planetjuniper:

(random pic of dude at Burning Man)

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being at Standing Rock

Most of us are watching history being made through our Facebook feed.  The internet is a place where true sacredness can get lost in translation and dialogue is predisposed to being polarized and “issue” oriented. A friend said in September, “ You can’t explain the feeling of the camp up there.  You have to just go.  It’s a lot less complicated and much more peaceful once you’re just there by the water with everyone.

That’s why when I started to see posts on my feed from indigenous people crying out that the behavior of white people at camp was getting out of hand, I knew it was serious. There’s always bad behavior and the fact people were speaking up loudly all of a sudden meant the situation was getting critical.

I read a report of two “Burning Man/circuit festival type” white women who led a circle at the Oceti Sakowin Spirit Fire. They spoke of the goddess and the patriarchy. They told the native men traditionally tending the fire they needed to be quiet.  They policed how the native women spoke, told them to not speak out of turn and to hold their comments for later. They weren’t wearing skirts or dresses by the sacred fire as they were asked.  The indigenous women who witnessed this were very upset about it and didn’t know what to do.

An anonymous repost:
“Just received this message from friend and outstanding journalist at standing rock. OMG girl so many white ppl here at standing rock you need to check Hard. Worst ugliest attitudes. The vibe is so off this time. And those “encountered are just presumptuous prickly rude and Very entitled.” And they have made a healing chakra zone and are right now rubbing on eachother.”

And:
“A camp came in the other day set up a dome played bass music at night with light poi spinners…!! Aah. I was on the other side of the river. Menfolk started hollering…”We’re in PRAYER over here! “It took almost 30 minutes for them to shut down. Huge fire when we have to conserve wood to keep warm and for lodges.”

One doesn’t have to have the skills of Margaret Mead to figure out who these people are on the cultural landscape. They are the urban bourgoise for whom which climate change has become the newest charismatic religion.  Daniel Pinchbeck is one of the priests, ayahuasca is its communion, yoga its prayer and Burning Man it’s annual tent revival where Gitterponies are still permitted to wear bikinis and “indian” headdresses and arrive on the tarmac via helicopter. I have seen it with my own eyes – people who actually believe humanity has already achieved a state of being “all one” despite the fact indigenous people are being maced, dragged out of sweat lodges, branded with numbers, separated from eachother and being held in dog kennels by militarized police. Checking white privilege isn’t about them, and Black Lives Matter is a buzz kill. Every decade I’ve seen has had it’s own version of this and the fact the insanity is only getting worse is a testament to white people’s inability to learn.

“White allies, collect your people,” – Lakota, read one transmission.

It has come to this – again.

This cry can’t be ignored.  

I think this is a very literal request for white people who know other white people who behave like this to do everything in their power to get them to stop and at the very least to make sure they don’t go up to Standing Rock and create all kinds of complicated toxic nastiness. At the same time there is still an increasing call for people of all nations who have something to offer to go up there and offer bodily help.

There are already many resources out there to help non-indigenous people who are planning on going to Standing Rock as well as information on how to help at home. (Google – Standing Rock Primer.) I’ve compiled a small list of suggestions after consulting with some elders and peers who have been deep in it from the beginning. It is not my intention to discourage anyone from going to Standing Rock nor to shame anyone for making mistakes or being incorrect.  First off, let’s stop this pipeline by centering indigenous leaders in this turning point in history.

+ Educate yourself around the indigenous leaders/organizations are who are putting themselves out publicly in this movement. Dallas Goldtooth/Indigenous Environmental Network, Lyla Juna Johnson, LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard, Winona LaDuke/Honor the Earth, Two Spirit Camp, Red Warrior Camp, Sacred Stone Camp,West Coast Women Warriors and Myron Dewey are just some that come to mind.  You can contact these people and organizations directly to ask as how you can best help on the ground up in Standing Rock but don’t expect everyone to have the time to answer all your questions. As of now they are still asking help from all nations but pay attention as things can change from day to day.  Starting your own resource group in your town can take the load off some of these leaders but make sure your local group is aware of and in relationship with other indigenous led organizations.

+ Notice who the elders are in any circle.  Do they have a chair? Do they need a cup of coffee, wood for the fire pit at their tent?  In academia they call it “de-centering yourself” At Standing Rock it’s called pay attention to your elders and if you have any questions try to hold off and see if those questions can’t just be answered by observing others and just being quiet. We are taught as white people that when we don’t know something we are supposed to ask a lot of questions.  This is not how things roll up in Standing Rock.  Asking an indigenous person a ton of questions is basically forcing them into unpaid labor because of your lack of knowledge and wisdom. When in doubt, help an elder, be quiet as much as possible and observe.

