Tribal Coalitions Support the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Tribe: Women and Water Are Sacred
September 21, as the sun set on the Sacred Stone Camp, Native women from tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions across the United States raised their voices and banner chanting, “Women and Water Are Sacred!” This show of solidarity joined tribal, national, and international efforts to stop violence against women and the perpetration of violence against the Earth by the extractive industries. Tribal coalitions traveled from the four corners of Turtle Island to attend the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center’s Leadership Institute in Bismarck, ND, to discuss the efforts to increase the safety of Native women, including discussion on the impact of the extractive industries on the safety of Native women. Directly after close of business, a caravan of tribal coalition women traveled to the protection site and the Sacred Stone Camp. Upon arrival, Carmen O’Leary, Sadie Young Bird, Linda Thompson, and Sandra Bercier led the march on the front lines with other coalitions walking behind them. Traditional Chief Arvol Looking Horse and Paula Looking Horse greeted the Women and Water Are Sacred procession with prayers and gratitude and reinforced the importance of the merged movements, specifically that violence against women and the Earth have the same effect on tribal nations and require our prayers, policy building, and advocacy for continued protection. Women and girls are key stakeholders to tribal communities and are the continuation of our nations. At a camp debrief, the tribal coalitions reflected on other environmental impacts across tribal communities such as the Michigan Enbridge Line 5 in the Great Lakes Region, the Fracking Oil Pipeline in New Mexico, the Apache Oak Flats mining, and the Oil Trains of Washington State to name only a few.
As a powerful reminder to all nations, Jana Pfeiffer from the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women stated, “Water can give life and this poisoned water can take all life away,” linking colonized tracks left by extractive industries to gain money through the endangerment of others. The OVW Leadership Institute was originally scheduled in the Northeastern corner of the country, but last-minute barriers prevented the group from meeting there. As a show of solidarity to the Three Affiliated Tribes Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program (formerly the Ft. Berthold program), NIWRC relocated the meeting to North Dakota to bring crosscoalition and regional support to North Dakota tribes. During the session Extractive Industry Impact and Violence Against Native Women the tribal coalitions heard from Carmen O’Leary, Linda Thompson and Sadie Young Bird about the impact of the oil boom on the area and lives of Native women.
As a powerful reminder to all nations, Jana Pfeiffer from the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women stated, “Water can give life and this poisoned water can take all life away,” linking colonized tracks left by extractive industries to gain money through the endangerment of others. The OVW Leadership Institute was originally scheduled in the Northeastern corner of the country, but last-minute barriers prevented the group from meeting there. As a show of solidarity to the Three Affiliated Tribes Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program (formerly the Ft. Berthold program), NIWRC relocated the meeting to North Dakota to bring crosscoalition and regional support to North Dakota tribes. During the session Extractive Industry Impact and Violence Against Native Women the tribal coalitions heard from Carmen O’Leary, Linda Thompson and Sadie Young Bird about the impact of the oil boom on the area and lives of Native women.
“Women are the first environment. We are an embodiment of our Mother Earth. From the bodies of women flows the relationship of the generations both to society and the natural world. With our bodies we nourish, sustain, and create connected relationships and interdependence. In this way the Earth is our mother, our ancestors said. In this way, we as women are Earth." —Katsi Cook
Since the Bakken oil boom, starting in 2009, a mass influx of unanticipated problems, including a drastic increase of sexual assault and domestic violence, sex and labor trafficking, and missing and murdered women, have been a direct outcome of the extractive industry. The need for direct services has exploded since the oil industry hit the region, and basic infrastructure, including the capacity of police, hospitals, and schools, has been severely impacted. “A lot of our roads were still gravel before the Bakken oil boom. New roads popped up overnight. Most of our local police grew up here, they know every road. As crisis calls and 911 calls came in, we couldn’t find survivors in imminent danger. New roads popped up that fast. It took hours to find them.”
The oil employees were paid by the quota; trucks drove faster, hauling more oil to make more money. “Overnight fatal car accidents became overwhelming for local hospitals, over 200 people died on the roads due to oil trucks,” shared coalition staff. The region has seen the immediate translation of the impact extraction of natural resource has on violence against women. “It wasn’t just the massive increase of car accidents, there were many more DV/SA calls. What surprised us was the severe variety of the violence, the different methods of sexual assault, different levels of crime, so much more addiction to a wider variety of substances we weren’t prepared for. How do you prepare for that?”
To compound the many issues North Dakota tribes already face, the Dakota Access Pipeline—the “black snake”—owned by Energy Transfer Partners, is overturning sacred gravesites, treaty lands, and rooting through the Cannonball River without consultation with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The camp has remained peaceful, although Energy Transfer Partners hired private security companies, which has resulted in attacks against peaceful protestors with dogs and pepper spray. In early September, a joint statement was released by the Department of Justice, Department of the Interior, and the Department of the Army requesting Energy Transfer Partners to halt construction.
Statement of Solidarity We Know, Women and Water Are Sacred
A solidarity letter signed by almost 100 organizations was presented to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman, David Archambault II, through the camp director. The NIWRC, tribal coalitions, national domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions programs, and allied organizations across Turtle Island signed the letter. After the march into camp, the Sacred Stone Camp Drum sang a song to honor the women for their visit. In turn, the VAW group presented the satin banner as a gift to the camp through Paula Looking Horse as one of the women at the forefront of the encampment, Camp Unci (Grandmother). She gave honor and sisterhood to the group with thanks and prayer for the women’s group visit.
(On left) “I would like to say blessings and greetings to you my relatives. The White Buffalo Calf Woman was the sacred woman that brought the sacred pipe to this country. Today we are standing here protecting the water of life, the first medicine. We are thankful and have been doing ceremonies to pray for the health and well-being of all the women. We are glad you heard the call we sent out and came. We are the voice for Mother Earth. Water is life. I say to you women and all the nations here thank you.”—Traditional Chief Arvol Looking Horse. (Middle) “Violence against women is not traditional and water is carried by women to ceremony in a sacred way.” —Linda Thompson, Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition. (On right) “The linear age of man is coming to an end, and the circular movement of women is in motion, it is our responsibility to protect life, and all of that life begins with water in the womb of women.” — Paula Looking Horse
