Standing Rock water protectors honored at Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe 150th Pow Wow

Latest

Sophia Wilansky was seriously injured by a concussion grenade fired by DAPL militarized police at Standing Rock. She nearly lost her arm. She was honored at the 150th SWST Pow Wow for her bravery and sacrifice.
PHOTO/WAKAN AWACHIN WIN (HOLY SEEKING WOMAN) R.L.SOLORIO

 
SWST, OLD AGENCY, SISSETON, SD – The Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe (SWST) is originally from “The land of cloud-tinted waters,” known today as the state of Minnesota.
For thousands of years, the ancestors of the “Dakotas” lived generation after generation in Minnesota. The Dakota Sioux were the first to negotiate with the U.S. government the 1851 Treaty of Traverse des Sioux and were the first to resist with arms during the Minnesota-Dakota Sioux War of 1862 against government tyranny.
After many broken treaties, hordes of German immigrants flooded into their land from Chicago and Cincinnati. There were 30,000 of them in 1854 and 150,000 of them by 1857. And after outright starvation tactics used against them by crooked businessmen and corrupt government agents, the Dakotas struck back, under Chief Little Crow, in August of 1862.
For six weeks, Chief Little Crow and the Dakota Sioux warriors fought an armed struggle against all oppressors, resulting in the defeat and final removal of the Dakotas from their ancestral homeland of Minnesota.
Thirty-eight Dakotas were hanged as a result of the war on December 26, 1862 in Mankato, Minnesota after being condemned to death in “trials” that lasted fewer than five minutes. This still remains the largest American mass execution and is one of the lesser-known acts of President Abraham Lincoln.
During an on-reservation interview with SWST member Wakan Awachin Win (“Richelle L. Solorio”), she stated: “Just like in the 1800s, the money-hungry business vultures have reached into the land of my people to do harm by force, subjecting all my people to poisons that will flow into our water sources and down into everyone else’s from the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
“I look at my history, specifically Chief Little Crow at this time, and I realize it’s been one continuous struggle. We can never give up opposing anything or anyone that harms Mother Earth and the people who walk upon her.
“I believe Standing Rock was just the beginning of the Water Protection Movement. At the Pow Wow, I was proud to pay my respects to the Water Protectors, who bravely faced severe injury and death by armed DAPL agents at Standing Rock.
“In the Dakota Way, everything that God created is related to us. This is just the beginning.”

+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

80 Years After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Are We on the Verge of Another Nuclear War?

Gerry Condon, former president of Veterans for Peace, makes the case that we are now closer to nuclear war than ever, and that the U.S. is primarily responsible.

Labor Unions Join Resistance To Attacks on Immigrant Community

Local unions are taking leadership by negotiating language into their agreements prohibiting ICE from entering workplaces.

Nebraska Farmers Describe Trump’s Impact

Farmers from Neligh, Nebraska speak on Trump’s policy to round up farmworkers, the effect of the tariffs on farmers, and the resistance.

Gazans Demand ‘Agency, Memory and Hope’

The true number of dead and missing in Gaza may be around 500,000. Another 500,000 face starvation. Palestinians say if there is to be peace, it must begin with respect for their voices, their rights and their humanity.

Trump’s Immigration Theater Ignores Whose Land ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Is

The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma joined Florida tribes in protesting "Alligator Alcatraz. The tribe says it insults their ancestral homeland and threatens ecosystem.

More from the People's Tribune