As the crisis of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) unfolds, we are hearing from more an more national leaders about its environmental significance and why the massive oil pipeline project must be stopped. There seems to be little question that Native people are being steamrollered by the oil industry in violation of their sovereignty and treaty rights, and that they and their supporters and are being subjected to outrageous police brutality by both police and private goon squads. Representatives of about 300 tribes are said to be participating in the Standing Rock protests, which may, the noise of the presidential campaign notwithstanding, be emerging as a pivotal event in our history.
There are many elements to the story of course, from the economics and environmental consequences of reliance on oil, to the the threat to the First Amendment due to the threats of criminal penalties against journalists covering the story. These have been well reported, but as far as I can tell there has been much less reporting, outside of the Native American press, on the religious aspects of the story.
This is a religion story because the protests are organized in part by traditional religious leaders for profound and historic religious reasons; the protests themselves begin each day with communal prayer at dawn; and increasingly religious leaders and organizations from around the country are joining the protest for religious reasons of their own.
First, let’s consider how the protests begin each day. As recounted by actress Shailene Woodley who was arrested at Standing Rock on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. She told journalist Amy Goodman on Democracy Now,
...there was a sunrise ceremony, a sunrise prayer. Everyone woke up at 6:00 a.m. and gathered by the river to pray, which is how most days at Standing Rock start. So, all of this dialogue and these narratives about riots is so fascinating to me, when, you know, they’re—it’s so grounded in ceremony and in prayer. I can’t stress that enough. So everyone got up and prayed.
Second, let’s consider that Chief Arvol Looking Horse, of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nations, a traditional religious leader, wrote recently in Indian Country, calling for action.
I, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nations, ask you to understand an Indigenous perspective on what has happened in America, what we call "Turtle Island." My words seek to unite the global community through a message from our sacred ceremonies to unite spiritually, each in our own ways of beliefs in the Creator.
Starvation, war, and toxic waste have been the hallmark of the great myth of progress and development that ruled the last millennium.
To us, as caretakers of the heart of Mother Earth, falls the responsibility of turning back the powers of destruction. You yourself are the one who must decide.
You alone – and only you – can make this crucial choice, to walk in honor or to dishonor your relatives. On your decision depends the fate of the entire World.
Each of us is put here in this time and this place to personally decide the future of humankind.
Did you think the Creator would create unnecessary people in a time of such terrible danger?
Know that you yourself are essential to this world. Understand both the blessing and the burden of that. You yourself are desperately needed to save the soul of this world. Did you think you were put here for something less? In a Sacred Hoop of Life, there is no beginning and no ending.
Finally, let’s note that among those who have heard the call are leaders from the Christian tradition who have been participating in the DAPL protests, and are now calling on their fellow clergy to join them in whatever ways they can. The million member United Church of Christ (UCC), reports that help is on the way:
A coalition of clergy, including United Church of Christ ministers, will be converging on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on the banks of the great Missouri River next week, Nov. 2-4, called by an Episcopal priest who serves the community. Fr. Joseph Floberg is reaching out to interfaith friends to come stand with environmental advocates and the people of more than a hundred Tribal nations, in protection of the water and sacred lands, against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
"We will gather to stand witness to water protector's acts of compassion for God's creation, and to the transformative power of God's love to make a way out of no way," Floberg writes in an internet invitation. "I have been serving 25 years as the supervising priest of the Episcopal churches of Standing Rock in North Dakota. In recent days, the repressive power of the state has increased: armed riot police are guarding ongoing pipeline construction, increased arrests and repression of non-violent prayerful action."
The UCC has also spelled out the details of its Call to Action:
To our fellow clergy who are able to travel, we invite you to join with other clergy in Standing Rock on November 2nd and 3rd. As the Rev. John Floberg of the Episcopal Church writes in his appeal to clergy of all denominations, “Our vision is a day of protective witness in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Nation and with the water protectors.” If you are unable to join with other clergy on these dates but would like to come later in the fall or winter when support will still be needed, please coordinate with the Rev. Brooks Berndt, the Environmental Justice Minister for the United Church of Christ.
To all people of faith and conscience, we invite you to also take a stand of solidarity through the following actions:
- Send a message to elected officials to call for an end to the militarized response of law enforcement agencies in response to nonviolent water protectors.
- Educate yourself and help educate others by sharing the letter of Chairman Archambault.
- Make your commitment part of your faith practice. Make an upcoming Sunday a Standing Rock Sunday. Preach with Standing Rock, pray with Standing Rock, and act with Standing Rock. Wherever you are, join in solidarity with the persecuted and the jailed.