I CONTINUE TO STAND WITH STANDING ROCK . THIS IS A MOVEMENT NOT A PROTEST !!

Standing Rock

I was among the 10,000 who felt the calling to join Standing Rock during Thanks...giv...g I mean to say "Forgiving Time". Many of us felt "the call" to go, messengers of a larger body, yearning to know .. What the Heck is going on.....? The night of the Water cannons etched in memory . The freezing temperatures, rubber bullets , concussion grenades, I couldn't stop sharing on my Facebook. This was real and I was a witness! It felt important ! Something incredible is happening, a turn for humanity towards a just cause. Peace and unity wildly present in the face of something dark embedded deep in the systems we "depend on" and the ethical breaches revealed .

I had been all riled up for months at the peaceful activism and protective stance the Water Protectors were taking , standing for the sake of humanity . I felt connected to the rise of the Lakota Nation and gathering of indigenous people from all around the globe.... I had been on the edge of my seat calling all the numbers holding my government officials accountable. What else could I do , do as a Single mother of 2, should I bring my kids up there ? ( I had suspicions they were experimenting with chemical warfare) I wanted to so bad just break free and go stand in solidarity-stand for change.

I arrived in ND and turned on to the county road that ends at the “Frontlines” . At the infamous bridge near the camp and what happened that made the world acutely aware of what is happening at Standing Rock. A place of numerous violations of human rights on american people by our own Government. As we passed the Casino I could see the lights luminous in the clouds hovering above the horizon.(lights surrounding the camp used as psychological warfare on the Water Protectors ). I felt my insides sink as I accessed the gravity of this place and why I am here...

Standing Rock struck me as “A blueprint of a sustainable future”.

Using as Much Solar and eco friendly practices in the camp such as compostable toilets and as much sustainable behaviors as is possible today. Schools for kids , horses pasture ,and large geodesic type domes, yurts and teepees set a historic -futuresque style of living against the backdrop of a setting sky .. The main camp is set up with a center drive lined with the flags of all the nations that are gathered at this place in solidarity, unity and peace. I stood by the sacred fire in the main camp of Oceti Sakowin and listened to the elders tell stories and the young people express their emotions and prayers. This place is alive with the undercurrent of of electricity, alive and flowing within a strong conduit and insulated by the love for the planet we live on. It felt like both a catalyst for change and a revitalization movement, a reclaiming-, a dynamic step into world we all want and are actively choosing.

Just putting my feet on the land there felt right . A healing that has surfaced from beneath hundreds of years of endured oppression, abuse ,and silencing. Abuse in the name of colonialism,consumerism and corporate greed. Many who came Standing Rock and were met with a humbling experience .The learning that the world's indigenous are not icons , or a team logos , they are not novelties of nostalgia -they are real living breathing neighbors and have been suffering at the effects of this way of life for too long.

This is all too clear at the camps, sleeping and waking daily to the low flying crop dusters, feeling and smelling the chemicals sprayed onto the camp, to the flood lights and barbed wire fences. Storm trooper like armored officers 24/7 armed and surrounding the camps and prayer circles, as if we don't have the right to say where our money is spent and how our home is treated. Wake up brothers and sisters this is happening to all of us and it's been blatantly happening to native peoples for centuries. This is Treaty land and that has been ignored but not anymore . The incredible part of this is that the Natives are still willing to remain protectors of the land. The Sacred songs and Drumming are rising the pulse of all nations rising remembering who we are at the core and to protect our precious resources . They stand together in the face of traumatic memories, some still recent, and still allow those of us lost to come to their fire , to pray , to learn in a good way. Everyone has come to learn, even those holding the sacred fire are learning. What does it mean to be human in this age of Knowing and how do we work together as caretakers of this Planet Earth... We are all Learning !

One woman from the north eastern tribes in the N.America , Grandma Carol, an 80 year old woman coughing from a cough she may never recover from, spoke to me. ( coughing due to ingesting large amounts of mace ) As she recalled her childhood trauma of Officials coming to take her and her brother from her family. She spoke of the "Black Boots" . Boots she saw on a “white woman” here in camp and that tripped her PTSD . Her story is one story of many stories of trauma releases happening at the camp. Grandma Carol was triggered into reliving the fear of removal from her family . She then spoke of her court date and that she faces multiple felonies for being arrested and maced at a prayer circle . She remains at camp to face those fears too. I can still feel the power of her words in response to my apologies for my ancestors and she firmly stated "this is why I am here! " She said “To heal that wound , to stand up for my life source, for yours! Drop the guilt you carry and stand with me " ...... !!!!

The history of our time has not seen a cultural gathering such as Standing Rock . Women of all voices together leading, blessing, praying, singing to the water. Fathers and grandfathers holding Inipi and council fires, sharing the stories and songs for the work of Building, healing , learning. Aunties are cooking, medics are providing care and watching over the camp and people who may never otherwise meet, let alone get along, are working together in the face of uncertainty, fear and violence. Even Officers are refusing to hold the frontline. A frontline that is a pivotal moment in time that measures of the power of our collective voice.

Standing rock is but a stone at the beginning of a ripple effect that will ask to us all to become self sustainable and responsible for how individually we show up so it's possible to truly support one another . To look at where our money goes and how we spend it. I am Blown away by those independent journalists and documentary warriors taking to the world and recording from a new perspective. So many taking it to the source , becoming informed and active.

I have never felt so patriotic as I did when our veteran armed forces stood together to humbly ask forgiveness for the atrocities committed to the indigenous peoples, to stand in protection of our nation and its people against corporate government ? We are tired of the wars, of the cultural wounding , we are tired of having the false image of freedom waved in our faces . The oil companies are continuing to choose the use of the militant force and essentially wage warfare to achieve their ends to the DAPL -despite the order of halt from our Chief Commander... Our president?

We are bearing witness to the truth that our governing bodies are powerless to do anything in the face of the greed. That wealth and power over others has shown itself indeed to be a sickness we call, “THE BLAKE SNAKE”, devouring the blood of the earth at the expense of her people .We will not benefit from the existence of the Black Snake, the oil tycoons and those in bed with them will. We will only continue to pollute our earth and bring further poverty and illness to those who are already suffering at the hands of industry. Research and analysis from many scientific fields prove that fossil fuel is on its way out. It's not good business nor is it good for the economy or our health. WILL WE CONTINUE TO ALLOW THE FEW TO PROFIT IN THE FACE OF POSSIBLE EXTINCTION OF US ALL ?

I Stand With Standing Rock! Thank you for this bringing down the veil and helping us see the wizards for what they are -HUMAN - subjected to the same fate of us all. There is no going back .

The Revolution is Love and it is Love of life that will prevail , this is a movement - Standing Rock is still going strong, 15,000 showed up before Obama's Order of Halt, 5000 or more remain to hold them to their word, water protectors are also creating movements along pipelines across the world.

-Tara Seren 12-28-16

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