Silver City, NM- For those paying attention to current events, something of note are the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota. Oil companies have been attempting to build a pipeline that will flow under the Missouri River and into Native lands, violating treaties between our government and the reservations. While the Army Corps of Engineers have halted progress on the pipeline, this issue has effected many people of native descent, including some in our area.
For some who are unfamiliar with Native culture, the pipeline may not seem like such a big deal. Some might even feel it’s a good thing, seeing how it would create jobs. Aside from the usual risks that come with mixing oil and water, see the 2012 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico for an example, the risk of polluting the water that flows into Native lands not only endangers their way of life, but could be seen as an insult to their culture.
Romaine Begay is a WNMU alumni and art teacher at Cobre High School, who is a very passionate supporter of the protests in Standing Rock. Romaine is Navajo and was raised in a traditional household at a reservation not far from the four corners. Something that differentiates a reservation from a small town is that some do not have plumbing, with many tribe members being given the job of gathering water from nearby lakes and rivers and hauling it back. Aside from the usual uses such as drinking, bathing and watering crops, water is in fact very sacred in Native American culture.
“Water is spiritual,” Romaine explained, “water creates life.”
Two things that water is used for are prayers and blessings. During the second World War, many Navajo served overseas as code talkers for Allied forces. While other prayer items such as tobacco, corn, cedar and smoke weren’t readily available away from the reservation, Native American soldiers could always use water. Water, as Romaine explained, kept their spirits alive. Water connects everyone. While some might feel that continents and nations are separated by vast oceans and seas, from a Native’s perspective, everyone is connected by water.
Romaine also spoke of a mines not too far from the four corners area that were responsible for polluting the San Juan River, as well as the soil and crops surrounding it. Because of the pollution, many Natives have had to do prayers and blessings with polluted crops. There is a risk of this happening at Standing Rock. His ire is not just with the blatant disregard for Native American culture, with companies breaking up burial grounds and sacred places, but also with the blatant disregard for possible alternative energy sources. Two clean substitutes for oil are wind and ironically enough, water.
Romaine isn’t the only local native that has issues with the Dakota Access pipeline. The Native American Club at Western New Mexico University have been hard at work raising funds for the protests at Standing Rock. This week, they are traveling to Standing Rock to deliver these funds personally.
Originally the club, led by their president Benita Harry, was simply going to send the funds to them, but after some discussion among the club members, they decided it would be a stronger gesture to travel to North Dakota and show their support in person.
Elishua Yazzi, a member of the club, was also brought up in a traditional Navajo household, growing up at a reservation in Arizona. “If I were in their position, I would be on the front lines,” Elishua stated, “To all Native Americans, water is sacred and we are trying to protect our future. We were taught to be protectors of the Earth.”
On December 4, 2016, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied easement to the Dakota Access Pipeline. While the company, Energy Transfer Partners, has stopped drilling, it remains to be seen if construction on the pipeline will continue on the same route or if it will be restructured to avoid native lands.
