1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:24,000 2 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:28,000 - Hello. We would like to 3 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:32,000 acknowledge that this event is being held on ancestral lands 4 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,000 of the Arikara, Iowa, Missouri, Omaha, 5 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,000 Otto, Pawnee, and Ponca land, also later cared for 6 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,000 by the Dakota, Ho-Chunk, Illiniwek, 7 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,000 Meskwaki, Nakota, Potawatomi, and 8 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:52,000 Sauk. We recognize that these sovereign nations stewarded 9 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:56,000 the land through countless generations and continue to do so 10 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,000 today, maintaining a sacred relationship with the land as a place of 11 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:04,000 family, ritual, and tradition. Consistent with the University of 12 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,000 Northern Iowa’s commitment and inclusion, the university begins an 13 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:12,000 effort to acknowledge this timeless connection to the land as well as 14 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,000 the trials of the past 500 years by honoring the truth. 15 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,000 16 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,000 Hello, my name is Hugh Zehr and I am the 17 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:28,000 UNI Student Government Director of Sustainability. A Native 18 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,000 Iowan, Aldo Leopold is widely known for shaping modern 19 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,000 environmental ethics. However, what many are unaware of is that during his 20 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,000 nearly fifteen years in the American southwest, Leopold 21 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,000 came into contact with diverse, Native individuals, cultures, 22 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,000 and land issues. These interactions helped to shape his 23 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,000 development as a conservationist and and ethicist. 24 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:56,000 Contemporary scholars have noted the strong connections between the 25 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,000 relationship in Leopold’s culminating vision of a land ethic and the comparable 26 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,000 visions traditionally expressed by indigenous peoples. 27 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,000 The narrow focus on the origins of the land ethic, however, diverts 28 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,000 attention from the far more complex issue of how Leopold’s thoughts 29 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,000 and writings fit into, as well as comment upon, 30 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:20,000 the history of the Native American and Euro- American views of the 31 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,000 land. As part of the Leopold Lecture Series, it is important for us to 32 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,000 explore these complex issues through a diverse set of perspectives such as 33 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:32,000 will presented this evening. Over the course of the semester, we have had 34 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,000 the opportunity to host a brilliant set of guests as they help frame many 35 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,000 of our campus discussions on these important issues, culminating with this 36 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,000 evening’s final presentation for this fall. Our first lecture of the spring 37 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,000 semester will be on February 26th at 7:00 PM in Bengston 38 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:52,000 Auditorium in Russell Hall, featuring former US Representative 39 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,000 Bob Inglis’ talk titled “Can free enterprise solve climate 40 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,000 change?” Tonight’s program was made possible due to a 41 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,000 partnership between the Cornerstone Program, UNI Sustainability Office, 42 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,000 and the Aldo Leopold Distinguished Lecture Series. This evening’s 43 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:12,000 presentation and following question and answer session will be recorded for posterity 44 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,000 and made available to the entire UNI community through the Scholar Works 45 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,000 Repository. In order to create an accurate record of this event, 46 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:24,000 we ask that anyone with questions, please wait until the presentation has finished 47 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,000 and make your way to one of the microphones that are available in the 48 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,000 aisles and speak clearly into the microphone so your questions can be heard. 49 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,000 It is not my pleasure to welcome President Mark Nook to the stage to provide 50 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,000 this evening’s welcome. [applause] 51 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,000 52 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,000 - Welcome to the University of Northern Iowa. It’s a pleasure to have all of you 53 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,000 here and to see this many turn out for an Aldo Leopold 54 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:56,000 Lecture. It’s great to have you amongst us. I want to add just a couple of my own 55 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:00,000 thoughts about this. Recently, many of you know that I joined this 56 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:04,000 university just almost 2 years ago. Before that, I spent 57 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:08,000 2 and a half years in Billings, Montana. Billings, Montana is a very 58 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:12,000 interesting community. It’s 4% Native American, as is most of the state. 59 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,000 It sits very, very close to 2 Native American reservations. It’s within 60 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,000 an hours drive of the Crow reservation and about a two hour drive 61 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,000 from the Northern Cheyenne reservation. It’s also a city, 62 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,000 a community that thrives most of it’s economy, drives most of it’s economy 63 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,000 from oil and fossil fuels. The coal strip, 64 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:36,000 the coal plants that are nearby and the oil reserves of the Bakken. 65 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:40,000 While I was there, there were a few significant events 66 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:44,000 that shaped my thinking around Standing Rock 67 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:48,000 and the pipeline that was supposed to cross that piece of river. 68 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:52,000 One of those was an oil pipeline break 69 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:56,000 underneath the Yellowstone River at Laurel in 2011 70 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,000 that dumped approximately 1,500 barrels of oil in 71 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,000 the Yellowstone River and really shut it down for a very long period of time. 72 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:08,000 There was a settlement, in 2016 while I was there, from the oil company 73 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:12,000 for about 12 million dollars in restitution. They did all the clean up, 74 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,000 but that was the restitution to the state and to the local community. That was in 75 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:20,000 2016. The year before that, in early January, 76 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,000 the Senate passed the Excel Pipeline Bill 77 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:28,000 permitting the pipeline to go through Standing Rock. 78 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:32,000 It was two weeks after that that there was another pipeline 79 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:36,000 break in the Yellowstone River at Glendale that produced about 1,000 80 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:40,000 barrels of oil spill into the Yellowstone and followed that 81 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:44,000 community’s water. One of the things that growing up in Iowa, I didn’t 82 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,000 understand, but I think it’s important for you to think about tonight. 83 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:52,000 We receive about 50 inches of oil, uh 50 inches of oil- 84 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:56,000 50 inches of water a year in the form of rain and snow. 85 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:00,000 In Billings, in western South Dakota, North Dakota, and eastern 86 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,000 Montana, they might receive 12 in a year. 87 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:08,000 Out there they talk about water rights in a way that we can’t understand 88 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:12,000 because everything they use to irrigate their crops 89 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:16,000 to bathe, drink, comes down from the mountains and from the water that 90 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:20,000 runs through those rivers and through those streams. Their understanding of the 91 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:24,000 word “water rights” is something growing up in Iowa and living most of my 92 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:28,000 life in the Midwest, I had no concept of. So tonight, as we hear from David 93 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:32,000 and David it’s a great honor to have you here with us. As we hear from 94 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,000 David, as we think about it, remember the culture is different. The scenarios 95 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:40,000 around the people are different. The environment is very 96 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:44,000 different and the things that need to be thought about and worked out to 97 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:48,000 understand the issues involved are things that many of us haven’t had a 98 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,000 chance or a need to spend much time thinking about. 99 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:56,000 So for me, it’s a great privilege to have David here tonight, to have an 100 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:00,000 opportunity to think through some those challenges that all of us face 101 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:04,000 as we look at our environment and we look at the political systems and the economic 102 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:08,000 systems that run our society and our world. So thank 103 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:12,000 you for being here tonight to gain a little bit better perspective 104 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:16,000 of some of the things that govern our society, 105 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:20,000 keep it working and the challenges that we face to make 106 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:24,000 sure that we have a sustainable society. Thank you very, very much and 107 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:28,000 welcome to the University of Northern Iowa. [applause] 108 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,000 109 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,000 Hoxjana pi. 110 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:40,000 Hannah hinikaragi wina. 111 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:44,000 Good evening. I greet you all. My name is Trisha Etringer. 112 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:48,000 My Ho-Chunk name is Cax-Sep-Gu-Wiga, which means Eagles-That- 113 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:52,000 Returns. My clan is Eagles. I am an enrolled 114 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:56,000 member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska but grew up in Waterloo, Iowa. 115 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:00,000 I currently reside in Cedar Falls where I attend UNI as a 116 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,000 Psychology Major. On September 3rd, 117 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:08,000 2016, my unborn daughter and I stood on a frontline together protecting 118 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,000 the water and indigenous land rights for not only the Standing Rock Sioux 119 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:16,000 Tribe, but for 18 million others who relied upon the same water and 120 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:20,000 land for sustenance. Unfortunately, we were met with the Dakota 121 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:24,000 Access Pipeline’s security team who unleashed unlicensed guard dogs and 122 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:28,000 pepper spray on us. That day, we stood together 123 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:32,000 and we let them know that we are still here and we are not going anywhere. 124 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:36,000 Our story is just one ember out of the sacred fire that was lit at 125 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:40,000 Standing Rock. I carry my fire wherever I go now. 126 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:44,000 One day, my daughter Ava will continue to carry the same fire once 127 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:48,000 I am gone. Tonight, I would like everyone to take a moment to 128 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:52,000 honor the first medicine that brought over 500 First Nations and allies 129 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:56,000 together during the Standing Rock movement. There are two vases of 130 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:00,000 water which were collected from two separate sites on the UNI campus. 131 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,000 The Dry Run Creek watershed is home to the UNI campus 132 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:08,000 and flows into the Cedar River. From there, the Cedar River flows 133 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:12,000 into the Mississippi River where it then finally flows into the Gulf of 134 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:16,000 Mexico. Just like the blood that flows through our veins, 135 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:20,000 water is life. Ni na wakacak sana! 136 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:24,000 Min Wiconi! Pinagigi. Thank you. 137 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:28,000 [applause] 138 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:36,000 139 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:40,000 [Introduction in Meskwaki] 140 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:44,000 My name is Arianna Sprague. My Meskwaki name is [Meskwaki word]. It 141 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:48,000 means eagle. My clan is Thunder. I’m a proud member of the Meskwaki 142 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:52,000 nation in Iowa. I grew up in the Tama area along with the 143 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:56,000 nation. I am now a UNI student for Social Work and Family Services. 144 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:00,000 I will now read a welcome from the Meskwaki nation. 