colour around the world are still being horribly punished for daring to sport natural hair. So, here we get another white male idiot, who thinks they are far above such nonsense, floating about on lofty ideals. No. I can say exactly what was going on – Marc Jacobs liked the look of dreadlocks, thought they suited his clothing designs, and didn’t think even once about doing what he wanted. If Mr. Jacobs knows any people of colour, he certainly didn’t ask them their opinion about freely appropriating a cultural style. Apparently, there’s not going to be any actual apology, either. I fully expect that sometime in the future, Mr. Jacobs will do something equally boneheaded.

While we were still in the camp, I noticed, among a new influx of people, a number of young, obviously privileged, blonde white people, sporting dreadlocks. After I made sure I wasn’t going to choke on my coffee, I spent time being stunned over this arrogant display of privilege. There’s no blindness quite like privilege blindness. Please, white people, check your privilege. Stop appropriating bits of other peoples’ cultures, and if you’re going to pretend to care about the problems that indigenous people face, it might be a really great idea to not wander in advertising your arrogant appropriation on your head.

Via The Washington Post.

McCrory: Nthing Down.

Credit: Youtube.

You really can’t say that McCrory is doubling down at this point. It’s gone far beyond that. He hangs onto HB 2 like it was a life preserver and he a drowning man. I don’t know why he clings so very hard to this hateful bigotry, especially in the face of so much opposition, not only from people all over the States, but from his own constituency. The majority of people in NC are not invested in this legalization of hate and fear; they don’t want this enacted. [See the full article for stats.] Surely, it must have occurred to McCrory that he could salvage at least a part of his reputation if he stepped back and killed HB 2. People might not like him, but he would at least get grudging respect for doing the right thing, for once. Unfortunately, McCrory is still McCrory, and he’s busy spreading his hate, fear, and bigotry as far as he can. Beware, there’s a major irony hazard coming up:

A new campaign ad from North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory released Wednesday defends his anti-trans bathroom bill on the basis of “privacy and safety.”

The 30-second spot is intended to answer criticisms of House Bill 2, the controversial legislation that effectively forces trans people to use public restrooms (in government buildings) that do not correspond with their gender identity; it also invalidated all municipal protections for LGBT people, and makes it impossible to pass future pro-LGBT housing and employment laws. In the ad, McCrory stands by the embattled bill, which was introduced, debated, and signed into law in a single day.

“You know, when we were raising average teacher pay, creating new jobs, and cutting taxes, other folks were actually pushing to make our schools allow boys to use the girls’ locker rooms and showers,” McCrory claims. “Are we really talking about this? Does the desire to be politically correct outweigh our children’s privacy and safety? Not on my watch. Our kids and teachers are my priority.

“This is North Carolina,” he concludes. “Let’s do what’s right.”

Wouldn’t that be something, seeing McCrory doing something right? As for his “watch”, from what I understand, there’s hardly a thing McCrory has touched that hasn’t been a major fuck up. By this time, McCrory knows about trans* peoples, and how they work, so he has zero excuses for this “oh no, boys in the girl’s locker room!” nonsense. This has been ceaselessly debunked, and yet he carries on. He is an excellent example of someone who holds up hate and bigotry as virtues, I’ll give him that much. Content Note: contains lies, bigotry, and hate.

Full Story at The Advocate.

Sunday Facepalm.

When, oh when is this utter bullshit going to die? No, no, no, no, there’s no such thing as ex-gay. You are what you are, and while people everywhere have their own ways of dealing with who they are, this ex-gay business is not only toxic, it causes a great deal of harm, and way too many deaths lay at the door of this religiously fueled poison. This is yet another vehicle for hatred, fear, and bigotry. Instilling a sense of worthlessness in people is not a good. Telling people that they cannot live at all unless they are in the confines of a religiously defined prison is not a good. Telling people they deserve hatred, bigotry, and bullying is not a good. These so-called therapies are torture, a torture which often leads to suicide. Very young people are often the target of such programs. As with most of these programs, this one teaches that all queerness comes from a traumatic event in a person’s life, promoting the lie that gay people are predators.

Groups are still pushing “conversion” or “ex-gay” therapy — which attempts to turn LGBT people straight or cisgender — and pouring money into promoting the dangerous practice.

The latest billboard appeared this week in Waco, Tex., according to the Houston Chronicle. “Ex-Gays prove change is possible,” the billboard reads, with a beaming man’s face appearing next to the words.

