Standing Rock Stories

Being present in California while my heart is on the ground in North Dakota has been a challenge. The status of camp changes day by day, hour by hour, it seems. On December 4th, in the 11th hour, President Obama & The Army Corps of Engineers announced that they would NOT grant the easement for Energy Transfer Partners to bore under the Missouri River at Lake Oahu. This was a HUGE victory for Indigenous Sovereignty.

Since that announcement, with some uncertainty still on the horizon, and with severe winter storms battering the front line camps, the focus has begun to shift towards energizing a global movement. Take the energy & intentions of Standing Rock everywhere - to every pipeline - to every polluter - to every black snake. Continue to divest from all the corporate banks funding this project. Mass Bank Exit. People Power. And so it begins...

"The shortest distance between a human and the truth is a story." - Cynthia Brix

I felt heart-called to travel to Standing Rock - to help share the story of the Water Protectors - heart to heart - human to human. I am honored and grateful for those who spent time with me and who trusted me to share their story. 

I have many stories to share with you in the coming weeks, three of them today. The first is Donna & Curly - they are Rosebud Sioux, and the leaders of Rosebud "Sicangu Oyate" Camp at Standing Rock, North Dakota. They welcomed us in from the moment we arrived. They kept us safe, warm, fed, prayerful, and protected. Please, take a moment to listen...

And then there's John from Alabama. Along with being a jolly soul with a tremendous heart, he's a Vietnam Veteran, a talented (and wonderfully wiley) photographer, and the Hurricane Creekkeeper for the Waterkeeper Alliance. When I asked him about the behavior of law enforcement here at Standing Rock, he said "North Dakota is the most lawless state I have ever seen." This, coming from a man who lived in Alabama in the 1960s, and who witnessed the way the Freedom Riders were treated. Friends, meet John. 

This is Melaine Stoneman and her sister J.C. Begay. These women are Sicangu Lakota from Rosebud, South Dakota. I met Melaine at the Women's Meeting on my first day at camp. She and her sister J.C. speak to the importance of standing united as women all over the world. Please listen & learn from the wisdom these women have to share..

YOU can help defeat this Black Snake for GOOD.  Divest from the corporate banks who are funding this monster. Join me - put your money where your heart is. #DeFundDAPL Today. Every day. Everyone. Everywhere. Let's DO this! http://www.defunddapl.org

Standing Rock Reflections

I am home, held within the sweet caress of my husband. I am warm, I am resting, and I am grateful. I am overflowing.

It all feels a bit like a dream. Standing Rock. My brothers & sisters there are now living within a winter that has arrived with a fury. Just 24 hours after our departure, a foot of snow covered the ground, and the cold there will bite you to the bone.

I have much on my mind and in my heart. Overflowing. Much to share, and not exactly sure where to begin. Many who are headed to Standing Rock are asking for advice - and I think it makes sense to write a blog post specifically geared towards addressing those questions - not as any voice of authority - but only to share what I experienced, and to aid other allies in their preparations to the best of my ability. Expect that soon. xo

The situation on the ground there is changing daily. The Army Corps of Engineers has issued an evacuation notice for the main camp, known as Oceti Sakowin Camp, for December 5th. There are currently thousands of people camping there, and they have no intention of moving. There are over 2100 unarmed Veterans arriving on December 4th to Stand in Solidarity with the Water Protectors, and to act as a "human shield" between the lawless law enforcement and the Water Protectors. Various authorities in North Dakota have 1) asked local shops in neighboring towns to refuse service or supplies to anyone who is a part of the camps, 2) stated that emergency services will not be available to anyone in the main camp after December 5th, and 3) stated that law enforcement will be ticketing & fining people upwards of $1000 for delivering supplies the main camp. 

Whether or not you like pipelines, whether or not you drink water, regardless of how you feel about this whole situation, at the most basic human level, this is WRONG. Peoples lives are in danger. This winter can kill. Cutting off supplies in the dead of winter. Forceful eviction. Violent attacks during prayer and ceremony. Treating human beings this way is wrong on every level, and unfortunately this treatment is nothing new for our Native Americans. It's time we stand up. It is time that we Listen, Learn, and Lend a Hand, in whatever way we are able.