145 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:04,000 Good evening everyone and welcome. I present 146 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:08,000 this statement on behalf of the Meskwaki Nation. The Meskwaki Nation, also 147 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:12,000 known as the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, is 148 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:16,000 1,400 members large, and we’re located just 48 miles south 149 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:20,000 of UNI. 150 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,000 We regret we can’t be here tonight. We are honored to have been 151 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:28,000 invited to visit with such a historic leader. Throughout 152 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:32,000 history we’ve had an evolving relationship with the 153 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:36,000 Lakota/Dakota people that could be described as a love/hate relationship. 154 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:40,000 We had a buffer zone between the nations, and this shared 155 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:44,000 region included Northern Iowa. At times we fought and stole from 156 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,000 each other. A Meskwaki elder shared a story of a great-grandfather’s 157 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:52,000 unsuccessful attempt to steal Lakota horses. One by one 158 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:56,000 he let them go as he fled. In the ending, the Meskwaki man made it home 159 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:00,000 alive, but without any of the stolen horses. At other times, we were 160 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:04,000 allies when we needed to be. In 2016, it became clear that unity 161 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,000 is not just for us, but it’s needed for the survival of all 162 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:12,000 things sacred, including all of Mother Earth and Creation. Our tribe 163 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:16,000 adopted and submitted a resolution in support of the Standing 164 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:20,000 Rock Sioux Tribe during the Dakota Access 165 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:24,000 Pipeline. We sent a monetary donation to the tribe, and 166 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:28,000 some tribal members resided at the Oceti 167 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:32,000 Sakowin resistance camp. What happened at Standing Rock is 168 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:36,000 part of a common experience of Native people across the Americas. 169 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:40,000 We benefit by standing as one voice and demanding justice, 170 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,000 demanding our human rights, and asserting our sovereignty as tribal 171 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:48,000 nations. We also encourage unity in protecting and healing the Earth and all 172 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,000 of her people. This is essential for balance among all of the world. 173 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:56,000 With the emphasis of unity, we welcome this 174 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:00,000 exceptional visitor. David Archambault 175 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,000 we honor you for your leadership during a time that was a turning 176 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:08,000 point for all humanity. All our relations, 177 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:12,000 We now thank David Archambault for his contribution and welcome 178 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:16,000 him to Northern Iowa territory. David Archambault II, 179 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:20,000 Lakota name Tokala Ohitika, 180 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:24,000 is the former tribal Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux 181 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:28,000 Tribe in North Dakota. In 2016, Chairman Archambault 182 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:32,000 emerged as a global leader for Indigenous People’ rights as he led 183 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:36,000 the opposition to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. He 184 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:40,000 continues to be the voice for tribal sovereignty in championing protection of 185 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:44,000 tribal treaty lands and natural resources. 186 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:48,000 Archambault testified before the United Nations, led the Washington D.C. 187 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:52,000 “Native Nations Rise” march, and published editorials in The 188 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:56,000 New York Times. Archambault was recently named a “Leading Global Thinker 189 00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:00,000 of 2016” by Foreign Policy Magazine, 190 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:04,000 and was given the “Native American Leadership Award” by 191 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:08,000 the National Congress of American Indians, and received a “Doctorate 192 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:12,000 of Law Honoris Causa” from the Vermont Law School. Please join me 193 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:16,000 in welcoming Dave Archambault II to UNI. [applause] 194 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:20,000 [applause] 195 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,000 [applause] 196 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:28,000 - Thank you. 197 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:32,000 Thank you. 198 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:36,000 Thank you. 199 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:40,000 Thank you for the introduction. 200 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:44,000 Mitakuyepi, Tokala Ohitika emaciyapi. 201 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:56,000 Inyan Woslal han ematahan. 202 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:00,000 So I said my relatives, I greet you with a 203 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:04,000 kind heart and a handshake. My name is Tokala 204 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:08,000 Ohitika. It means “Warrior from the Kit Fox Society" 205 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:12,000 and I’m from Standing Rock and I live 206 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:16,000 in Cannon Ball, North Dakota. I’ve lived in Cannon Ball 207 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:20,000 the past 28 years now and 208 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:24,000 I was a former Chairman. 209 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:28,000 So before I get started 210 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:32,000 in the presentation, I just kind of want to give you some context on how 211 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:36,000 indigenous peoples around the world view 212 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:40,000 Unci Makha, or view Mother Earth. 213 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:44,000 So if I was to stand outside 214 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:48,000 anywhere, I would say 215 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:52,000 Taku Skan Skan, there’s something moving. 216 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:56,000 And if I see something moving, then in our language, we would say, 217 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:00,000 as a Nagi. A Nagi, 218 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:04,000 to interpret it, it means like a soul 219 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,000 or a spirit. So if you see something moving that has a soul or a 220 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,000 spirit. And this is the 221 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:16,000 teachings were shown and given as I was 222 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:20,000 growing up on Standing Rock on the Pine Ridge Indian 223 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:24,000 Reservation and 224 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:28,000 it’s common whenever I go visit other Indigenous peoples 225 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:32,000 regardless of where they are in 226 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:36,000 Brazil or in New Zealand or in anywhere 227 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:40,000 in the world, the Indigenous people have a connection to the land 228 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:44,000 and it’s real simple. It’s like if 229 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:48,000 it has a spirit, then we will say Mitakuyasin. 230 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:52,000 And when I greeted you, I said Mitakuyepi. My relatives. 231 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:56,000 So if it has a spirit, then 232 00:15:56,000 --> 00:16:00,000 we are related. Those are our relatives. 233 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:04,000 So when we’re related to something, 234 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:08,000 or someone, 235 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:12,000 that relationship is cherished. So 236 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,000 if we see something moving and has a "Nagi" and we know that's 237 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:20,000 our relative then we treat it with respect the same way that we 238 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:24,000 would want to treated. So, 239 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:28,000 if the plants move, they have a spirit. 240 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:32,000 If the animals move, they have a spirit. If the grass 241 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,000 moves, the trees move. Everything has a spirit and it’s connected and 242 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:40,000 that’s the philosophy or concept throughout Indigenous 243 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:44,000 world. 244 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:48,000 If something has a spirit, 245 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:52,000 but it can’t speak our language, then 246 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:56,000 we should speak for them on their behalf and that’s kind of what happened 247 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:00,000 at Standing Rock. There were certain things that were threatened at our 248 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:04,000 relatives that we wanted to speak out for. 249 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:08,000 There are 250 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:12,000 scientists, and 251 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:16,000 I’m not getting into a discussion or a debate 252 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:20,000 about climate change or anything, but scientists today 253 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:24,000 are now starting to say, hey, did you know that everything on this world 254 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:28,000 is connected in one way or another? They will say 255 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:32,000 it’s related at the molecular 256 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:36,000 level. At the cell level. So in my presentation I 257 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:40,000 try to make some things 258 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:44,000 that look like cells to show that at a molecular 259 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:48,000 level, we are all related. And 260 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:52,000 whatever we do to one thing is going to impact another. 261 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:56,000 I was just honored to be here. 262 00:17:56,000 --> 00:18:00,000 I’m thankful for the students, for your 263 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:04,000 words and your stories you’ve shared. We went and ate 264 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:08,000 and they talked about their experiences that they had at Standing Rock. 265 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:12,000 So I want to share a little bit before I get into 266 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:16,000 the meat of the presentation. 267 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:20,000 And I think it’s important to know kind of 268 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:24,000 where I’m from as an individual. 269 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:28,000 August 12th, I’ll start here. The story starts way 270 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:32,000 before then and I’ll pull some of the stuff out in the presentation, 271 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:36,000 but let’s say August 12th. I get arrested. 272 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:40,000 So, I get arrested and I get taken to 273 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:44,000 Morton County Jail and I’m sitting in jail 274 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:48,000 and I’m thinking “Oh, man. 275 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:52,000 This isn’t bad. This isn't 276 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:56,000 bad. This is a relief”. And the reason why it's 277 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:00,000 a relief is because there wasn’t anything I could do. 278 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:04,000 I couldn’t do anything about what was 279 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:08,000 happening at Standing 280 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,000 Rock with the threat to our 281 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:16,000 water with the communities 282 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:20,000 and the issues that we deal with on a daily basis. 283 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:24,000 I was sitting in jail and I was thinking this is 284 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:28,000 comfort. It’s strange, but 285 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:32,000 it kind of pulled me away so I could think about 286 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:36,000 what was actually happening, because I didn’t know 287 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:40,000 what was happening. When I came back from jail, 288 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:44,000 there was a tribal leader that came up to me 289 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:48,000 from another reservation and he said, 290 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:52,000 “We’re sending 200 people tomorrow.” And another 291 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:56,000 tribe leader said from a different reservation, he’s bringing 300 292 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:00,000 people. And one of the tribal leaders was my uncle from 293 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:04,000 the Ogallala Sioux Tribe in that reservation and 294 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:08,000 he was excited. He was excited that there's 295 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:12,000 gonna be a fight. We’re going down and 296 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:16,000 297 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:20,000 so you can’t plan for something like this. 298 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:24,000 We might want to call it an event or we might want call it 299 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:28,000 a moment in time, but it's 300 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:32,000 not an event. This is an event 301 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:36,000 tonight. We all gather here tonight and then 302 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:40,000 when this is over, it’s over. What was happening 303 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:44,000 at Standing Rock was that something was growing and it was getting 304 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:48,000 bigger and bigger and 305 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:52,000 I don’t know if there was a way that you could control it. 306 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:56,000 And for me, I always like to have answers. I like 307 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:00,000 to know the outcomes, but I 308 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,000 didn’t know what was happening and I didn’t know what was gonna happen 309 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:08,000 and it was scary 310 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:12,000 I guess. So at Standing 311 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:16,000 Rock what we did was we got some elders together and in 312 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:20,000 our culture and our belief systems and our way of life, we 313 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:24,000 ask the creator. We 314 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:28,000 have a ceremony and we ask the creator, how 315 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:32,000 are we gonna stop this pipeline. And in the ceremony, 316 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:36,000 and I’m not telling you to believe in anything, I’m just saying, 317 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:40,000 this is what was told to us was that if you 318 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:44,000 fight 319 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:48,000 with violence, you’ll lose. 320 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:52,000 But if you fight this with peace and prayer, you’ll win. 321 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:56,000 So from that moment on, we 322 00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:00,000 said we’re gonna make this a prayerful and peaceful 323 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:04,000 demonstration. So what transpired was 324 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:08,000 we only had like, people were welcome to come to Standing Rock, to 325 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:12,000 come. As a tribe and as a tribal leader, I never 326 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:16,000 told people to come, but 327 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:20,000 when people came, we wanted to welcome them and we wanted to make sure 328 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,000 we accommodated them. But there’s only four things that we asked. 