ZOE KIRIAZIS
Special to the Leader
According to Rory Wheeler, creating an oil pipeline does more damage than any good it can produce. Tribes and nations should not have to fight for something that is rightfully theirs.
Last Friday, the 19-year-old Seneca Reservation resident and recent recipient of the United National Indian Tribal Youth’s 25 Under 25 National Native Youth Leadership Award spoke in the Williams Center on the nationwide protests that have broken out against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in the northern U.S.
According to Energy Transfer Inc., the pipeline, at more than 1,172 miles long, spans from North Dakota all the way to Illinois. Many members of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota have been protesting the pipeline since the summer, concerned that its construction will destroy the reservation’s water supply.
At the talk, organized by history professor Jennifer Hildebrand, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the President’s Office, Wheeler gave his first-hand accounts of his experiences at Standing Rock. A tall, young man in faded jeans and a red and black flannel, his dark brown eyes read with an equal mixture of fear, protectiveness and determination.
A certified EMT, Wheeler packed up his 50-pound bag of equipment and some clothes and made his way to North Dakota, where he protested for three weeks alongside 5,000 Native tribe members ranging across generations and from all around the country.
For Wheeler, Standing Rock brings a personal connection, as his father was raised on the land and his family depended on the fish and water there to survive. According to Wheeler, he felt comfort when he crossed the North Dakota border, as if he found himself in the right place.
“You pick on one of us, you pick on all of us,” Wheeler repeated throughout his talk.
Among other things, Wheeler saw protesters tie themselves up to bulldozers to halt construction, and said that every person who has entered the construction sites received a warrant for trespassing. Some have been arrested and held for days without bail, like Cody Hall, a spokesman for the protest group Red Warrior Camp.
Wheeler said he brought Green Party nominee for president Jill Stein to tour Standing Rock, where she spray-painted a bulldozer to say “I approve this message.” A warrant has been issued for her arrest, as well.
The Obama administration recently announced that construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline was to stop, but Wheeler claimed that it is continuing regardless. According to him, construction is still permitted on private land, which some of the property in Standing Rock is considered.
Wheeler believes that education is key to help preserve and protect sovereign Native land. According to him, U.S. history courses speak very little of Native American culture and are mostly false when they do.
At the talk, curator and art activist Marietta Bernstoff exchanged thoughts with Wheeler on different movements in U.S. history.
“Black Lives Matter has been an unnamed movement since the slavery movement, and they are still fighting,” Bernstoff said. “Native Americans are fighting to be recognized.”
The Native American Student Union (NASU) has been collecting supplies to donate to protesters at Standing Rock and will continue to do so on a rolling basis. NASU’s office can be found within the Center of Multicultural Affairs Office in Thompson Hall, first floor, E125. Any questions or for a complete list of materials needed can be directed to NASU President Riley Cox at cox7065@fredonia.edu.
Zoe Kiriazis is a MAAB representative for the Native American Student Union.
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Wheeler discussed more about what is happening on other reservations along with Standing Rock. Along with Standing Rock, dDamage has been produced by the government in 2016 to the Navajo tribes in the Southwest to their farms. Navajo tribes don’t believe they will ever recover from the loss of crops and land. In 2015, the EPA allowed various companies to spill toxic chemicals into the Animas River. Turning the water orange, companies have killed the water supply, wildlife inhabitants, and the only source of water for the Southern Ute reservation.
Standing Rock is one of few Native Reservation stories that has made breaking news.
Farmers are still keeping their crops alive, but so much harm has already been done.
“Educate.” Wheeler states, sternly with energy behind it. The United States is trying to obtain land that is not theirs, it never was.