By Sarah Rae

Locals head to Standing Rock First Nation to support protest

Sep 16, 2016 | 5:00 PM

Several Battlefords area residents showed their support for the people of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe by standing with them in North Dakota.

Eleanore Sunchild, Carol Lennie, Raj Hathiramani and a few others traveled from the Battlefords to the site of a major, weeks-long public protest against the Dakota Access pipeline over the weekend of Saturday, Sept. 11.

“We decided to go because water is very important and it’s a life-giving commodity that’s very sacred,” Sunchild said. “It’s relevant to us here in the Battlefords. Because of the recent Husky spill in the North Saskatchewan, you realize how precious water is.”

Despite reports of violence at the protest last week, the group said it didn’t witness any. After making sure the camp was safe, Sunchild even brought her children along.

Lennie said there was a serene atmosphere at the camp, with people sharing food and getting to know one another.

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“You walk into the main camp and it’s like one big family,” she said. “You’re walking around and people are asking you if you’re hungry, inviting you to their camp to eat.”

The Dakota Access pipeline will cross four states and run close to Standing Rock, which straddles North and South Dakota and lies on the Missouri River. The Sioux people have been working to stop the pipeline for more than two years, but protests escalated when construction began.

Thousands of people, indigenous and non-indigenous, have traveled to Standing Rock for the protests. The group said they met indigenous people from as far as Hawaii and South America.

Hathiramani said there was a positive attitude overall at the camp, and said he didn’t witness any judgment or stereotyping between groups.

“In going to Standing Rock we recognized the inclusiveness of everybody, that not any group of people are exclusive,” he said. “We need to bring that back here to Canada if we are to resolve any issues.”

The group also brought a sign that read “Justice for Colten” and hung it up outside the camp to honour Colten Boushie, the Red Pheasant First Nation man shot and killed on a farm in August.

Sunchild said they wanted to honour his family and memory, but also remind everyone that indigenous people are fighting racism all over North America.

“We’ve seen a really ugly side of humanity around here lately, the backlash from Colten’s death, so to go there and see everybody come together and support each other and show love for one another as fellow human beings was really enlightening and gave me a lot of hope,” she said.

Sunchild said she hopes to be able to go back to Standing Rock in a few weeks.

Sarah Rae is battlefordsNOW’s court and crime reporter. She can be reached at Sarah.Rae@jpbg.ca or tweet her @sarahjeanrae.