329 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:28,000 The first was no alcohol. 330 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,000 The second was no drugs. The third was no weapons. 331 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:36,000 The fourth was no violence. And if you’re 332 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,000 gonna come with your prayer and share. 333 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:44,000 You’re more than welcome. And 334 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:48,000 it was probably one of the most powerful things that I ever 335 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:52,000 was a part of. It was sacred 336 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:56,000 It was a moment where 337 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:00,000 there was some clarity and it was a time where 338 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:04,000 for the first time, I felt, in 339 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:08,000 500 years that our 340 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:12,000 people, our Indigenous People, felt 341 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:16,000 a sense of liberation, a sense of freedom. 342 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:20,000 We had control. We had 343 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:24,000 say. And it was powerful. And I remember, 344 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,000 so this was kind of like my day. 345 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:32,000 I would get up at 6:00, I would go to 346 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:36,000 work, go to the tribal office about 30 miles away, 347 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:40,000 be there by 8:00. And by noon, 348 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:44,000 I left and I was at the camp. 349 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:48,000 And there was always these meetings like what are we gonna do, how are we 350 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:52,000 gonna. We’re gonna set up a council lodge. There’s all these things, logistics, 351 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:56,000 and the port-a-potties, the roll off dumpsters, 352 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:00,000 how many we need, where are people gonna go. So we would have these 353 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:04,000 meetings and how do you get everybody information 354 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:08,000 on what’s gonna transpire, what’s going on. So we 355 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:12,000 would eat and we would meet and we meet and we meet with elders 356 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,000 and they would talk in our language and it was powerful and we would 357 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:20,000 just sit there thinking that 358 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:24,000 is this really happening? Is this something that is 359 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:28,000 here today and you got to a 360 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:32,000 place where you didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to leave the camp 361 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,000 so by the time it was 2:00, 3:00 in the morning, I would 362 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:40,000 still be down there and would still be in meetings, still be talking and 363 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:44,000 I would go home. And when I’d go home, there 364 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:48,000 would be people at my house and they would be waiting for me, so I have 365 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:52,000 to stay up and I’ll talk to them. And then I would lay down about 5:00 366 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:56,000 and my head’s spinning 367 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:00,000 and I can’t sleep. And then I get up and I go to work and the 368 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:04,000 day goes the exact same way for six days. 369 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:08,000 I didn’t sleep and I didn’t 370 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:12,000 eat, I hardly ate. And I was smoking cigarettes like crazy. 371 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:16,000 It was like I was a chain smoker. I don’t even think I 372 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:20,000 touched the water. I didn’t bathe or anything, 373 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:24,000 but it was a 374 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:28,000 challenge because 375 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:32,000 there were so many different things coming at you and 376 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:36,000 their suggestions and everybody knew what to do and how to do it and 377 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:40,000 what we were going to do. So the first 6 days was really 378 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:44,000 hard and it wasn’t until 379 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:48,000 my wife, 380 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:52,000 we say Mahasanni, and that means 381 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,000 “My other half”. 382 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:00,000 It’s a real intimate term to describe your significant 383 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:04,000 other. So my Mahasanni pulled me aside and said, 384 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,000 “You have to pray.” 385 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:12,000 You have to pray. And she was worried about me because I wasn’t getting 386 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,000 sleep and she was scared that I was gonna get thrown in jail again or 387 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:20,000 she was scared that a war was gonna happen and they were gonna take me. 388 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,000 So she was really worried about what was happening 389 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:28,000 and she wasn’t sleeping, she wasn’t eating, and she was spending time 390 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:32,000 looking for me. So she says you have to 391 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:36,000 pray. And I remember we had a 392 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:40,000 council set up. It was 3:00 in the morning, and I was sitting 393 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:44,000 in the council lodge and I’m listening to these elders talk and they’re 394 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:48,000 speaking in the language and it’s real 395 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:52,000 cool, but then there was this energy that’s saying what are we going 396 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:56,000 to do, and that’s why we’ve formed a council lodge to say what and how we're 397 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:00,000 gonna confront the oil industry, the pipeline industry, the federal 398 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:04,000 government, the state governments. What are our purposes? 399 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:08,000 So I’m sitting in there and then 400 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:12,000 it’s like this younger group is coming up and 401 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:16,000 they’re saying we gotta fight. 402 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:20,000 We gotta fight and it's almost where 403 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:24,000 you start to believe that’s what you have to do and that’s your purpose. 404 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:28,000 And so I didn’t know at the time 405 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:32,000 my wife was sitting outside the teepee and she was listening to the conversations. 406 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:36,000 She pulled me in and she said 407 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:40,000 “We have to go. We have to go pray.” 408 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:44,000 So that night, 409 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,000 I went home. I fell asleep and I heard people talking 410 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,000 in my living room. My wife got my mother. My wife 411 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:56,000 got my sister. My wife got my brother. She got my auntie. And they're 412 00:27:56,000 --> 00:28:00,000 all sitting there and they were worried about me. 413 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:04,000 And they said you can’t go to 414 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:08,000 the camp anymore by yourself, you have to go with somebody 415 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:12,000 and you have to eat and you can’t stay out there all night. So they 416 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:16,000 gave me all these rules and then we have to go to sweat, a sweat lodge. 417 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:20,000 A sweat lodge is a purification ceremony and 418 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:24,000 I didn’t know that at the time, that I was carrying so 419 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:28,000 much or know what I was carrying. And I remember 420 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,000 when we were in the sweat lodge it was the first time that I got to 421 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:36,000 talk about what was happening and it was the first time that I 422 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:40,000 cried and cried a lot. And I 423 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:44,000 know when something is sacred and something is spiritual, emotions 424 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:48,000 come over you and you can’t control it. 425 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:52,000 One time I was sleeping in these first 6 days, and I heard people 426 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:56,000 talking outside of my window and they kept 427 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:00,000 talking and 428 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:04,000 I woke up and I said what is that? 429 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:08,000 I was still sleeping. I was still dreaming and I went to my window and there 430 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:12,000 was this streetlight on the street and there was people. This was before 431 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:16,000 anyone came to Standing Rock but there was people all in the streets and they 432 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:20,000 were saying, “Dave, come on. Come with us. We need you, 433 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:24,000 get over here.” And I 434 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:28,000 froze up in my sleep and I shook myself awake. 435 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:32,000 The next night, the people were 436 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:36,000 inside of our house in my dream. So I knew that something 437 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,000 was happening and I knew that something sacred, something spiritual was 438 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:44,000 going on. And it’s the connection that we have. So when I start 439 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:48,000 say why? I start asking questions why 440 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:52,000 is this happening? Why me? Why is it here? 441 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:56,000 What’s gonna happen? 442 00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:00,000 And I used to love math. Math was easy for 443 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:04,000 me because I could solve a problem. 444 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:08,000 And a lot of times it’s just the formula. And this formula comes like 445 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:12,000 it’s an if/then. And if you look at if/then, 446 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:16,000 and it’s a function of X. And if you have the formula, you can solve 447 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:20,000 it. Whether it’s calculus or trigonometry, 448 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:24,000 or algebra, if/then. So you ask these questions if/then. 449 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:28,000 So I start asking if we did this, 450 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:32,000 then this happened. If I did that, then what would the result be? 451 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:36,000 If we went at this with war, 452 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,000 then what would happen? If we went at this with peace, then what would happen? So 453 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:44,000 it’s always searching for answers and that’s kind of how I came up 454 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:48,000 with this presentation. 455 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:52,000 Why was there resistance? Why did Indigenous People 456 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:56,000 stand up at Standing Rock? So 457 00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:00,000 I could talk about Standing Rock because that’s who I am 458 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:04,000 and that’s where I’m from and I know the history. 459 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:08,000 So first, like my name 460 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:12,000 is Dave Archambault and I’m gonna talk a little bit about the past, because 461 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:16,000 you have to understand why there’s resistance. 462 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:20,000 I always like to say that I am a recovering 463 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:24,000 Chairman. And I would think it would cool if I could get all the 464 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:28,000 Chairmans that were once Chairmen in a room and we get together and we could talk 465 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:32,000 and just kind of recover. 466 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:36,000 This whole- when you think 467 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:40,000 about an event or a moment, 468 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:44,000 there’s different characters of there’s different 469 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:48,000 470 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:52,000 I don’t know how to label them. I’ll just say characters. 471 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:56,000 And there’s three of them. And in this event that happened at Standing 472 00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:00,000 Rock, I’ll talk about the past, I’ll talk about kind of the present, 473 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:04,000 and then I’ll talk about what I’m doing now and the future. 