Numerous mental health groups have condemned “conversion therapy,” including the American Psychological Association, and warned it can contribute to depression, anxiety, drug abuse, homelessness, and suicidal ideation. California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, and Vermont have all made it illegal for minors to be exposed to the fradulent practice.

The Waco billboard was not greeted warmly by everyone in the conservative central Texas city. Charley Garrison, a minister of the LGBT-affirming Central Texas Metropolitan Community Church, vowed to hold a Pride event at the site of the sign. Others have countered “ex-gay” billboards by erecting affirming signs challenging the message of “ex-gay” supporters.

If you’re in the area where this is happening, try and join up for any Pride event held, let people know this is a horror happening in too many lives, preaching the worthlessness of queer lives. This needs to be countered at every level, and queer folk, especially the youth, need to know they are okay, they are whole, they are fine being who they are, and that they are not some broken thing which needs to be fixed.

Full story here.

Indicting Cops: Racism is alive and well.

Ohio, which has a very bad record when it comes to violent cops is once again in the spotlight. One Cleveland officer has been indicted for negligent homicide, and two former officers have been indicted for kidnapping and assault (East Cleveland). What’s different in these cases is that all three officers are black men. Because of that, I expect there will be convictions in these cases. This comes after a very long string of white cops being kinda sorta indicted, then allowed to walk. That was certainly what happened in the case of Tamir Rice. So far, there’s been precious little justice to be had in all the cases of white cops viciously beating and murdering non-white people. People come oozing out of the woodwork to defend one white cop after another. It will be interesting to see if that holds true in the case of non-white cops.

In Columbus, Ohio, cops shot an innocent 13 year old to death, and they are busy blaming another black youth for that murder. If the cops who gunned Tyre King down are white, I expect nothing will happen. Okay, back to Cleveland.

In the Cleveland case, officer Alan Buford, who is black, was indicted for misdemeanor negligent homicide in the 2015 death of unarmed-breaking and entering suspect Brandon Jones, 18, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said in a statement Friday.

“It is not reasonable for a police officer to use deadly force if he or she does not believe a suspect poses a threat of death or serious bodily harm to the police or the public,” McGinty said.

Interesting how using deadly force against a suspect who does not pose a threat of death or serious bodily harm is all manner of reasonable when the cop in question is white.

In the East Cleveland case, two former officers, Denayne R. Davidson-Dixon and Gerald A. Spencer II, were indicted on three counts of kidnapping, two counts of dereliction of duty and one count each of felonious assault, conspiracy, obstructing official business and interfering with civil rights for the July 2016 beating of Jesse R. Nickerson, a prisoner in their custody.

The two officers are black, as is Nickerson.

According to prosecutors the officers arrested Nickerson and after arguing with him drove to a park near the police station, pulled him from the squad car and assaulted him.

Davidson-Dixon and Spencer were fired shortly after the incident.

Oh look, some cops were actually fired! Ah, but they are black. White cops, no matter how vicious, bigoted, and violent they are, seem to manage to hang onto their jobs without much problem. Oh yes, I know two or three are fired now and then, but most aren’t. They are allowed to keep their job, so they can murder again. So as non-white people continue to die at the hands of cops, it’s been confirmed that the only way there might be justice is if the bad cops happened to be people of colour too.

Via Raw Story.

Breaking: Dakota Access Lake Oahe Work Stopped.

A U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. has ordered the company building the Dakota Access oil pipeline to stop construction for 20 miles on both sides of the Missouri River at Lake Oahe while the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s appeal of its denied motion to do so is considered.

“ORDERED that Dakota Access LLC be enjoined pending further order of the court from construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline for 20 miles on both sides of the Missouri River at Lake Oahe,” a three-judge panel wrote in its decision, handed down late on Friday September 16. “The purpose of this administrative injunction is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the emergency motion for injunction pending appeal and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion.”

This solidifies a request by the federal government on September 9 for Energy Transfer Partners to cease construction along the same swathe, which the Standing Rock Sioux say contains sacred artifacts and ancient burial grounds.

Standing Rock Sioux Chairman David Archambault II expressed relief at the decision.

“This is a temporary administrative injunction and is meant to maintain status quo while the court decides what to do with the Tribe’s motion,” he said in a statement. “The Tribe appreciates this brief reprieve from pipeline construction and will continue to oppose this project, which will severly jeopardize its water and cultural resources. We will not rest until our lands, people, waters, and sacred sites are permanently protected from this destructive pipeline.”

