What Standing Rock could mean to you in 40 years

Standing Rock may not feel personal to you. Maybe it seems unimportant or easy to leave off your radar when so many other issues are on fire right now. But I hope you will try to understand that it could affect you in big ways.

To explain, I’ll tell you just how everyone in the area I live in (along with just about everything in my life) IS DEFINED BY A SIMILAR STAND OFF BY INDIANS THAT HAPPENED 37 years ago. 

In 1980 - Salmon throughout the Columbia River Basin were dying out. The tribes were unfairly blamed and told they could not fish because there weren’t enough fish. Some scientists and local American Indians knew that dams were the reason the fish were dying, even though state and federal agencies denied it.

So under threat of getting arrested or killed, Tribal fishers went fishing anyway. Jeremy’s entire family camped near Rapid River and took part in an armed standoff with state police. MOST OF THE NEWS MEDIA at the time said the Indians were there because they wanted attention and/or money (sound familiar?). That was not at all true but it took a long time for people to understand the Tribes and their relationship with salmon. It took everyone time to understand that a culture really can worship fish.

Jeremy's brother, Jarrod, being cited by Idaho Fish and Game Wardens

Fast forward 37 years, the tribes have fought for river protection constantly on the ground and through the courts. They have created new models of working with government along with new science for fish genetics, hatcheries, and river restoration.

TRUTH: actions by the NW Indian Tribes are the ONLY REASON that we have strong salmon runs today. Likewise, we have healthier water, rivers, and ecosystems because of the efforts of American Indian Tribes.

But in other regions of the US, $ interests have also put water resources at risk (think fracking, draining aquifers, lead contamination, climate change, dangerous drilling, etc).

Water really IS life. The risks are already there or coming. Supporting the Tribes at Standing Rock is a good way to push our government to take water protection seriously so we can protect these resources for ours and coming generations.

Standing Rock is not just about a pipeline. A culture really CAN worship water. And anytime - from now, to forty years from now, to indefinitely - wouldn't it be fantastic to know that Tribal members were working to protect YOUR water. You may not understand it, but that is exactly what they are trying to do.

(Jeremy, please feel free to re-write this with all the details - I am not doing it justice.)