+ Sacred fires are burning at Standing Rock and that means everyone there is in ceremony.  There is appropriate clothing one should wear by the sacred fire. Do not use swear words.  If you are not indigenous, hold your sacred objects privately in your vehicle or tent unless directed otherwise.  Center indigenous people in ceremony and if you have a meditation/yoga/chanting/ritual practice, do it on your own discreetly.  If you are in the helping profession be aware that others may have traditional ways of dealing with trauma and sickness.  Help them get what they need in their own tradition if that’s what they are calling for before suggesting your own techniques. When we were up there we didn’t hear a single secular non-indigenous song sung at camp save for when a native man played a Willie Nelson song to the river on his cell phone at dawn and we opened the flap of our tent and saw a blue heron on the water and wept.  In terms of being white, not forcing your own music on others is always a good idea. White people are often asked to do the work of discovering our own indigeneity, but that doesn’t mean wiccan pagan or new age practices are welcome unless asked. Such displays usually come off as white people needing to center themselves in indigenous space yet again.

+ No one cares if you’re one eighth Cherokee.  I am one eighth Cherokee and you’ll just have to trust me on this.

+ You are not a hero.  Going up to Standing Rock isn’t a sacrifice, it’s a privilege. You are a guest of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.  You are making history and also bearing witness to a prophecy coming true. You are the future. Be humble.

+ Don’t just bring hummus and chips to the feast.  Or your bags of random used clothes. You are white.  It’s likely you know some people with means.  Hit your community up for as much money as you can and show up with army tents, winter gear, wood stoves, semi trucks full of hay, wind turbines and organic grass fed beef.  Native American people deserve this after genocide and government cheese. Bring donations for the kitchen or enough food and supplies with you to be self-sustaining as you never know if supplies will be running low at camp.  

+ Be self-reflective when it comes to your romantic ideas about indigenous people. Myron Dewey, Lyla June Johnson and Kanahus Manuel and Candi Brings Plenty may be some of the most incredible humans we have seen thus far on the planet, but be aware that even the New York Times is cropping the screaming white hippies on the front lines with the dread locks out of the picture so even you watching the images on your computer screen can feel like you’re the only white person who cares.

+ Don’t go to Standing Rock to data mine or Instagram your #authenticlife.

+ Do not go to Standing Rock for your art project, photo shoot or blog.  Indigenous people are already doing this and it’s time for them to be at the forefront of this movement and get the recognition and funding they deserve.

+ Work hard. “We had a lot of hippies over at Sacred Stone for a while. We finally asked them to work and they left for Iowa. It was that easy.”

+ Unless directly asked to attend, do not seek out sweat lodges and other traditional ceremonies. Be present to the fact that being at Standing Rock IS being in ceremony already.

+ One of the most colonized behaviors one can perpetrate is that of policing others. Amazing things are happening in Standing Rock and white people are a part of it, from the Rabbis and Christian clergy at the front lines confronting the police state down to the gutterpunks with puppies on ropes at camp who know what being on the right side of history means. When Myron Dewey greets us on his live feed with, hello relatives, yes, I believe he is talking to all of us. Policing the behavior of other white people to draw attention to how correct we are is a way of not dealing with our own whiteness, and whiteness is ALWAYS a problem.  The incidents I mentioned above are critical.  People behaving in this manner are not welcome at camp and probably need to be asked to leave.  Indigenous people should not be put in the position to do this. White allies need to step up and deal with our own and get to the root of why incidents like this continue to happen. However, we need to do this without making our own grossness and micro-aggressions the center of this story. If you’re reposting this article and not doing anything concrete to stop the pipeline you are part of the problem.

Standing Rock is bigger than this. Standing Rock is where your feet are.  Everyone drinks water.  All land is sacred.

A great resource link http://www.standingrocksolidaritynetwork.org/resource-packet.html?link_id=5&can_id=e78a16df3dcd5d0dc4769bbb132058af&source=email-answering-the-call-to-action-for-standing-rock-solidarity&email_referrer=answering-the-call-to-action-for-standing-rock-solidarity&email_subject=answering-the-call-to-action-for-standing-rock-solidarity