My heart pounded as I neared the camp. When I saw the sign Sacred Stone Camp, my heart skipped a beat.
It was the second week of September when I arrived in North Dakota. The trip was over a thousand miles and I left my house with just $29 in the bank, but that’s another story entirely. I decided to make the trip because I felt like I was being called – and when I heard the call to my spirit, I couldn’t ignore it. I pulled into the camp and began looking around and checking things out, until I came to the river, where I could hear the beat of the drums and could feel it inside of my chest.
I followed the beat of the drums hoping to find the source, when I met some people who told me that the drumming was coming from Oceti Sakowin - The Seven Council Fires. I knew then and there that’s where I was meant to be. What started out as an empty prairie has become a village full of many people from different backgrounds, races, religions, cultures, nations – all living as one nation with one purpose: to protect the water. Mni Wiconi: Water is Life. The main road into camp is lined with flags from many tribes, nations, states, and countries brought in by those who are in solidarity with Standing Rock. I found my way to the Sacred Fire before dark and started meeting people, ultimately finding my place at the camp.
As the sun rose at Oceti Sakow, prayer songs could be heard throughout the camp. Prayers of thanks and appreciation sang to the sun as it rose and as it set. The Sacred Fire is constantly burning as we, at camp, were always in prayer. The fire is known to many cultures as “The heart of the house.” I was honored when I was invited to be a fire keeper at the Oceti Sakowin Camp. The sacred fire is a place that is held most high and sacred; nothing is to burn but wood, sage, cedar, and tobacco, which are all offerings for prayers. I found new relatives in that camp and friends that will be forever.
The camp was built from the bottom up with hundreds and thousands of people chipping in and doing their part for the greater good. It was a privilege to sit with the elders and receive their wisdom and stories of old. Children attend a school at camp where they learn all of the general studies plus so much more about the environment and the old ways of the Natives and Indigenous peoples. We all came together to do whatever it is that needed to be done each day, whether that consisted of working in the cook shack or helping put up a tee-pee.
My time in North Dakota was very emotional on so many levels. There were long afternoons of worry about the Warriors out on the front lines and if they would all come back home that evening, and if they did would they be uninjured. I cried tears of joy, as well as tears of sadness. I was able to not only witness history in the making, but also to be a part of it. Famous people made appearances and offered support. Thousands of people who don’t know each other had come together as one people and helped each other without hesitation. The younger generation was always around helping out the elders in any way they could. There was a respect for each other, as well as a respect for the nature around us in camp.
I woke in my tent one morning to the sound of drums and singing traveling down the path by the river’s edge where I camped. I was up and out of my tent in seconds and just in time to witness the arrival of one of the Taino tribes to camp. I followed them all the way back up to the Sacred Fire and was a witness to an amazing sacred ceremony.
I cried tears into the Missouri River in the morning as I prayed for her safety. I cried tears for the many struggles those before us experienced and for those who still face the struggles. My time at Standing Rock was rather short and upon my departure I left my heart at Standing Rock. I have intentions of making it back out to North Dakota for the final stand, as for now they have my heart and my prayers. A’ho Mitakuye Oyasin – I give thanks to all my relations.
