the standing rock sioux, who are protecting water by trying to halt the dakota access pipeline, are the descendants of the whitestone massacre in 1863, when the US army mistook them for another native american tribe and slaughtered 300 men, women and children at a harvest gathering. they have been displaced over and over again, imprisoned, housed in projects, deprived of land and economic infrastructure, controlled, blockaded, and systemically marginalized. in this interview with Amy Goodman, historian and genealogist LaDonna Brave Bull Allard talks about a long history of oppression, that is ongoing and little known in america. pls listen.
“I don’t understand why we are expendable in America. I keep telling people, we do our best. We have always been here. This is our land. Why should we fight to live on our own land? Why should we have to do that over and over again? We start our lives. We do our best to live. I would never hurt anybody. I have always done my best to do good things in my community. Why can’t they just let us live? We love this land. But most important, we love the water. Every year, our people sacrifice. We go four days without drinking water, so that it reminds us how important this water is. And I ask everybody: Do you go four days without water? What happens to your body on that third day? Your body starts shutting down. So, we remind ourselves every day how important. Every time we drink water, we say mini wic’oni, water of life. We cannot live without water.” More here.