Attorneys for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe—which has signed on as an intervenor in the case—faced off with Dakota Access LLC attorneys on September 15 in federal district court in Washington before the three-judge panel that will also hear the appeal: Janice Rogers Brown, Thomas B. Griffith and Cornelia T.L. Pillard. They voted 2–1 to stop the company from working, according to the order, with Brown casting the dissenting vote.

Also on Friday, a Bismarck judge dissolved the temporary restraining order on protesting that had been levied against Archambault, Tribal Council Member Dana Yellow Fat, and several other tribal members.

Full story here.

John Trudell: WE ARE POWER.

The words of John Trudell, who walked on late last year, ring out in this video by filmmakers Heather Rae, Cody Lucich and Ben Dupris, who recently spent time with the water protectors near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation who are trying to stop the Dakota Access oil pipeline’s proposed route under the Missouri River. His words, delivered in the 1980 speech We Are Power, are even more prophetic in the wake of the destruction of sacred burial grounds and the use of dogs and pepper spray against those who tried to stop it.

Full story at ICTMN.

The Walk, Part II.

Sorry this has taken so long, being concussed has left me spacey and sleepy. Okay, where to start…we were walking back, and stopped at another site, one where a dirt trail led up the hills to where DA equipment was sitting. Once again, it was time to still camera and video. The Chief spoke, and explained that the women elders were going to open the gate, and the warriors (on horseback), were going to run up to the equipment and make sure no one was still chained to them, so they wouldn’t be arrested when DA came to remove their equipment. The warriors got back, and all was well. There was prayer, and then everyone chose their particular place to scatter the tobacco they carried. Afterwards, everyone settled in on the surrounding land. There was an open time for anyone to speak, if they wished to do so, and many did. A young woman from Ecuador spoke eloquently, and often with a quaver of great emotion (3rd photo). She spoke of struggles of indigenous peoples in her home, and while they weren’t yet as bad as what is happening elsewhere, they are heading that way. She spoke of how deeply she was touched by what was happening at Standing Rock, and how important it was, that she felt compelled to travel here. We heard more about the U.S. declaration of bankruptcy in 1933. Representatives of tribes from all over spoke, talking of conditions in their particular areas and the fights they faced, how their water was being stolen* and the loss of their long time sustenance foods, such as salmon, due to dams. They spoke of generational language loss due to colonialism, and the struggle to make their languages flourish once again.

*Water is being stolen at a high rate from California tribes, rivers are being dammed and diverted to support large cities.

A young woman introduced herself and sang a prayer. Then a man who lives on indigenous land in Australia spoke (9th photo). I never once saw him out of that gear, he was one of the more memorable people in the camp. One of the most photographed, too. He spoke poignantly of the fight Indigenous Australians faced, and that he wanted to raise awareness everywhere, because much like water, these pipelines are also connected, and endangering water and life everywhere. Where water is life, the oil is death, and we need to break our dependence before it’s too late.

A young Na:tinixwe man (Hupa) spoke with overwhelming emotion of the stolen water and traditional sustenances of his people. He spoke of a time after their river (Klamath) had been dammed, young children dragged hoses from their houses to the river, trying to fill it up again. There is not a child anywhere on this earth that should feel such sadness and loss. He too spoke of language loss. He also spoke out to all the men, telling them that if they had adopted European ways of relationships, to abandon them, to be true to their own tradition, which values women and in which, it’s women who have the most important voices, as they are the dreamers, the weavers, the givers of life, the planners, the teachers, so it’s the women who must be listened to, always. As he spoke, tears often ran down his face. As an aside to his message, when we were at the first site, one of the elders who spoke was an Anishinaabeg woman. She started to speak, then mentioned how she wasn’t liked by her council because she talked too much, and the crowd of people broke out in loud, raucous cheers. In Indigenous cultures, there’s a great love of women who talk too much, who won’t be silenced, because their contributions are always needed, even if someone doesn’t want to hear what they have to say.

An elder from a newly arrived delegation from Maine spoke (11th photo), and he spoke a bit about dirt. He reached down, and scooped up a handful of dirt. He said it was a shame that in English there’s just the word dirt, which is used in negative ways, to express disgust. He let the dirt sprinkle softly down, then reached and scooped up some more, as he explained that they taught their children that when you pick up a handful of dirt, you are holding a handful of the molecules of your ancestors. That the earth, the dirt is rich in history, and it nourishes all life. It’s yet another reminder to be mindful. To be aware. To have respect. The folks from Maine also brought a truckload of moose meat.

