Sunday, September 11, 2016

Pay Attention, Donald Trump... Who was Here in America First?

Cowboy-Indian Alliance
Before you answer this question, Mr. Trump, look at what is happening at Standing Rock in North Dakota right now. Native Americans, the indigenous people of this continent who know it as Great Turtle Island, had lived on this land long before waves of European immigrants colonized it... Tribes were then forcefully relocated in areas designated as Indian reservations.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe lives near Cannon Ball, ND on one of these reservations and construction of an oil pipeline from the Bakken tar sands in the same state is threatening their water supply from the Missouri River. This tribe has been holding a peaceful vigil since April of this year at Sacred Stones encampment, standing as protectors of this water. Dakota Access Pipeline construction workers bulldozed a sacred tribal burial ground over Labor Day Weekend, following an attack by dogs brought by security personnel on September 3rd. This confrontation was succeeded by a Washington, DC district court ruling against claims made by the Standing Rock Sioux on September 9th and a subsequent temporary order by President Barack Obama halting DAPL construction, pending further examination and a meeting between oil company and tribal representatives. However, beyond construction under or bordering Lake Oahe, compliance with this order is voluntary. Tension mounts as other indigenous tribes join the Standing Rock Sioux water protectors at Sacred Stones camp, along with many of us who are descended from settlers who came from Europe and took this land yet understand the vital importance of water to humanity as a whole. It is high time that we the people take a stand against "big oil" and the House of Rockefeller, drawing a line and holding it. The power of corporate greed must be broken, so the Lakota prophesy of the "Black Snake" never manifests in our reality. Keystone XL was stopped, but the DAPL has appeared to take its place. One pipeline break and the Missouri River could be poisoned with dirty tar sands oil from Canada and not be fit for anybody to drink... whether we are indigenous or not!


No matter whether Mr. Trump or Ms. Clinton take the Oath of Office on January 20th, 2017, a moratorium on drilling for petroleum or fracking for natural gas is not in the political wind at this time. Jill Stein of the Green Party offers a "Green New Deal" to voters, but breaking from the mold of an entrenched two-party system is a very tall order for this year. Our best shot for starting a political revolution in this country was the Presidential run of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, which was ultimately derailed due to bias within the Democratic Party that showed itself to be very blatant during the convention in Philadelphia. It was more of a "coronation" for Ms. Clinton than what it should have been; a clearly contested nomination between Hillary and Bernie. Meanwhile, on the Republican side of the coin, Mr. Trump breezed  his way through the Primaries, in spite of his loose tongue spouting obtuse rhetoric. I AM not voting for either one. The only viable candidate, in my opinion, is Jill Stein. To choose a third party candidate is to "throw-away" my vote, which in this case is an implied vote for Trump because it is not for Clinton. I AM choosing to vote my conscience in 2016! ~ JDHWB-R


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