the regina mom is more than a little concerned about what’s going on in North Dakota. Indigenous people who witnessed the graves of their ancestors being dug up so that a pipeline can cross a river, a pipeline that will endanger their water and the water supply for millions downstream, are being terrorized.

The brutal and barbaric attack by a militarized police force acting on behalf of the failing and flailing oil and gas industry was over the top! the regina mom watched the live feed coming in  on Sunday night.  When she heard the police defending it, saying they didn’t use water cannons or grenades, that they were putting out fires, she was enraged!  And now a young woman may lose her arm because she supported the water protectors, was there praying with them.  Not only are there witnesses to the grenade attack but there’s also video footage.

There’s also this, from Wab Kinew, a musician, author, broadcaster, educator and an NDP Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, Canada.  He reminds us all that the action taken by the Indigenous water protectors at Standing Rock is a spiritual one.  A spiritual one.  In their cultural and spiritual traditions, water is sacred.  Mni wiconi.

“Traditional Indigenous people do not see Standing Rock as activism. For people who have heard the words ‘mni wiconi’ since birth, this is simply answering the call of duty,” Kinew said.

He added that while everyone may not agree on how to fight climate change, the situation in North Dakota is a “powerful lesson for us in how not to pursue reconciliation.”

On Saturday, November 26 at 3 pm CST the regina mom will Pray With Standing Rock.  From Wikipedia:

Prayer (from the Latin precari “to ask earnestly, beg, entreat”)^[1] is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication.

For the regina mom prayer is poetry, meditation, and song.  She invites you to join in the global prayer in your own way.  Register at praywithstandingrock.com so that they have an idea of the numbers, read the great information they have posted there, and keep abreast of ongoing activities at www.facebook.com/unify.

Mni wiconi