The Tonoho O’odham elder spoke again, about the loss of much of their way of life when they lost the Gila River. He spoke of Roosevelt’s “offer” to move them to Oklahoma (translation: you walk there), and how the people refused, wanting to stay on their own land, and how so many of them died. He spoke of Sihasin, saguaro, who are guardians. He spoke about the insanity of imposed borders where he lives, and the rabid people trying to keep people out. He spoke of a time when there were no artificial borders, and of how often he crosses this border himself, to get water or medicine. He said he is always stopped, but he speaks to people in his language, which they do not understand, and they always let him go. Other people had also spoken of the imposed borders, in the attempt to keep primarily Mexicans out, and pleaded with all tribes to offer people sanctuary, as these borders are not ours.

Eventually, it was time to go back home. We enjoyed the walk, taking in all the land, stopping for a slight rest, then finally making it back into camp, where not much later, I was brained by the tent frame. :D Perhaps I should have stayed on the road longer.

Indigenous people are everywhere in the world. If you are near indigenous people, be aware of their struggles, and ask if you can help. Ask more people to be awake and help. Join those people, be aware that their struggles are also yours. Join in with all the facebook NDNs (and twitter, blogs, and other social media), and spread the word – can’t stop the signal!

The Walk, Part 1.

Yesterday, after sleeping quite late, I had enough time to wander into the communal area, snag some coffee, and cozy up to the council fire. Everyone started moving to the main camp road, and Rick was off, giving another walking stick, so I went walking too. People were walking (and some driving) the 20 miles to the site of the desecration. When Rick tried to find me and didn’t, he thought “crazy woman of mine, she’s probably walking, and ran a long way to catch up. Crazy man of mine. Lots and lots of photos here, and this is the walk to, not the full walk. (Click da images for full size.) In the 2nd photo, over to the left, you can see Joan Baez still hanging, and she went on the walk. In the 7th photo, the elder in the gray T-shirt leading is the elder of the Tonoho O’odham runners, who ran 1500 miles to join us.

I want to take some time to address someone who was being very idiotic, ignorant, and disrespectful in a thread over at Pharyngula. This person wanted to know if there were photos of the sacred sites before they were bulldozed, because there wasn’t any evidence they were actually there, and this was probably just a story people made up. All the land in these photos alone, and much more, is history. These are history books, so to speak. I have given photos, so to that person, I say, can you read the history that is there? Just because you cannot read that history does not mean it doesn’t exist. All history is not contained inside the texts that colonialists wrote. Little history is there at all. This is a land where many, many massacres took place. Hundreds upon hundreds of dead. There were no formal, white-type cemeteries set up and built, that is not the way Indigenous people did things. No temples, no cathedrals. That is not the way of this land, of these people. Back then, with massacres happening so often, many ancestors were barely buried, maybe three feet down. Not all of these sites are specifically known, but many are, because of the history carried forward through generations. To that person in the thread, I would ask what did you think you would see? Because nothing they saw would constitute proof in their mind, because they carry no learning, and no understanding. To understand, you need to break yourself out of that colonial box that has commandeered minds all over the land, all over this earth. It’s a greedy, uncaring, disrespectful way of thinking and living, and it is time for all people to break the chains of colonialism. Teach your children the necessity of respect, for all life, for our earth, rather than colonial thinking. This can end, if people care enough.

Someone else in that thread spoke of disliking seeing people in traditional dress, because it made them look like stereotypical Indians. If that sort of idiocy pops up in your head, please, shut up. Ask yourself, do I know an Indian? Do I know anything about their way of life, their culture, their language, or traditions? If you don’t, please, don’t spill ignorance. Ask, learn. We are people who live in this world, who also have thousands of years of culture and tradition with them. In that, we are no different from any other people, except perhaps, in our refusal to lose our traditions.

When we reached the site of the desecration, it was time again to shut down all recorders and cameras. The actual site which was bulldozed is not pictured, it’s up on a hill past the tipis in the last photo. After the Chief spoke, many elders spoke. One of the elders was speaking, and turned about and asked “is there a baby here, a young one? Bring them up” Several people got up and took their very young children to the center of the circle. The elder held one baby girl, and said to everyone there “remember this – today, you are standing in this girl’s past. She will remember this, and she will tell the story of this day, this time, all you standing here. She will tell this story, and her children, and grandchildren will tell this story. We stand in the children’s past, and we must stand strong and right, we are the history of their future.”

