"By lighting them on fire we send their smoke up like prayers. By lighting them on fire we ensure these structures go out in dignity. "
Leading up to today Water Protectors and Indigenous Peoples at Oceti Sakowin/The Big Camp, have been lighting their traditional dwellings on fire.
This morning, Indigenous Rising spoke with Darren Begay who has been managing the Navajo style structures at Oceti.
He told Indigenous Rising Media that as this forced evacuation grew nearer, he consulted with elders from his ancestral lands and they all agreed that based on the behavior of the law enforcement in the past, who during raids have broken and thrown away sacred items and who have shown disregard and horrible disrespect to tipis and sacred dwellings, it is best to burn these sacred structures instead of having them desecrated by Morton County and North Dakota law enforcement.
"Lighting our dwellings on fire is a sign of respect for them. It's a sign of respect for the purpose they have served over these past few months."
They have been containers for prayer and for bringing people together. By lighting them on fire we send their smoke up like prayers. By lighting them on fire we ensure these structures go out in dignity. “Our hearts are not defeated. The closing of the camp is not the end of a movement or fight, it is a new beginning. They cannot extinguish the fire that Standing Rock started. It burns within each of us. We will rise, we will resist, and we will thrive. We are sending loving thoughts to the water protectors along the banks of the Cannonball River, today. May everyone be as safe as can be." Indigenous Environmental Network.
Source: Indigenous Rising
Leading up to today Water Protectors and Indigenous Peoples at Oceti Sakowin/The Big Camp, have been lighting their traditional dwellings on fire.
This morning, Indigenous Rising spoke with Darren Begay who has been managing the Navajo style structures at Oceti.
He told Indigenous Rising Media that as this forced evacuation grew nearer, he consulted with elders from his ancestral lands and they all agreed that based on the behavior of the law enforcement in the past, who during raids have broken and thrown away sacred items and who have shown disregard and horrible disrespect to tipis and sacred dwellings, it is best to burn these sacred structures instead of having them desecrated by Morton County and North Dakota law enforcement.
"Lighting our dwellings on fire is a sign of respect for them. It's a sign of respect for the purpose they have served over these past few months."
They have been containers for prayer and for bringing people together. By lighting them on fire we send their smoke up like prayers. By lighting them on fire we ensure these structures go out in dignity. “Our hearts are not defeated. The closing of the camp is not the end of a movement or fight, it is a new beginning. They cannot extinguish the fire that Standing Rock started. It burns within each of us. We will rise, we will resist, and we will thrive. We are sending loving thoughts to the water protectors along the banks of the Cannonball River, today. May everyone be as safe as can be." Indigenous Environmental Network.
Burning is a CEREMONIAL form of retiring an object. Do not slander the way we do things because it doesn't fit white tradition.— Lakota Law Project (@lakotalaw) February 22, 2017
Last time they raided camp, police urinated/defecated on people's things, even ceremonial objects. Tis better to burn it in a sacred manner.— Ruth Hopkins (@RuthHHopkins) February 23, 2017
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