474 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:08,000 Part of it is I work for the First Peoples Indigenous 475 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:12,000 Engagement Investment Project. 476 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:16,000 and it’s continuing to work from a First Peoples World project which was 477 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:20,000 engaging tribes, Indigenous communities with corporations 478 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:24,000 when there’s a threat to their ancestral lands. 479 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:28,000 So we’re continuing the work that Rebecca Adams 480 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:32,000 started. So that’s kind of like the future. 481 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:36,000 What can we do? What are we doing? What am I doing? 482 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:40,000 483 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:44,000 But the three characters. So, let’s say that you 484 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:48,000 watch a movie or you’re a part of something, but 485 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:52,000 there’s always three. There’s a villain, 486 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:56,000 there’s a hero, and there’s a victim. 487 00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:00,000 So there’s always these three characters that you end up 488 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:04,000 and you try to identify. Well, which one is he, 489 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:08,000 what is she, or what’s going on 490 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:12,000 here and I could tell you through this whole 491 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:16,000 event, I was all three 492 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:20,000 of them. Sometimes I was two at the same time. 493 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:24,000 So I was considered a hero. I 494 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:28,000 was a villain 495 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:32,000 to the pipeline. I was a villain to the state and the federal government. 496 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:36,000 I was a villain towards the end towards the people who once 497 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:40,000 supported. I was a 498 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:44,000 victim. Our lands 499 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:48,000 are being threatened. Our water is being threatened. Our people. 500 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:52,000 So if you think about it, there’s always these three characters 501 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:56,000 and I got to experience all three and I’ll tell you, they’re not 502 00:33:56,000 --> 00:34:00,000 all that. So, 503 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:04,000 the past. I have to back up 504 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:08,000 to share kind of how we got to this 505 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:12,000 point in this moment and this is what 506 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:16,000 they call the Doctrine of Discovery. 507 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:20,000 In the 1400s, churches 508 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:24,000 came together with states, or we would call them kingdoms 509 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:28,000 in Europe and the Roman Catholic 510 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:32,000 Church, and I’m not discrediting anybody’s religion or anything, I’m 511 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:36,000 just saying this is what was happening. The Romans Catholic 512 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:40,000 churches were teaming up with kingdoms 513 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:44,000 and states and that’s where the power lied. 514 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:48,000 And when they came together, they came 515 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:52,000 together for riches. So the churches 516 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:56,000 said to the kingdoms to go and discover 517 00:34:56,000 --> 00:35:00,000 new lands. And if you go and discover new lands, 518 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:04,000 the kingdoms come and say what if there’s people 519 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:08,000 there already? Well, ask them if they believe in God 520 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:12,000 and if they don’t believe in God, then they’re less than human and if they're 521 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:16,000 less than human, none of the riches are theres. 522 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:20,000 It’s yours to discover and you can christen it with your sword. 523 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:24,000 And so when they came across Indigenous People, 524 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:28,000 to send a message they would maim, 525 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:32,000 they would cut the hands, cut the feet off, they would cut the noses off. 526 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:36,000 It was just 527 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:40,000 Christian dominion. A dominance 528 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:44,000 over one race from another 529 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,000 and that’s the origin 530 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:52,000 of what happened throughout the world when 531 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:56,000 new lands were discovered. It 532 00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:00,000 legitimized and legalized Christian dominion. 533 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:04,000 So there’s Papal Bulls, those sacred documents 534 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:08,000 that are still at the 535 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:12,000 Vatican today that say it’s okay to do this. 536 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:16,000 Prior to anybody coming 537 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:20,000 to America, this is 538 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:24,000 how the land was. 539 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:28,000 Let’s see if I can point. This area 540 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:32,000 right here was where my tribes are from. 541 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:36,000 542 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:40,000 In 1784, was the first time 543 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:44,000 that the country, the United States, said we need to identify 544 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:48,000 the lands of the Indigenous People. So this 545 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:52,000 was what they said was Sioux country, 546 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:56,000 or Lakota, Dakota, Nakota. 547 00:36:56,000 --> 00:37:00,000 The Sioux country, 548 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:04,000 it’s Dakota, Lakota, and Dakota, The Great Sioux Nation, 549 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:08,000 that make up The Great Sioux Nation and they have all of the Seven Council 550 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:12,000 Fires. You hear Oceti Sakowin, that was the name of the camp. 551 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:16,000 The camp was actually called Seven 552 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:20,000 Council Fires. I am 553 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:24,000 from the Titunwan, the Hunkpapa and 554 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:28,000 Ihanktonwan. 555 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:32,000 So those are like my ancestors and I’m also part Cheyenne. 556 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:36,000 But there were Seven Council Fires 557 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:40,000 and the Titunwan had seven bands and the seven bands are what 558 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:44,000 make up a lot of the tribes in South Dakota. In 1812, 559 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:48,000 there was a war. 560 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:52,000 It was Americas versus the British. 561 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:56,000 and in 1815, that was the first treaty that the 562 00:37:56,000 --> 00:38:00,000 Yanktonai entered into. So I only talk about my tribe. 563 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:04,000 The Yanktonai entered into a treaty and it was a peace treaty. It was 564 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:08,000 a peace treaty with American saying we 565 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:12,000 promise we won’t fight against you anymore because the Yanktonia teamed up 566 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:16,000 with the British in that first war. So 1815, they said we're 567 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:20,000 gonna promise under a peace treaty that 568 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:24,000 we’re not gonna be enemies with the Americas. But by 569 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:28,000 1825, that was the first treaty the 570 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:32,000 Yanktonai from the Great Sioux Nation entered into a 571 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:36,000 land boundary treaty, saying this land 572 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:40,000 right here is where we 573 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:44,000 are occupying and 574 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:48,000 if you’re gonna come through here, you need to visit with 575 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:52,000 us. So there’s treaties. Now if you think about America, 576 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:56,000 America enters into a lot of treaties with different countries 577 00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:00,000 and they honor every treaty they enter into 578 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:04,000 with other countries. But when it comes to treaties within 579 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:08,000 America, they haven’t honored one. 580 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:12,000 If I were to try to talk 581 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:16,000 a little about treaties, to me, 582 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:20,000 thinking about what is a treaty? The treaty 583 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:24,000 was before the Constitution. 584 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:28,000 It’s the law of the land and it would be considered a 585 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:32,000 contract. So it’s a contract saying 586 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:36,000 we agree on this. Even though there was 587 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:40,000 language differences, we agreed, 588 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:44,000 for the most part, on a lot of the treaties. 589 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:48,000 In 1851, 590 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:52,000 so if you think about 1825, 1813, 591 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:56,000 1815, 1825 to 1851 what was happening in 592 00:39:56,000 --> 00:40:00,000 America, there was a Civil War that was taking place. 593 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:04,000 So there wasn’t much discussion or conversation 594 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:08,000 about tribes or Indians until 595 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:12,000 about the mid-1800s. In 1851, 596 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:16,000 there was a 597 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:20,000 Fort Robinson Trail that went through Nebraska 598 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:24,000 and it went all the way to West Coast and so as 599 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:28,000 there’s people migrating to the West, they’re running into 600 00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:32,000 confrontations with tribes. So, they enter into treaties 601 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:36,000 with the tribes in that area. The second one 602 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:40,000 that we got into was in 1851 with the Great Sioux Nation. 603 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:44,000 And that treaty 604 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:48,000 had over 60 million acres of land and it 605 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:52,000 encompassed four different states. 606 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:56,000 From 1851 to 1868, 607 00:40:56,000 --> 00:41:00,000 everything was good until there was gold 608 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:04,000 discovered in Montana. In Montana, 609 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:08,000 there was a route that cut through by the North Platte River 610 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:12,000 and went straight up in here 611 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:16,000 for gold. They called it the Bozeman Trail. 612 00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:20,000 So before 1868 613 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:24,000 there was the Indian Wars, they called it and it was Chief 614 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:28,000 Red Cloud who stood up and said you can’t come through these lands. These 615 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:32,000 This area here is the Rocky Mountains and the Black 616 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:36,000 Hills. This area is some of the most precious, 617 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:40,000 pristine land that the tribes- hunting land 618 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:44,000 hunting grounds that the tribes occupied. And now they’re getting 619 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:48,000 threatened because there’s a Bozeman Trail. So they have these wars 620 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:52,000 and these forts actually never did get set up. 621 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:56,000 Red Cloud came and he burned a couple forts 622 00:41:56,000 --> 00:42:00,000 down. So, in 623 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:04,000 1877, 624 00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:08,000 1874 there was this guy named Custer. 625 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:12,000 Custer travelled through 626 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:16,000 the Black Hills on an expedition to see if there was gold in there. 627 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:20,000 So, 628 00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:24,000 the 1876 Congress 629 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:28,000 takes preliminary power over tribes. Now, 630 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:32,000 that alone is a violation of the U.S. Constitution. 631 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:36,000 Congress should not have preliminary power over any citizen 632 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:40,000 of America, but yet, they have it over tribes. 