I think this is extremely important. It does not matter if you have children, I don’t, but every single one of us, we are all standing in the children’s past. All over the world. We must stand up, we must rise for what is right. We must make our voices strong, we must make a history that is strong and right for all the children to build on, to provide them with a strong and true foundation. This provides the continuing foundation for the next seven generations, and the seven to come after that. All of us adults, we are living history at this moment, and our actions, our words, they will continue on, echoing far into the future. Never think, “oh, there is nothing I can do.” Yes, there is much you can do, right where you are, no matter in the world. Be strong. Stand. Add your voice. Refuse to stay in a colonialist box. Raise your children and grandchildren with a mind to the past and the future, be a bridge. Start a garden, even better, start a community garden. Pull people in, remind them, we are meant to be a community, we are not meant to be isolated and alone. When we are good, we are great, but it must be remembered that that goodness starts with community, with care. Caring for our neighbours, caring for our elders, caring for our young people. Care for the earth, the air, the water, where ever you live. Be a protector, refuse to passively accept the lies, disregard, and disrespect of corporations who do nothing but destroy. We have this strength. We have this power. We have this voice.

There were ceremonies, but I’m not going to speak about them in any detail. The ancestors were honoured. Then we started the walk back to the second site, where there would be more ceremonies, and that will be part 2, tomorrow. I’m a bit shaky today, and back home, because there was a whirlwind in camp yesterday, and I had a tent pole frame slam into my thoracic vertebra at around 40 miles an hour. So, more tomorrow, and I’ll probably think of everything I forgot and meant to write today, yeah? I’m sure I will. :D Oh, for anyone sending supplies out – please, no more plastic utensils or styrofoam cups. Right now, the plastic utensils are being washed, because around a hundred thousand of them are being going through in a week, and while many have been sent off for recycling, we don’t want to be part of the problem in using these things. The major need right now is for wood, and I know that’s something which can’t be sent through the mail. So money is probably best, if you can part with a dollar or two, or blankets and quilts for winter. Thoughts are now on planning for the winter, which is descending quickly. We’ll be taking wood out over the next couple of weeks. For those of you who have things to send, this is where:

SHIP TO:

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
attn: Johnelle Leingang
North Standing Rock Ave
Fort Yates, North Dakota, 58538

[Read more…]

More Monday.

So much happened yesterday, so this will be a bit rambling all over. The man in the first photo, Garbanzo, came with a truckload of fresh vegetables from Minnesota, and regaled everyone with Oh Susanna on his fiddle, which put a smile on everyone’s face. Delegations kept coming in, from California and Canada, including Akwesasne (Mohawk), who have started AIM in Canada. Midnight Express, championship singers, were set up by the council fire, they were here to sing the runners in. Emmet, the 84 soon to be 85 year old runner, couldn’t stay down when they sang, he was up dancing every song. There were two women poets, very powerful, and a young woman who sang a beautiful song. I wish I had heard her name, but I missed it, but I did hear that a video she did on youtube had a million views. More people from Alberta, Canada came. One woman spoke, and her voice was a river of tears for what is happening in her homeland. A young man, a trader, came and spoke about the native traders who have been working very hard, and caused Energy Transfer and Dakota Access to lose over one billion dollars from their stock. Suicide Squad, Lunatic Fringe, and Bad Company traders in NY were largely responsible, and much thanks went out to them. Yesterday was Leonard Peltier’s birthday, and we all listened to an audio recording from him, 72 years old, and still in prison. This was, as always, great sadness, but Midnight Express sang a Happy Birthday drum song, with everyone joining in, and dancing a round dance for him, and that recording and video will be given to Leonard.

Everyone was waiting for the runners, from the Tohono O’odham. Seven of them, who ran 1500 miles to join us here. They were wearing sacred paint, and requested no video and no photos. The last part of this journey, they were facing heavy winds, which slowed them down a bit. When word came they were running into camp, followed by their singers, people lined the road to cheer them in. The elder spoke, then their singers sang several songs. It was serious cold by that time, so after supper and a while hugging the council fire, we headed off for the night. Today, we walked the 20 miles to the graves which were desecrated, and the 20 miles back, so a bit tired here. More tomorrow.

Monday, Monday.

Finally got moved, back in Oglala camp, listened to various speakers and singers this morning, and while standing in line for lunch. Robby Romero sang again, and a Native Hawaiian with an electric ukulele, and Joan Baez. Oh, the one photo is of the sage, cedar, and cansasa (chahn shah shah, tobacco, inner bark of red willow), for prayers and offerings. Heading back to the council area.

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