Prayers for Sacred Stone
 In Adventures, Road Trip!
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San Diego to Taos trip

I have been traveling too much.

Over four thousand miles in six weeks, with another seven hundred or so to go before I stop for the winter. I am in Taos, New Mexico now, resting and trying to process all that I have experienced before I move on.

The most memorable two weeks were spent at the Sacred Stone camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, where hundreds of Native American tribes have come together to support the Standing Rock Lakota reservation as they try to stop what they call the “black snake” oil pipeline from going through their land and potentially contaminating their water source, the Missouri River.

I wish I had thought to take photos of the people I met so I could share them with you — Lisa and Donna, the main camp cooks who oversaw my pathetic attempts to help by washing dishes and peeling potatoes; Curly, Donna’s husband and the apparent camp leader; Calvert, who led the prayer circles; and many more whose names I can’t recall.

I grew to love them all in the short time I was there. Everywhere I went, people thanked me for coming. The atmosphere of peace and love was palpable.

I wanted to stay another month but a death in the family meant I had to leave. Now, as law enforcement is clamping down violently on the peaceful water protectors, I feel like a coward for leaving so soon. My heart hurts when I see what is happening there now.

Please hold them all in your thoughts.

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  • Roxy
    Reply

    I am sending positive thoughts and energy their way for sure! I’m deeply saddened by the way they are being treated, and truly grateful that there are so many brave souls willing to stand up for all of us in this manner. The water protectors have gathered together to create strength in numbers, and they come from many tribes and nationalities. It is proof that skin color doesn’t matter if we all come together with peaceful and loving hearts. These water protectors are not only standing for themselves, but for all Americans, regardless of their religious beliefs, skin color, nationality, or voter preferences. They are standing for Mother Nature, and for the future generations, and for this country. ~~** I Stand With Standing Rock **~~

  • Ron
    Reply

    Please understand that I’m asking this because I don’t understand this.

    I love nature. I love rivers. I love clean air. I love parks, from local to national. I understand that all those things cost money, my money through taxes and I willingly pay those costs.

    I also drive a car and I need gas. I have a home and I need natural gas. I need to cross rivers so I need bridges. I use a computer and turn on lights so I need electricity. These require pipelines and powerlines and river crossings. All of these things create risks but we live with those risks because most of us, almost all of us, need these things.

    It seems to me that if we don’t allow ANY, not this one, pipeline to cross (over or under) ANY, not this one, river, then we can’t have those things because there is ALWAYS a risk of a spill.

    It also seems that, no matter what construction is planned that is on or near a reservation, it ALWAYS will interfere with a sacred or sensitive site. Is there no pre-determined map of sacred/sensitive sites that can be consulted by anyone when doing planning? Why do these conflicts always occur once construction has started?

    I’m absolutely serious that I don’t understand and I want to understand. It seems to me that some of these conflicts are real and some are created by those opposed to all gas and oil development who get the support of Native American groups because they know that that will change the argument to “Native American rights” instead of “stop oil and gas development because it will increase pollution”.

    Please help me, and others, understand how you see it.

    Ron

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