633 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:44,000 And every business that has to be conducted with tribes- 634 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:48,000 it was under the Department of Defense, and they moved it over to 635 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:52,000 the Department of Army and then they moved it over to 636 00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:56,000 Congress. And Congress starts setting up these departments, 637 00:42:56,000 --> 00:43:00,000 like Department of Interior with the Bureau of Indian 638 00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:04,000 Affairs. So, in 1877, 639 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:08,000 there’s an Act that was passed by the government and it was the 640 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:12,000 Black Hills Settlement or the 641 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:16,000 Black Hills land was taken out. So this is 642 00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:20,000 where the Black Hills is, and this is the Great Sioux Nation 643 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:24,000 Boundary. It’s about a third of South 644 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:28,000 Dakota. So the lands start 645 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:32,000 by 1889, 646 00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:36,000 this was the Great Sioux Nation 647 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:40,000 and they start separating the tribes. They put us 648 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:44,000 on each of our own reservations. In 1910, 649 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:48,000 there was this land 650 00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:52,000 grab, or, what do they call it when the 651 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:56,000 Sooners went into Oklahoma. The same thing happened in South 652 00:43:56,000 --> 00:44:00,000 Dakota and North Dakota where lands were for sale 653 00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:04,000 pennies on a dollar and it was 654 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:08,000 Indian lands within the reservations. So what they did in 1889 655 00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:12,000 was they created, it was called the Allotment Act and they gave every 656 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:16,000 individual that was a Native American, if they were competent 657 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:20,000 enough, determined by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Superintendent and 658 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:24,000 the way they would determine it is if they could speak English and if 659 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:28,000 they can, then they may understand what land ownership is. 660 00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:32,000 You have to understand that we never- how can you own a 661 00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:36,000 relative? We never had a concept of ownership and prior to 662 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:40,000 1889, everything was 663 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:44,000 shared. Everything was communal. 664 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:48,000 You can’t give an individual a parcel of land. 665 00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:52,000 So, we didn’t understand what was happening 666 00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:56,000 and in 1910, the land within the reservations 667 00:44:56,000 --> 00:45:00,000 was taken out of trust status under federal 668 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:04,000 government and put into fee status. So, by 669 00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:08,000 1954, that's 670 00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:12,000 Standing Rock. That’s where I live. The land in the yellow 671 00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:16,000 is still in trust and there’s different types 672 00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:20,000 of land. There’s allotted land and there’s tribal land. 673 00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:24,000 The tribe owns some land but the majority of the land is owned by individuals. 674 00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:28,000 There’s 2.3 million acres on Standing Rock. 675 00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:32,000 Standing Rock startles North Dakota and South Dakota. 676 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:36,000 2.3 million acres within the exterior boundaries 677 00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:40,000 of the reservation and 678 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:44,000 of the 2.3 million, I would say 1.3 679 00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:48,000 is in trust still, so over half. So we went from 680 00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:52,000 60 million acres in 681 00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:56,000 1851 to less 682 00:45:56,000 --> 00:46:00,000 than 2 million acres. That’s what our 683 00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:04,000 tribe looks like today. The green is allotted, 684 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:08,000 which means individual tribal members own the land, and the white 685 00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:12,000 is it’s no longer in trust. It’s owned by non-Indians 686 00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:16,000 and the yellow is tribal and the red is tribal, tribal fee, 687 00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:20,000 Meaning that the tribe bought back some land 688 00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:24,000 from individuals. So the land status, there’s different jurisdictions and 689 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:28,000 different issues that we have to deal with when it comes to managing 690 00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:32,000 government. So, those 691 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:36,000 were some of the land takings and you think that 692 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:40,000 the land taking would end. You’d think there’s no way 693 00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:44,000 they’re gonna be able take any more land. We’re actually getting land 694 00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:48,000 back. We’re buying land back. In 1944, there was an act, it was called the 695 00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:52,000 Pick-Sloan Act. The Pick-Sloan was a project, 696 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:56,000 infrastructure project that built 7 dams and it was the largest 697 00:46:56,000 --> 00:47:00,000 dam project in the world at that time and 698 00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:04,000 everywhere these dams were placed, they were placed strategically 699 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:08,000 so they’ll take the most precious lands that 700 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:12,000 tribes have and that’s the land along the river. So if I back 701 00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:16,000 up here, and if you look where the tribes 702 00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:20,000 are on Standing Rock, this is at 703 00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:24,000 Grand River, wherever there’s water, that’s where we 704 00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:28,000 chose the land. And this out here is a lot of fee land, 705 00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:32,000 but that’s agriculture land, that’s flat 706 00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:36,000 prairie. This didn’t have any use to us but 707 00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:40,000 the land with the water, the land with the woods, the land with the game, 708 00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:44,000 the land with the fruit, was the land that we wanted to occupy. 709 00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:48,000 So let’s build some dams. 710 00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:52,000 and let’s take those lands. This is a chairmen from the 711 00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:56,000 3 affiliated tribes. His last name was Gillette, first name Russell. 712 00:47:56,000 --> 00:48:00,000 and at the signing of this dam project, 713 00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:04,000 he’s crying because he knows what’s coming for his people. 714 00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:08,000 Here’s Fort Peck Dam. 715 00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:12,000 Three Affiliated's Dam. Standing Rock’s Dam with 716 00:48:12,000 --> 00:48:16,000 Cheyenne River, Lower Brule, Crow Creek, Yankton. Seven tribes 717 00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:20,000 their land was taken. We didn’t have say. 718 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:24,000 We didn’t get consulted. They just came in with this infrastructure project 719 00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:28,000 and what this infrastructure project does is it brings 720 00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:32,000 electricity and it manages flood control. So the states that 721 00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:36,000 are below, in Missouri, they can still run barges. 722 00:48:36,000 --> 00:48:40,000 I just, I gave this 723 00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:44,000 pictures because the land that bares a lot of the fruit 724 00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:48,000 is now 55,000 acres were taken from 725 00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:52,000 Standing Rock. 726 00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:56,000 That infrastructure project there had an 727 00:48:56,000 --> 00:49:00,000 impact on our lives. We had to relocate from the river bottom 728 00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:04,000 to high land and 729 00:49:04,000 --> 00:49:08,000 730 00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:12,000 a lot of people didn’t want to leave, so they stayed and they saw the water 731 00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:16,000 rise and sweep away their house, sweep away their goats 732 00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:20,000 and that was in 733 00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:24,000 1956. So there are still people today 734 00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:28,000 on Standing Rock who can remember when the flood waters came 735 00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:32,000 and when they took our lands. So this 736 00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:36,000 is another infrastructure project and probably the first infrastructure that 737 00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:40,000 had a negative impact on who we are. 738 00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:44,000 It’s a railroad system. The railroad system 739 00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:48,000 came through, and in our treaties, there’s some 740 00:49:48,000 --> 00:49:52,000 language in there that says that without 741 00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:56,000 permission, not one non-member of 742 00:49:56,000 --> 00:50:00,000 the tribe can cross through our lands, but 743 00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:04,000 there’s another article in there that says if 744 00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:08,000 we’re gonna build infrastructure projects, then you have to allow us. 745 00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:12,000 The railroad system came through 746 00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:16,000 and what it did, 747 00:50:16,000 --> 00:50:20,000 so, to help you understand 748 00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:24,000 prior to the railroad system, we have a creation 749 00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:28,000 story. Our story is that we came from Wind Cave 750 00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:32,000 in the Black Hills and a man 751 00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:36,000 came out of the cave and his 752 00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:40,000 tribe was waiting for him. When he came out, 753 00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:44,000 he saw that it was cold, he saw there was no food, and so he asked the 754 00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:48,000 Creator if he can help his people. And so the Creator 755 00:50:48,000 --> 00:50:52,000 turned him into a buffalo. He was the first to come out and he became 756 00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:56,000 a buffalo. And so we always say that 757 00:50:56,000 --> 00:51:00,000 the buffalo is our relative who gave 758 00:51:00,000 --> 00:51:04,000 himself for us. In 759 00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:08,000 1801, it was said that were 70 million buffalo that roamed the 760 00:51:08,000 --> 00:51:12,000 plains. It was like a black sea and 761 00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:16,000 by 1889, there were less 762 00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:20,000 than 100 head of buffalo running wild on the plains. 763 00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:24,000 So the buffalo was 764 00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:28,000 our home, our teepee. A buffalo had 765 00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:32,000 all of our tools, with the bones, the meat. The buffalo 766 00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:36,000 was our economy, wherever the buffalo went. And it was a 767 00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:40,000 system and a cycle that replenished and gave to 768 00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:44,000 all the relatives. And it was 769 00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:48,000 who we are and we call came from the same place. 770 00:51:48,000 --> 00:51:52,000 Now the railroad system comes in and they shoot 771 00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:56,000 for sport. They start killing buffalo. 772 00:51:56,000 --> 00:52:00,000 In less than 100 years, they almost make the 773 00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:04,000 species go extinct. They had to go out into the prairies 774 00:52:04,000 --> 00:52:08,000 and pick up buffalo skulls, buffalo bones. There was mountains 775 00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:12,000 of buffalo skulls. Mountains of hides. That’s the only thing 776 00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:16,000 they wanted but they left everything. 777 00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:20,000 And it changed 778 00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:24,000 our way of life. We used to be nomadic. We would follow the 779 00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:28,000 buffalo wherever it went, and now the buffalo are not there, so it changed 780 00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:32,000 us. 781 00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:36,000 So this is just a picture of the railroad systems 782 00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:40,000 in 1870, and as it starts to expand. And I 783 00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:44,000 just want to make note like right here, this is the Great Sioux Nation. 784 00:52:44,000 --> 00:52:48,000 Those are the railroad systems. There’s now a railroad system that's 785 00:52:48,000 --> 00:52:52,000 cutting through the heart of our Great Sioux Nation. This 786 00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:56,000 right here is the Great Sioux Nation with this infrastructure project. 787 00:52:56,000 --> 00:53:00,000 These are automobiles. This is another infrastructure. This is what happened. 788 00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:04,000 In 1907, this is just an interstate system 789 00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:08,000 and this is where we start to see, there were different prophecies in 790 00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:12,000 our history by 791 00:53:12,000 --> 00:53:16,000 different médecine men and they’re saying there’s gonna be a ‘black snake’. 792 00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:20,000 This was the first black snake in the service and it’s gonna be like a 793 00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:24,000 spider web over the land. 794 00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:28,000 In a short period of time, that’s what the insterstate system 795 00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:32,000 looks like now and it goes throughout the United States. 796 00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:36,000 That infrastructure changed who we are. This is another 797 00:53:36,000 --> 00:53:40,000 infrastructure project. These are gas pipelines 798 00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:44,000 and I want to show you right here, this is 799 00:53:44,000 --> 00:53:48,000 This is the Great Sioux Nation yet. 800 00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:52,000 These are oil spills since- 801 00:53:52,000 --> 00:53:56,000 this made was pulled in 802 00:53:56,000 --> 00:54:00,000 2010. These are all the oil spills in 2010. Over 2,000 803 00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:04,000 oil spills from pipelines. There’s no oil 804 00:54:04,000 --> 00:54:08,000 spills in the middle of where Great Sioux Nation is. 805 00:54:08,000 --> 00:54:12,000 So now I’m trying to catch you up on why is there resistance at Standing 806 00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:16,000 Rock. They’re gonna build a pipeline and it’s gonna 807 00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:20,000 cut 500 feet from our existing reservation 808 00:54:20,000 --> 00:54:24,000 along the Missouri River. So, 809 00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:28,000 I ask, I say, ‘Why do you need to 810 00:54:28,000 --> 00:54:32,000 pipeline?’