To summarize the situation in North Dakota, the Dakota Access Pipeline, Standing Rock, and the Sacred Stone protest camp in one word — fucked. Absolutely fucked and in several different ways. A quick Google search brings up a slew of information on both sides of the ever-evolving conflict.
On one hand, proponents of the Dakota Access, LLC-owned underground oil pipeline, which include affiliates Energy Transfer Partners LP, Phillips 66, Sunoco, and Texas billionaire Kelcy Warren as well as the pipeline’s four states (Illinois, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota) claim the pipeline will offer a cheaper and more efficient method of transporting petroleum southbound from Bakken, ND. An alternative to the current “road and rail” method. They also claim that the pipeline will help the US retain energy independence from foreign nations.
On the other, the Native American Sioux tribe of North Dakota and the Meskwaki tribe of Iowa have voiced their fears that the pipeline will bring terrible consequences (much like those observed in Flint, Michigan and the Colonial Pipeline Leak) to their sacred grounds, which include burial sites and the Sioux’s primary source of clean water, the Cannonball and Missouri Rivers. Despite alleged permits and permissions, the pipeline and any construction thereof directly betrays the Native American and United States’ 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which states that specific land will remain in ownership of several Native American nations and will not be claimed by the Federal Government.
As of now, the $3.7 billion pipeline is the least of these nations’ worries. Rather, the violence, use of excessive force by US forces and DAPL-affiliated security companies, and the clear and belligerently unconstitutional insurgence of the First Amendment against the peaceful protesters, Water Protectors, and reporters of Standing Rock have resulted in more than enough suffering and put at risk the reputation of the US and its government. It seems as though money has proven supreme over the welfare and safety of a people to whom this nation has already subjected enough grief and misfortune throughout the years.
Image Source: The Huffington Post
Thousands have voiced their outcry of the situation, including many celebrities including Shailene Woodley, Susan Sarandon, Danny Glover, other neighboring tribes, and our own community’s Mr. Carmack and Djemba Djemba.
To support the Protectors and protestors of Standing Rock and Sacred Stone, Carmack and Djemba decided, on Thanksgiving day, to release a joint album titled Rekindling for which 100% of the profits will go directly to the people and tribal leaders of the North Dakota protests to provide shelter and warmth in the coming winter months. When we say “directly,” we mean directly; the artists’ business manager is in contact with a relative of the tribe, sending the proceeds of the Bandcamp funds to Sacred Stone on a daily basis. They even have a friend driving out to the camp to deliver cash-in-hand directly to the tribal leaders.
Furthermore, Carmack and Djemba haven’t sent the album to anybody for free, “not even his mother,” manager Mike Power says. For $7, you get a download of the nine-track album, which features soundbites from protesters and tribal leaders. For $25 or $28, you get the album plus Carmack merch. If you feel inclined to send more, the price is accessible as pay-what-you-want. RL Grime has donated a sizeable amount and the funds currently sit at a growing $10,000 (at the time of this article’s publishing).
The guys offered a few words on the message and meaning behind the Rekindling project:
happy thanksgiving. this album is a thank you, and a stern reminder to take this holiday season to revisit and rekindle the flame in you. to take more of an active part in the world and not lie dormant. you work to survive. but, what in your heart is your end goal?
with whom or what lies your passion to expand your soul, to keep your heart pumping and allow you to express and to be yourself, fully?
by looking for ways to maximize the health, and longevity not just for yourself, but for this earth, you can use that path as your guide, and believe me you will find that passion in you. too long you’ve been silenced, placated, ameliorated, flat out lied to, medicated, pilled, reprocessed, taken advantage of, snuffed out, desensitized, overstimulated, and stuffed with preservatives, processed sugars and white pills, monotonous music, mindless alternate realities on cable tv, brainless celebrity idols and carnival games to keep you entertained, like a baby.
no. what does this world need? who controls the world? and who’s controlling them? who’s there to tell them they’re fucking it up for everyone and they shouldn’t do that? not only for the sake of the wellbeing of earth, but for us as well? it is up to us. the people.
so, with that, after work next monday, don’t just go home and take to your tv or computer and turn your brain off. a paycheck is not your end goal in life. join a library. take a class. teach a class somewhere. read something. take up a hobby. paint outside. learn to plant a tree. cut meat out your diet. read up about clean energy tech. engage yourself. look into local farms. or just read, post and repost positive constructive shit on your social media.
its really not up to anyone, or any god, anymore., to tell us everything will be ok. i am not a baby. it is truly up to us as the most powerful species in the known universe and the sheer power of the instantaneous internet to shepherd this world in a positive direction for all of us. otherwise, we die. in any denominational way you choose.
happy thanksgiving.
As we sit in celebration of the supposedly joyous occasion of Thanksgiving, hundreds of people in Standing Rock are subjected to water cannons, tear gas, concussion grenades, and rubber bullets and bean bag guns all in the increasingly freezing winter temperatures of North Dakota. There is much to be thankful for (not particularly in 2016, but that’s a different discussion for a different time), so as you sit with the luxury of reading this article in comfort, think of those fighting for what they believe in, which has already derailed into a life or death situation.
Donate what you can and keep those at Standing Rock and Sacred Stone in your thoughts. There are plenty of ways to support the efforts of the Sioux Tribe, but this one fuses the worlds of music and humanity in a truly benevolent way. If you’d like to read more about the protests and #NoDAPL, check the list below.
Dakota Access Pipeline Reading List:
1a. The Pipeline
1b. The People
1c. The Protests
2. ELI5: Dakota Access Pipeline (via Reddit)
3. 11 Things To Know About Native Resistance To #NoDAPL (via Buzzfeed)
4. Dakota Access Pipeline Protests- 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know (via Heavy)
5. #NoDAPL activists told to move or risk violent confrontation (via Fusion)
6. Debunking a Pro-DAPL Editorial (via Snopes)
Cover Photo Credit: Richard Bluecloud Castaneda / Greenpeace USA
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