There is a deep moral connection between treaty rights and what Enbridge oil is trying to force on sacred Indian lands. North country residents share a desire to protect our unsullied waterways. Residents, both on and off the reservations, were all working together to stop Enbridge.
What is the wise thing to do? "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." Socrates, a white Greek guy, said that.
"The Great Spirit is in all things: he is in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our Father, but the Earth is our Mother. She nourishes us; that which we put into the ground she returns to us." Big Thunder, a Wabanaki Algonquin, said that.
I think we all agree.
For me, a confused north country resident, knowing nothing means doing nothing.
I intend to sit this one out, but hope that whatever happens, happens in the best interests of Mother earth.
I wish I could interview Chief Hole in the Day. At the beginning of one of the last Indian wars in Minnesota, his influence was instrumental in stopping the Ojibwe from joining the Sioux in their attacks on European settlers.
Would the late Chief use his considerable talents of diplomacy to bring all sides to the table on this important issue?
Former Green Party Vice-Presidential candidate Winona LaDuke and Dennis Banks were in attendance at the first protest. Banks is Anishinaabe (Ojibwa), born on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. In 1968 he co-founded the American Indian Movement (AIM).
Whatever anyone takes away from this personal observation, know that I fully support my Native neighbors in their fight against Enbridge.
I'm just not sure that civil disobedience is the right way to go in this instance.
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