. In my capacity as a chairman, I was able to 811 00:54:32,000 --> 00:54:36,000 talk to Congress, senators, congressmen, governors, 812 00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:40,000 of the state, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Secretary of 813 00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:44,000 Department of Army Assistant 814 00:54:44,000 --> 00:54:48,000 Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy. I asked all of them, why do you need 815 00:54:48,000 --> 00:54:52,000 this? Why do you have to put it here? Well, 816 00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:56,000 we need it for energy independence. We need it for economic 817 00:54:56,000 --> 00:55:00,000 development, and we need it for national security. 818 00:55:00,000 --> 00:55:04,000 So then I have to stop them and I say, ‘Hold on now. 819 00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:08,000 Look at what you’re telling me and think about what 820 00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:12,000 the Indigenous People paid for, throughout 821 00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:16,000 the inception of this great nation.’ 822 00:55:16,000 --> 00:55:20,000 This right here is the 823 00:55:20,000 --> 00:55:24,000 Black Hills. This is where our creation story 824 00:55:24,000 --> 00:55:28,000 comes from. There’s certain ceremonies that we follow and we follow 825 00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:32,000 the stars with this 826 00:55:32,000 --> 00:55:36,000 land, 827 00:55:36,000 --> 00:55:40,000 the Black Hills. The first one takes place on the highest 828 00:55:40,000 --> 00:55:44,000 peak. We welcome back our Wakinyans, our 829 00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:48,000 Thunder Beings, because they bring life with water, but they also 830 00:55:48,000 --> 00:55:52,000 can bring destruction, so we ask them to have pity on us. 831 00:55:52,000 --> 00:55:56,000 Then we go 28 days after that. 28 is a significant number 832 00:55:56,000 --> 00:56:00,000 for our tribe. It has a 833 00:56:00,000 --> 00:56:04,000 number 4, it has a number 7. There’s 4 cardinal directions 834 00:56:04,000 --> 00:56:08,000 There’s 7 directions in 835 00:56:08,000 --> 00:56:12,000 spirituality. There’s 836 00:56:12,000 --> 00:56:16,000 28 days in a woman’s cycle. There's 837 00:56:16,000 --> 00:56:20,000 28 ribs in a buffalo. So 28 days after we 838 00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:24,000 welcome the Wakinyan back, we go to Phesla, there’s a bald spot 839 00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:28,000 and it’s where animals congregate and we give thanks 840 00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:32,000 for the animals that give 841 00:56:32,000 --> 00:56:36,000 themselves so that we can live. 28 days after that, we go to 842 00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:40,000 Bear Butte and we hamblecha. 843 00:56:40,000 --> 00:56:44,000 A hamblecha is kind of like a vision quest. 28 days after that, 844 00:56:44,000 --> 00:56:48,000 we go to Grey Horn Butte which is 845 00:56:48,000 --> 00:56:52,000 Devil’s Tower and we have our 846 00:56:52,000 --> 00:56:56,000 Wiwanyag Wacipi, or sun dance, and these are things that the 847 00:56:56,000 --> 00:57:00,000 Creator showed us where the buffalo went, and the 848 00:57:00,000 --> 00:57:04,000 things that were happening in the stars. It’s not just 849 00:57:04,000 --> 00:57:08,000 Mitakuyepi, our relations here on this planet, it’s the 850 00:57:08,000 --> 00:57:12,000 connectivity that we have from the center of the Earth to the universe 851 00:57:12,000 --> 00:57:16,000 and the stars tell us when we do things and how we do things 852 00:57:16,000 --> 00:57:20,000 and it’s Wakhan, 853 00:57:20,000 --> 00:57:24,000 it’s a great mystery. It’s spiritual. 854 00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:28,000 This is the Black Hills. Remember in 1874 855 00:57:28,000 --> 00:57:32,000 this cat named Custer came in and 856 00:57:32,000 --> 00:57:36,000 found gold in there. 857 00:57:36,000 --> 00:57:40,000 Gold was used for national security, to back 858 00:57:40,000 --> 00:57:44,000 the US currency. We already paid for it. You 859 00:57:44,000 --> 00:57:48,000 took the most sacred places that we ever had, 860 00:57:48,000 --> 00:57:52,000 the most sacred places that we cherished, you took them from us. 861 00:57:52,000 --> 00:57:56,000 In 1877 with the act that said we weren’t even humans. We 862 00:57:56,000 --> 00:58:00,000 weren’t even citizens of the country and Congress was passing acts on our 863 00:58:00,000 --> 00:58:04,000 behalf. In 864 00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:08,000 1889, they put us on 865 00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:12,000 reservations. In 1910, they 866 00:58:12,000 --> 00:58:16,000 sold on our lands on the reservations for pennies on the dollar and we 867 00:58:16,000 --> 00:58:20,000 didn’t have say. We weren’t even citizens in 1910. 868 00:58:20,000 --> 00:58:24,000 They did it for economic development. 869 00:58:24,000 --> 00:58:28,000 I don’t know if there’s any crops that grow here, 870 00:58:28,000 --> 00:58:32,000 but usually when there’s crops that can grow in a state, it’s the number one 871 00:58:32,000 --> 00:58:36,000 economic driver and they were taking it from us 872 00:58:36,000 --> 00:58:40,000 for economic development. National security, 873 00:58:40,000 --> 00:58:44,000 economic development, we paid for it. The Missouri River 874 00:58:44,000 --> 00:58:48,000 with this dam project. 875 00:58:48,000 --> 00:58:52,000 They use it for hydro electricity, hydro power. 876 00:58:52,000 --> 00:58:56,000 So we’re paying for that. We’re paying so that this great 877 00:58:56,000 --> 00:59:00,000 nation can share in a federal project and who 878 00:59:00,000 --> 00:59:04,000 pays the costs? Who benefits? We pay the costs, 879 00:59:04,000 --> 00:59:08,000 Every day there’s trauma 880 00:59:08,000 --> 00:59:12,000 from when the lands were taken when the waters flooded and 881 00:59:12,000 --> 00:59:16,000 we see what river bottom we used to have, now we don’t have 882 00:59:16,000 --> 00:59:20,000 because it’s a lake. They call it Lake Oahe, not Missouri River. 883 00:59:20,000 --> 00:59:24,000 It’s for hydro electricity. 884 00:59:24,000 --> 00:59:28,000 You would think the takings are done. And this is 885 00:59:28,000 --> 00:59:32,000 something that I always have to say. 886 00:59:32,000 --> 00:59:36,000 A lot of times people say, ‘Why don’t you just get over 887 00:59:36,000 --> 00:59:40,000 it? Why are you 888 00:59:40,000 --> 00:59:44,000 complaining about this? I didn’t do that to you. I didn’t do that to 889 00:59:44,000 --> 00:59:48,000 your people. It was our ancestors that did that 890 00:59:48,000 --> 00:59:52,000 to your ancestors and it’s time to move on.’ It’s hard 891 00:59:52,000 --> 00:59:56,000 to move on when it continues to happen 892 00:59:56,000 --> 01:00:00,000 and it’s still happening today. 893 01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:04,000 This was the 894 01:00:04,000 --> 01:00:08,000 pipeline, Dakota Access Pipeline. 895 01:00:08,000 --> 01:00:12,000 We had to do something. 896 01:00:12,000 --> 01:00:16,000 What do you do? What can you do to try to build awareness 897 01:00:16,000 --> 01:00:20,000 and try to start to have a quiver there? 898 01:00:20,000 --> 01:00:24,000 Because there’s always different ways to use 899 01:00:24,000 --> 01:00:28,000 the tools or weapons that you have and if you use 900 01:00:28,000 --> 01:00:32,000 more, that one way’s easier to break, but if you have 901 01:00:32,000 --> 01:00:36,000 more than one way, like a quiver of arrows, it’s hard to break. 902 01:00:36,000 --> 01:00:40,000 We came at this 903 01:00:40,000 --> 01:00:44,000 politically, we visited and I 904 01:00:44,000 --> 01:00:48,000 listed a lot of the activities that we did, starting from 905 01:00:48,000 --> 01:00:52,000 2007 when we first passed resolutions on our nation stating 906 01:00:52,000 --> 01:00:56,000 that we don’t want pipelines. We don’t want 907 01:00:56,000 --> 01:01:00,000 fracking to take place. All the way 908 01:01:00,000 --> 01:01:04,000 909 01:01:04,000 --> 01:01:08,000 to when we had to- I tried to meet with Trump- all the way 910 01:01:08,000 --> 01:01:12,000 to when I tried to meet with Trump. Even today what’s happening 911 01:01:12,000 --> 01:01:16,000 with voter rights with Native Americans. 912 01:01:16,000 --> 01:01:20,000 So there’s a lot of things that we can do politically and that 913 01:01:20,000 --> 01:01:24,000 basically is getting meetings in front of people in the capacity I had, like 914 01:01:24,000 --> 01:01:28,000 senators, Congressmen, governors. And when I met with them 915 01:01:28,000 --> 01:01:32,000 and who I met with. Legally, we 916 01:01:32,000 --> 01:01:36,000 went to court. We did everything, we 917 01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:40,000 exhausted everything that we could in federal court. 918 01:01:40,000 --> 01:01:44,000 In the introduction, the young lady said that 919 01:01:44,000 --> 01:01:48,000 I have a Doctorate in Law 920 01:01:48,000 --> 01:01:52,000 honoris causa. It’s an honorary degree that 921 01:01:52,000 --> 01:01:56,000 that I was given. I didn’t know anything about law. I was just the 922 01:01:56,000 --> 01:02:00,000 chairman for Standing Rock and 923 01:02:00,000 --> 01:02:04,000 next thing you know, we’re going to court. I had to learn 924 01:02:04,000 --> 01:02:08,000 what a preliminary injunction is, executive summary, 925 01:02:08,000 --> 01:02:12,000 all of this stuff. It all started coming 926 01:02:12,000 --> 01:02:16,000 and arguments, getting in front of the judge. 927 01:02:16,000 --> 01:02:20,000 During this time when we went to 928 01:02:20,000 --> 01:02:24,000 our first court hearing. It was in Washington D.C. 929 01:02:24,000 --> 01:02:28,000 and I went and my wife came with me. But before 930 01:02:28,000 --> 01:02:32,000 she came, she asked to wear 931 01:02:32,000 --> 01:02:36,000 a dress and I thought she was just wearing a regular dress. 932 01:02:36,000 --> 01:02:40,000 And we get to D.C. 933 01:02:40,000 --> 01:02:44,000 and then she’s putting on this elk tooth 934 01:02:44,000 --> 01:02:48,000 traditional dress. 935 01:02:48,000 --> 01:02:52,000 Prior to that, when I was coming, my uncle 936 01:02:52,000 --> 01:02:56,000 in the council lodge said, when you go to 937 01:02:56,000 --> 01:03:00,000 D.C., you need to wear feathers, you need to wear at least two feathers 938 01:03:00,000 --> 01:03:04,000 to show that you’re still here. So I had these two 939 01:03:04,000 --> 01:03:08,000 feathers that I had to wear like this and my wife was gonna wear a 940 01:03:08,000 --> 01:03:12,000 dress and I didn’t know what kind of dress she was gonna wear until we 941 01:03:12,000 --> 01:03:16,000 got there and I actually saw the elk tooth dress. 942 01:03:16,000 --> 01:03:20,000 And it wasn’t a good day in court, I would say. I wasn’t too happy 943 01:03:20,000 --> 01:03:24,000 with what happened in court, but we were able to come out of that 944 01:03:24,000 --> 01:03:28,000 courthouse with, I had moccasins on, 945 01:03:28,000 --> 01:03:32,000 I was kind of dressed like this with two feathers and my wife had her 946 01:03:32,000 --> 01:03:36,000 moccasins and her elk tooth traditional dress and she had an eagle 947 01:03:36,000 --> 01:03:40,000 plume on and we came out and there was people 948 01:03:40,000 --> 01:03:44,000 that were supporting us and they were 949 01:03:44,000 --> 01:03:48,000 saying ‘You have to go say something to them.’ I didn’t know what to say 950 01:03:48,000 --> 01:03:52,000 but we had to go, and 951 01:03:52,000 --> 01:03:56,000 it was probably one of the most powerful things that I saw but 952 01:03:56,000 --> 01:04:00,000 it wasn’t powerful because of what I did, it was more powerful 953 01:04:00,000 --> 01:04:04,000 when I asked my wife, ‘Why did you have to wear that 954 01:04:04,000 --> 01:04:08,000 dress?’ and she said ‘Because, 955 01:04:08,000 --> 01:04:12,000 Indigenous women are left out. Indigenous 956 01:04:12,000 --> 01:04:16,000 women are forgotten, and if they’re forgotten, Indigenous nations will 957 01:04:16,000 --> 01:04:20,000 be forgotten, so we have to remind the world that Indigenous 958 01:04:20,000 --> 01:04:24,000 People are here’. And Indigenous women, more importantly, are still here. 959 01:04:24,000 --> 01:04:28,000 And it was 960 01:04:28,000 --> 01:04:32,000 significant when that happened. And I don’t know, I don’t 961 01:04:32,000 --> 01:04:36,000 have a picture of what she was wearing, but that's one thing I remember 962 01:04:36,000 --> 01:04:40,000 about the court. And the other things that we were doing was demonstrations, 963 01:04:40,000 --> 01:04:44,000 activities on ground. We had youth that were running 964 01:04:44,000 --> 01:04:48,000 from Cannon Ball, from my community, all the way to Omaha 965 01:04:48,000 --> 01:04:52,000 to the Corps of Engineers. 966 01:04:52,000 --> 01:04:56,000 District Office, and then they made another journey to Washington 967 01:04:56,000 --> 01:05:00,000 D.C. and they delivered a petition of 165,000 signatures 968 01:05:00,000 --> 01:05:04,000 saying don’t allow the Dakota Access 969 01:05:04,000 --> 01:05:08,000 Pipeline to cross under the Missouri River. And this was all led by youth. 970 01:05:08,000 --> 01:05:12,000 Our youth were doing this. And so, one 971 01:05:12,000 --> 01:05:16,000 one of the things that I learned as a Chairman is that when our youth speak, 972 01:05:16,000 --> 01:05:20,000 you have to acknowledge and you have to recognize them and you have to give 973 01:05:20,000 --> 01:05:24,000 them a platform. And so we did then best that we could to 974 01:05:24,000 --> 01:05:28,000 give them a platform, and it was a social media platform. And it blew up. 975 01:05:28,000 --> 01:05:32,000 It got big. It got big. So I always try to 976 01:05:32,000 --> 01:05:36,000 acknowledge and credit to the youth, not just at Standing Rock, 977 01:05:36,000 --> 01:05:40,000 but the youth throughout Indian country came together and said 978 01:05:40,000 --> 01:05:44,000 ‘We’re gonna stand together. We’re gonna stand up with tribes.’ 979 01:05:44,000 --> 01:05:48,000 So these are just some of the things that are 980 01:05:48,000 --> 01:05:52,000 kind of like actions 981 01:05:52,000 --> 01:05:56,000 or activities that were taking place. And I wasn’t 982 01:05:56,000 --> 01:06:00,000 responsible for all of them. 983 01:06:00,000 --> 01:06:04,000 I always say I’m Ikce wichasa. 984 01:06:04,000 --> 01:06:08,000 I said that in my introduction. Ikce means common. 985 01:06:08,000 --> 01:06:12,000 I’m a common man. I’m not greater and I’m no less. 986 01:06:12,000 --> 01:06:16,000 I’m same as everybody else in this room, so 987 01:06:16,000 --> 01:06:20,000 I know in the introduction it says a global leader or a global thinker, 988 01:06:20,000 --> 01:06:24,000 I’m not any of that. A lot of this happened from grassroots people 989 01:06:24,000 --> 01:06:28,000 coming together and believing and these are 990 01:06:28,000 --> 01:06:32,000 a lot of the activities that were done and I didn’t do a lot of it, 991 01:06:32,000 --> 01:06:36,000 but I saw and I knew exactly what was happening. 992 01:06:36,000 --> 01:06:40,000 So here’s the Dakota Access Pipeline. 993 01:06:40,000 --> 01:06:44,000 Cannon Ball’s right here. This is the pipeline. 994 01:06:44,000 --> 01:06:48,000 There was another proposed route north of Bismarck. Bismarck's 995 01:06:48,000 --> 01:06:52,000 the capital of North Dakota. 996 01:06:52,000 --> 01:06:56,000 They chose this route and their reasoning is there’s already a natural 997 01:06:56,000 --> 01:07:00,000 gas pipeline that went through there. 998 01:07:00,000 --> 01:07:04,000 When they proposed this route though, they completely 999 01:07:04,000 --> 01:07:08,000 omitted that Standing Rock even existed. So when 1000 01:07:08,000 --> 01:07:12,000 you see that first draft, and that’s what I got, 1001 01:07:12,000 --> 01:07:16,000 what do they say about us? And 1002 01:07:16,000 --> 01:07:20,000 our ask from the beginning was you need to 1003 01:07:20,000 --> 01:07:24,000 do an environmental impact statement on this project, 1004 01:07:24,000 --> 01:07:28,000 not just an environmental assessment to get your permits, 1005 01:07:28,000 --> 01:07:32,000 to cross the Missouri River, you need to do an environmental impact 1006 01:07:32,000 --> 01:07:36,000 statement. An environmental impact statement takes a long time. But what it 1007 01:07:36,000 --> 01:07:40,000 does is it looks into how a community 1008 01:07:40,000 --> 01:07:44,000 or a people is gonna be impacted by a project. 1009 01:07:44,000 --> 01:07:48,000 And sometimes there’s good and sometimes there’s bad. 1010 01:07:48,000 --> 01:07:52,000 Good impacts and bad impacts, but it needs to be understood 1011 01:07:52,000 --> 01:07:56,000 what’s gonna happen. And the only reason we ask that is because if you 1012 01:07:56,000 --> 01:08:00,000 look at all the infrastructure projects that took place in the past, 100 years 1013 01:08:00,000 --> 01:08:04,000 had a negative impact, 200 years, had a 1014 01:08:04,000 --> 01:08:08,000 negative impact on our people. Now if you look at 1015 01:08:08,000 --> 01:08:12,000 Standing Rock 1016 01:08:12,000 --> 01:08:16,000 the dark green represents 1017 01:08:16,000 --> 01:08:20,000 poverty. So, 1018 01:08:20,000 --> 01:08:24,000 what we try to show is environmental injustice 1019 01:08:24,000 --> 01:08:28,000 when a pipeline chooses a route where 1020 01:08:28,000 --> 01:08:32,000 there’s higher rates of poverty. When you look at Standing 1021 01:08:32,000 --> 01:08:36,000 Rock, we have two counties. Sioux 1022 01:08:36,000 --> 01:08:40,000 County and Corson County. 