As members of the human race, we have a right to protest. We have a right to free speech. And our Native Americans most definitely have every right to pray, on their own land, to hold ceremony, and to peacefully assemble. They are standing up for YOU. They are praying for our Mother Earth, for our water, and for YOU. If there is no clean water, there is no life. They are asking us to listen, to forge a new path, to build a new future.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for joining me on this journey. Thank you for listening as I process. Thank you for divesting your money from banks funding this madness. Thank you for calling those responsible for these crimes against humanity. Thank you for being you. 

If you would like to follow the story, as it progresses on the ground, I recommend following any/all of these folks.... Dallas Goldtooth, Kandi Mossett, Indigenous Environmental Network, Indigenous Rising Media, John Wathen.

More to come. Much Love, y'all. xo

Standing Rock : Nov 27

"It's like being ripped from the womb", she said, and I think she was right....

Amidst tears, we packed up and drove away from Standing Rock today. I left a piece of my heart by that river. I prayed by that river. Sang songs to that river. Met people who are willing to die for that river.

The coming days, for me personally, will be full of driving and reflection. And I will share what I can as it comes to me. The coming days, for the tribes and their allies in North Dakota, will be full of prayer, of ceremony, of biting cold wind & snow, and an uncertainty about the future. 

For now what I want you to know is this... there are beautiful people all over the world, and an impossibly huge number of them are gathered at Standing Rock. 

I have been touched in ways I cannot yet explain. I am grateful. And I will do all in my power to get these voices of our Native People out into this great big world. Heart to heart. Human to Human. 

The shortest distance between a human being and the truth is a story, and I am honored to have been trusted with so many stories to share. 

Much Love, my friends. Much more to come. xo

Standing Rock : Nov 25

I have been collecting stories all day today, and I cannot wait to share them with you... truly... heart to heart... the people I am meeting out here are inspiring.

The ups and downs out here are constant. After a beautiful day of sunshine, music, stories, and supper - A statement was issued by the Army Corps of Engineers that they will be removing people from the camp on the north side of the Cannonball River on December 5th. There are currently over 8,000 people camped on the north side of the Cannonball River, my friends. This is the entire Oceti Sakowin Camp that we are talking about here. 

We are all waiting on an official statement from the Elders, and I'll share more when I know more. Hundreds of unarmed Veterans are due to arrive on December 4th to stand with the Water Protectors, and I imagine that the days ahead will be tense for camp, and particularly for those planning to stay through the winter, "until this is done".

I look forward to tomorrow morning's sunrise prayer ceremony. I am honored to be here, standing with these beautiful people, standing up for life. These people have been mistreated, and continue to be mistreated, in ways I cannot fully comprehend. To be honest, I'm embarrassed to be a citizen of a country that treats is Native People this way. It's way past time the original inhabitants of this land are treated with respect, and this forced removal on Dec 5th is not the way. Please send your love and prayers. They are needed now in a huge way.

We are heading to Standing Rock

Friends, I will be traveling to Standing Rock, accompanying my dear friend Erin Inglish, to join the peaceful demonstrations there against the Dakota Access Pipeline. We are feeling called to be there in person, and are honored for the opportunity to contribute in this way.

For those who live here in SLO County, we will leave November 15th, and we would like to fill up our caravan with as many locally donated supplies as possible, to help them get through the winter. The Sacred Stone Camp Wish List includes : warm winter coats in good condition, sub-zero rated sleeping bags, wool and/or fur blankets, heavy tarps, non-perishable food, cured meats, batteries, headlamps, wall tents, wood stoves, lighters, ropes & tie-downs, heavy duty storage bins, propane, solar power, and more. Click HERE to see a full list of their needs.

If you have, or can give, any of these items, please begin to gather them up. You can drop off your donations at K-Man Cyclery in Atascadero or Paso Robles, or Gulliver's Travels in SLO, any time before November 13th.  (The sooner the better!)

Standing Rock : Photo by Dallas Goldtooth : #WaterIsLife #NoDAPL

There are many other ways you can help too!

Click HERE to donate money to the camp directly, which we recommend.
Click HERE to donate money to their legal fund, which we also recommend.
Click HERE if you'd like to send money to us, so that we may purchase larger ticket items, or bulk items, to bring along with us to camp to donate.

THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts - for sending your love & support in whatever way you are able. #WaterIsLife #NoDAPL 

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I recently had the honor of talking with Kandi Mossett, "Eagle Woman", an Indigenous leader on the ground at Standing Rock. This is her story in unedited form - and i think you'll understand why when you take a few minutes to truly listen.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Water Protectors & A World Upside Down

Life feels heavy, my friends. There is much a-stir on our planet. Our Indigenous People, praying together as Peaceful Water Protectors, are being met with militarized police in North Dakota. Journalists there are being arrested for doing their job. The election approaches and continues to be an embarrassment. Undesirable predictions for our future are coming true. And Climate Change is no longer looming on the horizon - it is here now.

We need LOVE, now more than ever. We must work together, starting TODAY, to bring about a peaceful loving future for all life. Profits should never be more important than People. And this means that we likely need to look deep inside ourselves and ask some tough questions... What ingrained beliefs or behaviors must we change? What is standing in the way, in our own hearts & lives & habits, of moving us towards a just and equitable future? And what are we willing to live WITHOUT to arrive at that future?

So I challenge you... BE the love, my friends. Every day. To everyone you meet. Make decisions out of LOVE. Not greed. Not apathy. Just pure LOVE. Because the answer is simple... the answer is LOVE.

Standing Rock : Photo by Dallas Goldtooth : #WaterIsLife #NoDAPL

Have you heard about Standing Rock? Do you know what is going on there, and why it is of the utmost importance? If not, please get informed immediately. America is currently being forced to take a hard look at what it is founded on, and it's not pretty, my friends. It is time to Stand Up with our Indigenous People - United - against hate, against greed & oppression, against Fossil Fuels. We must stand together, with LOVE, for each other, and for our Mother Earth. 

I recently had the honor of talking with Kandi Mossett, "Eagle Woman", an Indigenous leader on the ground at Standing Rock. This is her story in unedited form - and i think you'll understand why when you take a few minutes to truly listen.

Sign a petition urging President Obama to reject the pipeline HERE
Donate to the Water Protectors, they need ALL the help we can give HERE
GO to Standing Rock. Stand with them. Find info HERE

#NoDAPL #StandWithStandingRock #WaterisLife 

So much has happened since my last email - WOW - please forgive me for bombarding you with so much info this time around - I promise I'll get better at sending out monthly updates - haha! In September I attended the National Heirloom Seed Expo in Santa Rosa and talked with some heavy-hitters in the world of Permaculture - John Jeavons, Christy Wilhelmi, Matt Thompson, and more. I filmed harvest at Tablas Creek Winery, a biodynamic winery near Paso Robles, CA. I attended the Greenbuild Expo in downtown Los Angeles to learn about radical advancements in net-zero architecture & urban one-site water reuse. I visited renowned Water Lawyer Eric Garner of BB&K for an informative conversation about CA water law. I attended the SAWPA Riverwalk and had an inspiring conversation with Celeste Cantu, GM of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, about the importance of managing watersheds as a whole.  

It was an absolute treasure to spend a day with the deep souls of Walking Water as they finished a pilgrimage from Owen's Valley to Santa Clarita, walking along the path of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. I attended a free (yay!) rain-water harvesting workshop at the TreePeople headquarters in Bevery Hills. And to round out two great months with an overwhelming bang, I attended the Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, and talked with some of today's leading voices in the world of water, urban farming, and regenerative agriculture - Brock Dolman from O.A.E.C., Ariel Greenwood, Ryan Camero,and Wanda Stewart. Wow, friends... this story, OUR story, the story of WATER, which is truly the story of LIFE, is enormous. I remain humbled and honored to be on this journey. xo

I feel called to end this update as I started it - with a call to action. Let's BE THE CHANGE.  Let's live in LOVE. Let's uplift and support one another. Let's ALL be Water Protectors, in every choice that we make, every day. Let's all learn to care, truly and deeply, for each other, and for our Mother Earth. Let's challenge our current paradigm, let's question our outdated belief systems, let's stretch, let's grow, and let's do all of this TOGETHER.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead