So, since things at the Dakota Access Pipeline are heating up, I think it’s time to speak up about this topic yet again. However, before I do that, I must tell you some background about Native American peoples. Natives are very spiritual people. They use signs and symbols to communicate their ideas, dreams, and thoughts. Tribes have different symbols and words that they use, but they all have the same feeling towardsThe Creator and all the things she has given them; water being one of these things. Water is a sacred gift from The Creator. Now Dakota Access, LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Crude Oil Company, LLC is building this pipeline which I’m sure many people have heard about due to all the publicity it has been gaining. Although, this is negative news that’s being broadcasted. It’s first and foremost about these people not having clean drinking water, but it’s also about their beliefs, traditions, and culture being violated. To me, not having sanitary cleaning water is clearly a huge issue, but if someone was taking that away from me and on top of that, disrespecting my beliefs, I too would be protesting for this cause.
The police brutality lately at this protest has been unreal. Police are pepper spraying protestors, shooting rubber bullets at them, using dogs to scare them, and even pointing real guns at people, trying to force them to stop. What are they trying to stop though? Do they want people to stop standing up for their beliefs, culture, health, or future? It shocks me how someone could even ask another to stop following the things they believe in. This protest is a repeat of history. We see this again in the way the Natives history has played out, and how they’re continuously forced out of their land and so many other movements that have turned to violent in order to make it stop. The images from this protest that have been shared on media are truly disgraceful. No one should be treated the way these people are being treated, and the thing that upsets me most is that it isn’t a riot. It’s groups of people standing at this site in Standing Rock with signs and banners, protecting what is theirs; protecting what The Creator gave them. I encourage everyone to go online and look at the images that are being taken because they are extremely intense, and strike up much emotion. Although this topic may be all over the news and may feel overdone, put yourself in these Natives’ shoes. Try to understand how it would feel if someone wanted to take away your water, the water you use multiple times a day, the water you feel so privileged to have. Imagine what it would feel like for someone to take away your culture, your beliefs, your history.