1023 01:08:40,000 --> 01:08:44,000 And if you look at the Great Sioux Nation, we have the Ogallala Sioux 1024 01:08:44,000 --> 01:08:48,000 Tribe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Standing 1025 01:08:48,000 --> 01:08:52,000 Rock. Five of the top 10 poorest 1026 01:08:52,000 --> 01:08:56,000 counties in the nation. Five of the top ten 1027 01:08:56,000 --> 01:09:00,000 poorest counties in the nation are from the Great 1028 01:09:00,000 --> 01:09:04,000 Sioux Nation and that’s not because we want to be, 1029 01:09:04,000 --> 01:09:08,000 it’s because of all the wrongs that have been committed to us over time 1030 01:09:08,000 --> 01:09:12,000 that put us in this situation. And it was because we were 1031 01:09:12,000 --> 01:09:16,000 most defiant to the federal government with our 1032 01:09:16,000 --> 01:09:20,000 Indian wars. So, I just wanted 1033 01:09:20,000 --> 01:09:24,000 to share this, like what happened after the 1034 01:09:24,000 --> 01:09:28,000 demonstration in the state of North Dakota. I’m not saying all 1035 01:09:28,000 --> 01:09:32,000 states are good or bad, I’m just saying 1036 01:09:32,000 --> 01:09:36,000 this is kind of a form of punishment by the legislators 1037 01:09:36,000 --> 01:09:40,000 who want to see this 1038 01:09:40,000 --> 01:09:44,000 fossil fuel developed and exploited and 1039 01:09:44,000 --> 01:09:48,000 revenue generated for the state. Oil becomes the number one economic 1040 01:09:48,000 --> 01:09:52,000 driver for the state of North Dakota and how dare those Indians 1041 01:09:52,000 --> 01:09:56,000 say ‘We don’t want this pipeline here’. 1042 01:09:56,000 --> 01:10:00,000 So they start passing these state bills. Not all of them 1043 01:10:00,000 --> 01:10:04,000 passed, and I wouldn’t even be able to tell you which ones did, 1044 01:10:04,000 --> 01:10:08,000 but this one made me laugh. They 1045 01:10:08,000 --> 01:10:12,000 wanted to outlaw face masks. So basically, 1046 01:10:12,000 --> 01:10:16,000 they’re outlawing Halloween. 1047 01:10:16,000 --> 01:10:20,000 This one, they wanted to have 1048 01:10:20,000 --> 01:10:24,000 sanctions on our gaming revenue. 1049 01:10:24,000 --> 01:10:28,000 There was one where they made it okay to have firearms. 1050 01:10:28,000 --> 01:10:36,000 1051 01:10:36,000 --> 01:10:40,000 Here’s one. A pedestrian bill. 1052 01:10:40,000 --> 01:10:44,000 It was okay to strike a pedestrian if they blocked the road. 1053 01:10:44,000 --> 01:10:48,000 This one right here, in Charlottesville, North Carolina, there 1054 01:10:48,000 --> 01:10:52,000 was somebody that lost their life because of that, but the state of 1055 01:10:52,000 --> 01:10:56,000 North Dakota was trying to make it legal. To carry 1056 01:10:56,000 --> 01:11:00,000 concealed weapons permit. And then we 1057 01:11:00,000 --> 01:11:04,000 think about what happened in Vegas and with all these mass 1058 01:11:04,000 --> 01:11:08,000 shootings in stuff. So the state is standing up, saying 1059 01:11:08,000 --> 01:11:12,000 you guys better not anymore. But a lot of 1060 01:11:12,000 --> 01:11:16,000 the bills didn’t pass, but it was just kind of interesting to see the 1061 01:11:16,000 --> 01:11:20,000 residual effects of what happens. There’s another pipeline that's 1062 01:11:20,000 --> 01:11:24,000 coming out. It’s called the KXL Pipeline. It’s a pipeline. 1063 01:11:24,000 --> 01:11:28,000 In 2013, Obama, President Obama 1064 01:11:28,000 --> 01:11:32,000 at that time said he’s not gonna sign off on it, and they need a 1065 01:11:32,000 --> 01:11:36,000 presidential signature because it crosses international lines. 1066 01:11:36,000 --> 01:11:40,000 So it pretty much died in 2013. 1067 01:11:40,000 --> 01:11:44,000 Now it resurfaced with the new president. So this 1068 01:11:44,000 --> 01:11:48,000 KXL, Keystone Pipeline. Remember 1069 01:11:48,000 --> 01:11:52,000 those maps I was showing you that there’s a hole there? 1070 01:11:52,000 --> 01:11:56,000 That's Great Sioux Nation lands. This pipeline is crossing 1071 01:11:56,000 --> 01:12:00,000 right down the middle of our Great Sioux Nation 1072 01:12:00,000 --> 01:12:04,000 of our 1868 treaty lands 1073 01:12:04,000 --> 01:12:08,000 that we never ceded, we never 1074 01:12:08,000 --> 01:12:12,000 agreed to any treaty violations or breaking of treaties 1075 01:12:12,000 --> 01:12:16,000 It’s just acts of Congress with the preliminary power kept breaking them. 1076 01:12:16,000 --> 01:12:20,000 So, I kind of 1077 01:12:20,000 --> 01:12:24,000 wanted to go over a lot of that. History 1078 01:12:24,000 --> 01:12:28,000 to help people understand that we have a right, 1079 01:12:28,000 --> 01:12:32,000 Indigenous Peoples have a right to stand up. Indigenous People have 1080 01:12:32,000 --> 01:12:36,000 a voice and our youth are starting to 1081 01:12:36,000 --> 01:12:40,000 stand up, and it’s not just Indigenous Peoples youth, there’s youth 1082 01:12:40,000 --> 01:12:44,000 across America who are starting to say ‘Something’s not right and we're gonna 1083 01:12:44,000 --> 01:12:48,000 start letting our voice be heard.’ A lot of this, 1084 01:12:48,000 --> 01:12:52,000 and when I said I like math, a lot of 1085 01:12:52,000 --> 01:12:56,000 it was kind of challenging for me because 1086 01:12:56,000 --> 01:13:00,000 there was good and there was bad 1087 01:13:00,000 --> 01:13:04,000 with everything. So, this 1088 01:13:04,000 --> 01:13:08,000 was something that came up when I 1089 01:13:08,000 --> 01:13:12,000 start saying if/then, so if, then 1090 01:13:12,000 --> 01:13:16,000 and it’s a formula and so if you have a 1091 01:13:16,000 --> 01:13:20,000 formula, you can make a parabola, you can make a bell curve, you can have 1092 01:13:20,000 --> 01:13:24,000 lines, parallel lines, you can have a straight line. 1093 01:13:24,000 --> 01:13:28,000 So I’m trying to find an answer to what’s happening because there 1094 01:13:28,000 --> 01:13:32,000 was this beautiful time 1095 01:13:32,000 --> 01:13:36,000 and it kind of got really challenging. 1096 01:13:36,000 --> 01:13:40,000 So there’s 500 years of wrongs. 1097 01:13:40,000 --> 01:13:44,000 500 years there’s another 1098 01:13:44,000 --> 01:13:48,000 prophecy that says ‘In the 7th generation, the tribes are gonna 1099 01:13:48,000 --> 01:13:52,000 learn a lot of those things, their culture, 1100 01:13:52,000 --> 01:13:56,000 their language, it’s gonna start coming back.’ At the 7th generation, and 1101 01:13:56,000 --> 01:14:00,000 that’s where we are. So a generation is about 70 years 1102 01:14:00,000 --> 01:14:04,000 So 70 years, 1103 01:14:04,000 --> 01:14:08,000 7 generations back, 1104 01:14:08,000 --> 01:14:12,000 that’s 490 years ago. So I just say about 500 1105 01:14:12,000 --> 01:14:16,000 years before Europeans were here 1106 01:14:16,000 --> 01:14:20,000 and then 500 years ago, this is 1107 01:14:20,000 --> 01:14:24,000 how much we knew and this is our relationship that 1108 01:14:24,000 --> 01:14:28,000 we had with Unci Maka, Mother 1109 01:14:28,000 --> 01:14:32,000 Earth. This is what it was like to live. 1110 01:14:32,000 --> 01:14:36,000 So I call this blue line “Euphoria”. 1111 01:14:36,000 --> 01:14:40,000 Extreme happiness. Extreme excitement. 1112 01:14:40,000 --> 01:14:44,000 So we’re going along and this could be 1113 01:14:44,000 --> 01:14:48,000 a time. And time, 1114 01:14:48,000 --> 01:14:52,000 a lot of people think it’s linear. I’ll say it’s 1115 01:14:52,000 --> 01:14:56,000 circular. You can see the past. You can live in the moment and you 1116 01:14:56,000 --> 01:15:00,000 can change the future. It’s all a circle. If we were looking 1117 01:15:00,000 --> 01:15:04,000 at a big circle, this would just be a blurp on that circle. 1118 01:15:04,000 --> 01:15:08,000 Some time, in let’s say 1119 01:15:08,000 --> 01:15:12,000 2016, right there, something happened. 1120 01:15:12,000 --> 01:15:16,000 We said no alcohol, no drugs, no violence, 1121 01:15:16,000 --> 01:15:20,000 no weapons. We said we’re gonna come together and we’re gonna 1122 01:15:20,000 --> 01:15:24,000 unite and we said we’re gonna do this in a peaceful and prayerful 1123 01:15:24,000 --> 01:15:28,000 way. Now can you imagine 1124 01:15:28,000 --> 01:15:32,000 if everybody walked 1125 01:15:32,000 --> 01:15:36,000 in that manner? No violence, no weapons, 1126 01:15:36,000 --> 01:15:40,000 no alcohol, and no drugs. 1127 01:15:40,000 --> 01:15:44,000 and you had prayer in your life. Can you imagine 1128 01:15:44,000 --> 01:15:48,000 the outcome? It was felt. It was 1129 01:15:48,000 --> 01:15:52,000 beautiful. 1130 01:15:52,000 --> 01:15:56,000 It was hard for me to get away from it. 1131 01:15:56,000 --> 01:16:00,000 These right here are values that, 1132 01:16:00,000 --> 01:16:04,000 in the first generation, were passed down. 1133 01:16:04,000 --> 01:16:08,000 Even in our schools we say wisdom, generosity, 1134 01:16:08,000 --> 01:16:12,000 bravery, fortitude, these things are 1135 01:16:12,000 --> 01:16:16,000 how Indian, Native American, or American Indian, or Indigenous 1136 01:16:16,000 --> 01:16:20,000 Person, these are what they carry. You’re a sponge. You want to 1137 01:16:20,000 --> 01:16:24,000 learn all you can. Fortitude, you do things that you don’t 1138 01:16:24,000 --> 01:16:28,000 want to do, but you do anyway. Respect, you respect 1139 01:16:28,000 --> 01:16:32,000 all your relatives. So these are values and we learn them 1140 01:16:32,000 --> 01:16:36,000 but it’s really hard to understand what they are. 1141 01:16:36,000 --> 01:16:40,000 There was a time, 1142 01:16:40,000 --> 01:16:44,000 and I have this line here with the 7th generation, 1143 01:16:44,000 --> 01:16:48,000 where we got to experience 1144 01:16:48,000 --> 01:16:52,000 what that was. We got to see 1145 01:16:52,000 --> 01:16:56,000 what it meant to be generous. We got 1146 01:16:56,000 --> 01:17:00,000 to feel what it meant to even heal. We’ve been 1147 01:17:00,000 --> 01:17:04,000 going through so many wrongs that we’re traumatized 1148 01:17:04,000 --> 01:17:08,000 and how do we let that go? 1149 01:17:08,000 --> 01:17:12,000 Trauma gets passed for each generation. So, 1150 01:17:12,000 --> 01:17:16,000 right here at this 1151 01:17:16,000 --> 01:17:20,000 time, there was so much 1152 01:17:20,000 --> 01:17:24,000 good and you could feel it 1153 01:17:24,000 --> 01:17:28,000 and it was sacred. 1154 01:17:28,000 --> 01:17:32,000 And then, this is when I say change. 1155 01:17:32,000 --> 01:17:36,000 An article came out. This article came out and it said 1156 01:17:36,000 --> 01:17:40,000 there’s donations coming 1157 01:17:40,000 --> 01:17:44,000 to the camp. There’s money coming to the camp. 1158 01:17:44,000 --> 01:17:48,000 The tribe got this much. This organization got this much 1159 01:17:48,000 --> 01:17:52,000 This organization got this much. So instead of people coming and saying 1160 01:17:52,000 --> 01:17:56,000 ‘What can I do? Where can I help?’ 1161 01:17:56,000 --> 01:18:00,000 the language started to change and it started to say ‘Where can I get 1162 01:18:00,000 --> 01:18:04,000 mine?’ And we start to drift away 1163 01:18:04,000 --> 01:18:08,000 from this and it starting being more 1164 01:18:08,000 --> 01:18:12,000 about money, greed, fame, 1165 01:18:12,000 --> 01:18:16,000 power, and it was 1166 01:18:16,000 --> 01:18:20,000 the same time that we got a new president. 1167 01:18:20,000 --> 01:18:24,000 Now, 1168 01:18:24,000 --> 01:18:28,000 this isn’t political or anything, okay, 1169 01:18:28,000 --> 01:18:32,000 I’m just saying that there’s different ways that leaders 1170 01:18:32,000 --> 01:18:36,000 have, different styles and 1171 01:18:36,000 --> 01:18:40,000 it reminds me of when the 1172 01:18:40,000 --> 01:18:44,000 Roman Catholic Church joined forces with the statehood, with 1173 01:18:44,000 --> 01:18:48,000 the government, with the kingdom. We have the same thing happening. 1174 01:18:48,000 --> 01:18:52,000 Now we have a corporate industry, corporate world over here, 1175 01:18:52,000 --> 01:18:56,000 and we have a federal government. What happens when they 1176 01:18:56,000 --> 01:19:00,000 come together? What becomes more important 1177 01:19:00,000 --> 01:19:04,000 than humanity? 1178 01:19:04,000 --> 01:19:08,000 If it starts to become more about money or more about 1179 01:19:08,000 --> 01:19:12,000 deals on how to get more money, sometimes 1180 01:19:12,000 --> 01:19:16,000 it’s good. For the most part 1181 01:19:16,000 --> 01:19:20,000 in my experiences, it’s been bad. From our tribal, 1182 01:19:20,000 --> 01:19:24,000 Indigenous People, it hasn’t been good. And it creates division 1183 01:19:24,000 --> 01:19:28,000 So we’re living right here in a moment where the 1184 01:19:28,000 --> 01:19:32,000 intersection. Indigenous People are gonna start 1185 01:19:32,000 --> 01:19:36,000 saying ‘What can we do to stay united to get 1186 01:19:36,000 --> 01:19:40,000 the 14th generation, 7 more generations from now 1187 01:19:40,000 --> 01:19:44,000 in a place where they can live like this every day 1188 01:19:44,000 --> 01:19:48,000 or at this intersection, are we gonna do nothing 1189 01:19:48,000 --> 01:19:52,000 and see what happens in the next 500 years?' So it takes 1190 01:19:52,000 --> 01:19:56,000 a look at the past, the present, and the future. 1191 01:19:56,000 --> 01:20:00,000 This is something that, like 1192 01:20:00,000 --> 01:20:04,000 the three characters, the three villains. I’m kind of sharing with 1193 01:20:04,000 --> 01:20:08,000 you the things that go through my head. 1194 01:20:08,000 --> 01:20:12,000 When we had that ceremony, we asked how are we gonna 1195 01:20:12,000 --> 01:20:16,000 fight this? And we were told ‘with peace 1196 01:20:16,000 --> 01:20:20,000 and safety’. There was another option where we could go to war. 1197 01:20:20,000 --> 01:20:24,000 It was real. I don’t think 1198 01:20:24,000 --> 01:20:28,000 a lot of people realize or know that 1199 01:20:28,000 --> 01:20:32,000 there was a lot of activity that could have 1200 01:20:32,000 --> 01:20:36,000 transpired into an actual 1201 01:20:36,000 --> 01:20:40,000 war and it was 1202 01:20:40,000 --> 01:20:44,000 a lot with the law enforcement 1203 01:20:44,000 --> 01:20:48,000 and the security 1204 01:20:48,000 --> 01:20:52,000 and it was real nerve wracking to see what are we going to do to get 1205 01:20:52,000 --> 01:20:56,000 us into war or what are going to do to stay 1206 01:20:56,000 --> 01:21:00,000 out of war and it wasn’t easy. So, 1207 01:21:00,000 --> 01:21:04,000 this is a target and this is something that we did 1208 01:21:04,000 --> 01:21:08,000 in my office, as a Chairman. We 1209 01:21:08,000 --> 01:21:12,000 want to know what’s a distraction. It’s gonna pull us away 1210 01:21:12,000 --> 01:21:16,000 from fighting this. What are we fighting for first? 1211 01:21:16,000 --> 01:21:20,000 We want to make sure that we’re gonna protect 1212 01:21:20,000 --> 01:21:24,000 the river, because it provides for the future 1213 01:21:24,000 --> 01:21:28,000 of our people. When something happens to this pipeline, 1214 01:21:28,000 --> 01:21:32,000 who’s gonna be the first impacted? Who’s gonna pay the cost? 1215 01:21:32,000 --> 01:21:36,000 So we have to make sure that we’re protecting it and we 1216 01:21:36,000 --> 01:21:40,000 also are going to protect the sacred places that are around the 1217 01:21:40,000 --> 01:21:44,000 water with our culture, with our understanding. And we’re gonna do it 1218 01:21:44,000 --> 01:21:48,000 in prayerful, but man, every day 1219 01:21:48,000 --> 01:21:52,000 there’s distractions and 1220 01:21:52,000 --> 01:21:56,000 sometimes I call them political distractions where they pull you 1221 01:21:56,000 --> 01:22:00,000 away from what you’re actually doing. We could’ve spent 1222 01:22:00,000 --> 01:22:04,000 all our time on 1223 01:22:04,000 --> 01:22:08,000 camp rules. We could’ve talked about racism. We could’ve 1224 01:22:08,000 --> 01:22:12,000 talked about protectors or trespassing or treaty lands or 1225 01:22:12,000 --> 01:22:16,000 the tribal police, the BIA police, the low flying planes every day 1226 01:22:16,000 --> 01:22:20,000 there’s low flying planes. The Chairman was on 1227 01:22:20,000 --> 01:22:24,000 a power trip. There was all kinds of things that were money, 1228 01:22:24,000 --> 01:22:28,000 distractions every day and 1229 01:22:28,000 --> 01:22:32,000 I could focus on every one of those distractions and that’s all I would 1230 01:22:32,000 --> 01:22:36,000 focus on. Or, I could say, we have to maintain 1231 01:22:36,000 --> 01:22:40,000 our position on what we're doing and how we're gonna do it. 1232 01:22:40,000 --> 01:22:44,000 So this actually was- I was talking at 1233 01:22:44,000 --> 01:22:48,000 another university and they had a leadership class that 1234 01:22:48,000 --> 01:22:52,000 wanted to know how we made decisions, so I pulled this 1235 01:22:52,000 --> 01:22:56,000 chart up and I said, basically you know where you’re gonna go 1236 01:22:56,000 --> 01:23:00,000 and you have to know and understand the distractions, but don’t 1237 01:23:00,000 --> 01:23:04,000 spend your time on all the distractions. So now what? 1238 01:23:04,000 --> 01:23:08,000 It’s been two years since 1239 01:23:08,000 --> 01:23:12,000 Standing Rock and 1240 01:23:12,000 --> 01:23:16,000 I would say that the pipeline is in now 1241 01:23:16,000 --> 01:23:20,000 and there’s oil flowing through it. It’s still a 1242 01:23:20,000 --> 01:23:24,000 threat to our tribal nation. 1243 01:23:24,000 --> 01:23:28,000 The latest thing that happened 1244 01:23:28,000 --> 01:23:32,000 in the court was in August this year, where the judge, Judge Boasburg, the federal 1245 01:23:32,000 --> 01:23:36,000 judge ruled in favor of the Corps of Engineers 1246 01:23:36,000 --> 01:23:40,000 and what we did was we said, 1247 01:23:40,000 --> 01:23:44,000 ‘Here’s a lot of technical concerns 1248 01:23:44,000 --> 01:23:48,000 we have.’ We had over 380 pages of issues 1249 01:23:48,000 --> 01:23:52,000 that we have with pipelines. There’s a reason why, in 2010, over 1250 01:23:52,000 --> 01:23:56,000 2,000 pipeline breaks happened, so let's 1251 01:23:56,000 --> 01:24:00,000 get our experts and let’s find out what those are. And we put 1252 01:24:00,000 --> 01:24:04,000 380 pages and this is why you should take a closer look, 1253 01:24:04,000 --> 01:24:08,000 stop the flow, and so that was our argument in 1254 01:24:08,000 --> 01:24:12,000 court. Well the Corps of Engineers came back with one page, 1255 01:24:12,000 --> 01:24:16,000 one paragraph saying there’s nothing to worry about. 1256 01:24:16,000 --> 01:24:20,000 And so the judge rules in their favor. So that was the last. 1257 01:24:20,000 --> 01:24:24,000 There’s the KXL Pipeline. 1258 01:24:24,000 --> 01:24:28,000 Right now it’s on hold because the federal judge in Montana 1259 01:24:28,000 --> 01:24:32,000 said that they have to take a further look. 1260 01:24:32,000 --> 01:24:36,000 They have to take a closer look at what’s gonna happen to the 1261 01:24:36,000 --> 01:24:40,000 communities and the people. So that pipeline has stopped for now. 1262 01:24:40,000 --> 01:24:44,000 Not that I’m in the business 1263 01:24:44,000 --> 01:24:48,000 of stopping pipelines. What I am doing is trying to 1264 01:24:48,000 --> 01:24:52,000 make sure that if you’re gonna build infrastructure projects, what impact 1265 01:24:52,000 --> 01:24:56,000 is it gonna have and how is it gonna change our lives. If it changes 1266 01:24:56,000 --> 01:25:00,000 our lives, it’s gonna impact you eventually, and we have to start 1267 01:25:00,000 --> 01:25:04,000 changing the conversation to ‘us' 1268 01:25:04,000 --> 01:25:08,000 and ‘them’. We have to start talking in 1269 01:25:08,000 --> 01:25:12,000 we have to start making a change. We have to start doing things 1270 01:25:12,000 --> 01:25:16,000 different today. So, I want to try to 1271 01:25:16,000 --> 01:25:20,000 memorialize this experience that we had. 1272 01:25:20,000 --> 01:25:24,000 Part of that is, one day I want to write a book. 1273 01:25:24,000 --> 01:25:28,000 I can’t get there right now because it's 1274 01:25:28,000 --> 01:25:32,000 hard. It’s hard for me to reflect 1275 01:25:32,000 --> 01:25:36,000 but in time, I want to memorialize what happened, but I think 1276 01:25:36,000 --> 01:25:40,000 everybody who was a part of this movement should 1277 01:25:40,000 --> 01:25:44,000 memorialize it in any way. There are a lot of battles that are coming 1278 01:25:44,000 --> 01:25:48,000 and it’s important that we stay together and we stay united. 1279 01:25:48,000 --> 01:25:52,000 The KXL Pipeline is 1280 01:25:52,000 --> 01:25:56,000 and example of another battle, and I think that 1281 01:25:56,000 --> 01:26:00,000 that pipeline cuts through the heart of our 1282 01:26:00,000 --> 01:26:04,000 Great Sioux Nation and what happened at Standing 1283 01:26:04,000 --> 01:26:08,000 Rock is going to be mild to what could come 1284 01:26:08,000 --> 01:26:12,000 at the KXL Pipeline. So, 1285 01:26:12,000 --> 01:26:16,000 when I say there’s many battles ahead, 1286 01:26:16,000 --> 01:26:20,000 what happened, this started way before 1287 01:26:20,000 --> 01:26:24,000 Standing Rock. This started during the civil rights movement, 1288 01:26:24,000 --> 01:26:28,000 in the 60s. In the late 60s, early 70s, we had an 1289 01:26:28,000 --> 01:26:32,000 American Indian movement and the residual outcomes of 1290 01:26:32,000 --> 01:26:36,000 the American Indian movement, I would say one, 1291 01:26:36,000 --> 01:26:40,000 is Standing Rock. We don’t know what the residual outcomes 1292 01:26:40,000 --> 01:26:44,000 are gonna be of Standing Rock, but there’s gonna be some more 1293 01:26:44,000 --> 01:26:48,000 and in time, 1294 01:26:48,000 --> 01:26:52,000 and this was a prayer or 1295 01:26:52,000 --> 01:26:56,000 or this is a hope that Indigenous Peoples have 1296 01:26:56,000 --> 01:27:00,000 the same rights as everybody else, in time. 1297 01:27:00,000 --> 01:27:04,000 And it’s a similar thing that happened in the women’s movement. 1298 01:27:04,000 --> 01:27:08,000 In the 1900s, women started standing up and saying we should have 1299 01:27:08,000 --> 01:27:12,000 equal rights. We should have say. 1300 01:27:12,000 --> 01:27:16,000 And it didn’t in the early 1900s. 1301 01:27:16,000 --> 01:27:20,000 It almost took a half a century before women started 1302 01:27:20,000 --> 01:27:24,000 to see a change, and that’s what the residual outcomes 1303 01:27:24,000 --> 01:27:28,000 are coming. There’s many battles ahead and it’s our choice how we 1304 01:27:28,000 --> 01:27:32,000 stay together and how we make something happen. 1305 01:27:32,000 --> 01:27:36,000 We continue fighting in court if there’s an opportunity. 1306 01:27:36,000 --> 01:27:40,000 And then this Pope, 1307 01:27:40,000 --> 01:27:44,000 he’s pretty cool. He has a Harley 1308 01:27:44,000 --> 01:27:48,000 and I think that if we could get him 1309 01:27:48,000 --> 01:27:52,000 to, see this Doctrine of Discovery 1310 01:27:52,000 --> 01:27:56,000 is something that 1311 01:27:56,000 --> 01:28:00,000 shaped Indian property rights, Indian land. 1312 01:28:00,000 --> 01:28:04,000 In 1823, 1313 01:28:04,000 --> 01:28:08,000 Chief Justice Marshall ruled 1314 01:28:08,000 --> 01:28:12,000 in the court case and it set precedence for decades, 1315 01:28:12,000 --> 01:28:16,000 centuries, and that was 1316 01:28:16,000 --> 01:28:20,000 okay. There’s two parties. 1317 01:28:20,000 --> 01:28:24,000 They’re in a disagreement. One party says this is my land. 1318 01:28:24,000 --> 01:28:28,000 The state gave this piece of parcel to me. The other party is saying 1319 01:28:28,000 --> 01:28:32,000 that’s my land. I occupied that land from the 1320 01:28:32,000 --> 01:28:36,000 beginning of time. My ancestors lived on that land. How can 1321 01:28:36,000 --> 01:28:40,000 you say that’s your land? So, in 1823, 1322 01:28:40,000 --> 01:28:44,000 they go to court. Chief Justice Marshall rules in 1323 01:28:44,000 --> 01:28:48,000 favor of the land that the state gave 1324 01:28:48,000 --> 01:28:52,000 and he based his ruling on the Doctrine of Discovery. 1325 01:28:52,000 --> 01:28:56,000 and the Papal Bulls. So that 1326 01:28:56,000 --> 01:29:00,000 sets the precedence for federal law, federal land 1327 01:29:00,000 --> 01:29:04,000 for today, for our issue at Standing Rock. Now, 1328 01:29:04,000 --> 01:29:08,000 if we get this Pope to revoke, and it’s real political, 1329 01:29:08,000 --> 01:29:12,000 but if we get him to revoke the Papal Bulls, then that 1330 01:29:12,000 --> 01:29:16,000 puts a question to the ruling that Chief Justice Marshall 1331 01:29:16,000 --> 01:29:20,000 gave. 1332 01:29:20,000 --> 01:29:24,000 We have to be conscious of our behavior. 1333 01:29:24,000 --> 01:29:28,000 What happened at Standing Rock is a result of our own 1334 01:29:28,000 --> 01:29:32,000 consumption. It’s what we do. And it impacts 1335 01:29:32,000 --> 01:29:36,000 us, all of us. 1336 01:29:36,000 --> 01:29:40,000 The way we consume food, 1337 01:29:40,000 --> 01:29:44,000 as an individual. So at an individual level, and this is 1338 01:29:44,000 --> 01:29:48,000 something that I did. I went in my house and I took all the lightbulbs 1339 01:29:48,000 --> 01:29:52,000 out and I put incandescent lightbulbs. Individual, 1340 01:29:52,000 --> 01:29:56,000 that’s not enough. You’re gonna start seeing 1341 01:29:56,000 --> 01:30:00,000 communities change on sustainability 1342 01:30:00,000 --> 01:30:04,000 and there’s gonna be private industries that evolve 1343 01:30:04,000 --> 01:30:08,000 and it’s the beginning of 1344 01:30:08,000 --> 01:30:12,000 the third industrial revolution. So you have, 1345 01:30:12,000 --> 01:30:16,000 we’re in the second industrial revolution. You have three industrial 1346 01:30:16,000 --> 01:30:20,000 revolutions. The first industrial revolution, for industrial revolution to 1347 01:30:20,000 --> 01:30:24,000 happen, there has to be something 1348 01:30:24,000 --> 01:30:28,000 happening in unison with energy, transportation, 1349 01:30:28,000 --> 01:30:32,000 and communication. So the first indstrial 1350 01:30:32,000 --> 01:30:36,000 revolution, electricity came from steam 1351 01:30:36,000 --> 01:30:40,000 engines. Steam engines helped us transport with railroad systems. 1352 01:30:40,000 --> 01:30:44,000 The steam helped us print books 1353 01:30:44,000 --> 01:30:48,000 publications, newspapers. 1354 01:30:48,000 --> 01:30:52,000 Second industrial revolution, we became dependent on fossil 1355 01:30:52,000 --> 01:30:56,000 fuels and the way that we use transportation is with automobiles. 1356 01:30:56,000 --> 01:31:00,000 And the way we communicated, we could call someone up on the 1357 01:31:00,000 --> 01:31:04,000 telephone and we could talk to them 100 miles away, 200 miles away 1358 01:31:04,000 --> 01:31:08,000 on the other side of the state through telephone lines. We’re on a 1359 01:31:08,000 --> 01:31:12,000 cusp of the third industrial revolution and it’s our choice 1360 01:31:12,000 --> 01:31:16,000 if we’re gonna do something. We have to retrofit the systems 1361 01:31:16,000 --> 01:31:20,000 that we depend on. We have to de-centralize. And you’re starting to see 1362 01:31:20,000 --> 01:31:24,000 a generation move in that capacity. 1363 01:31:24,000 --> 01:31:28,000 The American dream used to be 1364 01:31:28,000 --> 01:31:32,000 rags to riches. 1365 01:31:32,000 --> 01:31:36,000 Today the American dream is ‘I want to be 1366 01:31:36,000 --> 01:31:40,000 self-sustainable’. I don’t want to depend 1367 01:31:40,000 --> 01:31:44,000 on someone for electricity. I want to build a house that is 1368 01:31:44,000 --> 01:31:48,000 passive-energy or net zero. 1369 01:31:48,000 --> 01:31:52,000 I want to grow my own food. I want to have aquaponics. 1370 01:31:52,000 --> 01:31:56,000 You see a lot of the millennials 1371 01:31:56,000 --> 01:32:00,000 saying we’re gonna make this happen. We’re moving at a different- 1372 01:32:00,000 --> 01:32:04,000 Even with transportation. 1373 01:32:04,000 --> 01:32:08,000 You see the millennials asking questions. Why does grandpa have 1374 01:32:08,000 --> 01:32:12,000 three cars and a camper? You're starting 1375 01:32:12,000 --> 01:32:16,000 to see share riding. You’re starting to see public transit. You're 1376 01:32:16,000 --> 01:32:20,000 starting to see less need for automobiles. As long as there’s cars 1377 01:32:20,000 --> 01:32:24,000 and vehicles, there’s gonna be a strong dependency on fossil 1378 01:32:24,000 --> 01:32:28,000 fuel. But you see, we’re shifting away from it. And even 1379 01:32:28,000 --> 01:32:32,000 the way we communicate. One of the- 1380 01:32:32,000 --> 01:32:36,000 my feeling on one 1381 01:32:36,000 --> 01:32:40,000 topic is Facebook. I don’t have Facebook. I hate 1382 01:32:40,000 --> 01:32:44,000 Facebook. It permeates a lot of negative energy 1383 01:32:44,000 --> 01:32:48,000 and so I choose not to have it because 1384 01:32:48,000 --> 01:32:52,000 I don’t want to know what people are thinking, but it also is 1385 01:32:52,000 --> 01:32:56,000 good because it’s a vehicle, a medium to communicate, and 1386 01:32:56,000 --> 01:33:00,000 people communicate with our phones now. We could have a 1387 01:33:00,000 --> 01:33:04,000 house that generates it’s own power, charges our cell phone, and we could 1388 01:33:04,000 --> 01:33:08,000 talk to everybody and we could grow our own food. And we 1389 01:33:08,000 --> 01:33:12,000 de-centralize, and what that does is it changes 1390 01:33:12,000 --> 01:33:16,000 this corporation or corporate world 1391 01:33:16,000 --> 01:33:20,000 and the government and that has 1392 01:33:20,000 --> 01:33:24,000 to happen if we want this planet to have a fighting chance. 1393 01:33:24,000 --> 01:33:28,000 And I’m not talking climate change or anything, I’m just saying 1394 01:33:28,000 --> 01:33:32,000 that this planet will always recover, but if we 1395 01:33:32,000 --> 01:33:36,000 continue to do the things that we do, 1396 01:33:36,000 --> 01:33:40,000 we’re going to create an environment where 1397 01:33:40,000 --> 01:33:44,000 we can no longer occupy it and there’s gonna be a 1398 01:33:44,000 --> 01:33:48,000 change in the species that evolve on this planet. 1399 01:33:48,000 --> 01:33:52,000 The planet will always be here. Mother Earth will always recover. 1400 01:33:52,000 --> 01:33:56,000 What do you buy? What are you eating? Where do you get your 1401 01:33:56,000 --> 01:34:00,000 power? Continue to build awareness. 1402 01:34:00,000 --> 01:34:04,000 A lot of the funding for infrastructure projects, 1403 01:34:04,000 --> 01:34:08,000 I do some of this work. I go and I talk with banks and I talk with corporations 1404 01:34:08,000 --> 01:34:12,000 and our financial institutions and I say, ‘What impact are you 1405 01:34:12,000 --> 01:34:16,000 going to have on an Indigenous community if you’re on or near'. 1406 01:34:16,000 --> 01:34:20,000 And it could be around the world. But 1407 01:34:20,000 --> 01:34:24,000 just building awareness does a lot. 1408 01:34:24,000 --> 01:34:28,000 Public reform on policy. 1409 01:34:28,000 --> 01:34:32,000 We were saying in our argument 1410 01:34:32,000 --> 01:34:36,000 with the Corps of Engineers is that we were not consulted. 1411 01:34:36,000 --> 01:34:40,000 But this is a government system, and the federal government in the United 1412 01:34:40,000 --> 01:34:44,000 States in a developed country has laws, and one of the laws say 1413 01:34:44,000 --> 01:34:48,000 you should consult. You should consult. 1414 01:34:48,000 --> 01:34:52,000 And so, financial institutions and lenders and banks, 1415 01:34:52,000 --> 01:34:56,000 funders of these projects, they automatically assume 1416 01:34:56,000 --> 01:35:00,000 that the federal agency is consulting 1417 01:35:00,000 --> 01:35:04,000 and so they fund the project. What I was saying 1418 01:35:04,000 --> 01:35:08,000 we don’t need to be consulted. We need to be treated like the rest of 1419 01:35:08,000 --> 01:35:12,000 the world where they actually get consent to 1420 01:35:12,000 --> 01:35:16,000 develop an infrastructure. Getting consent is something that’s important, 1421 01:35:16,000 --> 01:35:20,000 especially if it’s gonna change the way you live or impact the way your 1422 01:35:20,000 --> 01:35:24,000 life is. 1423 01:35:24,000 --> 01:35:28,000 There’s the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering 1424 01:35:28,000 --> 01:35:32,000 Council. This was something that the President Obama 1425 01:35:32,000 --> 01:35:36,000 Administration did. They streamlined the permitting process. So 1426 01:35:36,000 --> 01:35:40,000 there’s different policies and different ways that we can start to address and 1427 01:35:40,000 --> 01:35:44,000 look at to try to make a change for the future and those are the other battles. 1428 01:35:44,000 --> 01:35:48,000 Now, I sit on a board and the residual outcome 1429 01:35:48,000 --> 01:35:52,000 of Standing Rock was the NDN Collective 1430 01:35:52,000 --> 01:35:56,000 and it’s an organization that just started 1431 01:35:56,000 --> 01:36:00,000 to try to consolidate a lot of the Indigenous efforts 1432 01:36:00,000 --> 01:36:04,000 in North America and it’s 1433 01:36:04,000 --> 01:36:08,000 helping tribes understand how they can defend their lands, 1434 01:36:08,000 --> 01:36:12,000 1435 01:36:12,000 --> 01:36:16,000 what decolonization means, and helping tribes understand if there's 1436 01:36:16,000 --> 01:36:20,000 development opportunities, what they can do. Another 1437 01:36:20,000 --> 01:36:24,000 organization that I work with is the University of Colorado 1438 01:36:24,000 --> 01:36:28,000 and all I do there is to help corporations and tribes 1439 01:36:28,000 --> 01:36:32,000 engage. If there was early 1440 01:36:32,000 --> 01:36:36,000 engagement at Standing Rock, I’ll tell you a story. Again, 1441 01:36:36,000 --> 01:36:40,000 another story but, real quick. In December 1442 01:36:40,000 --> 01:36:44,000 2016, I met with 1443 01:36:44,000 --> 01:36:48,000 the CEO of Energy 1444 01:36:48,000 --> 01:36:52,000 Transport Partners, Kelcy Warren. 1445 01:36:52,000 --> 01:36:56,000 He came to Bismarck and 1446 01:36:56,000 --> 01:37:00,000 both of our reasons for meeting was simple. 1447 01:37:00,000 --> 01:37:04,000 My reason was I don’t want anybody 1448 01:37:04,000 --> 01:37:08,000 to get hurt. There’s no reason to use 1449 01:37:08,000 --> 01:37:12,000 weapons, whether they’re percussion weapons or 1450 01:37:12,000 --> 01:37:16,000 rubber bullets or guard dogs. 1451 01:37:16,000 --> 01:37:20,000 There’s no reason for that. We’re not doing anything that warrants 1452 01:37:20,000 --> 01:37:24,000 that kind of treatment. And he was saying I don’t my employees hurt. 1453 01:37:24,000 --> 01:37:28,000 So, there’s a common ground of safety. We want to 1454 01:37:28,000 --> 01:37:32,000 be safe. We want everyone to be safe, but we want our voices heard 1455 01:37:32,000 --> 01:37:36,000 and we want to try to do something. He’s 1456 01:37:36,000 --> 01:37:40,000 trying to do something. So to come to the common ground, we 1457 01:37:40,000 --> 01:37:44,000 start talking. Now, I share with him everything that I shared 1458 01:37:44,000 --> 01:37:48,000 with you guys about why we’re resisting and 1459 01:37:48,000 --> 01:37:52,000 he tells me, ‘If I knew this a year ago, 1460 01:37:52,000 --> 01:37:56,000 we wouldn’t be here.’ So, from that 1461 01:37:56,000 --> 01:38:00,000 statement, I figured that if we could get 1462 01:38:00,000 --> 01:38:04,000 the conversation going to help understand 1463 01:38:04,000 --> 01:38:08,000 if there’s opportunity, if there’s 1464 01:38:08,000 --> 01:38:12,000 resistance, why? 1465 01:38:12,000 --> 01:38:16,000 So that’s what I do with 1466 01:38:16,000 --> 01:38:20,000 First Nations and also informing shareholders 1467 01:38:20,000 --> 01:38:24,000 of organizations. But, 1468 01:38:24,000 --> 01:38:28,000 that’s pretty much the whole presentation 1469 01:38:28,000 --> 01:38:32,000 and I don’t know how much time we have and I hope it was 1470 01:38:32,000 --> 01:38:36,000 worth something. [applause] 1471 01:38:36,000 --> 01:38:40,000 [applause] 1472 01:38:40,000 --> 01:38:44,000 [applause] 1473 01:38:44,000 --> 01:38:48,000 [applause] 1474 01:38:48,000 --> 01:39:11,723