I spent a few days camped out at Standing Rock in solidarity with the No Dakota Access Pipe Line (NoDAPL) protests and the globally networked resistance movement of which it is only a particularly visible part. NoDAPL stands at the confluence of several globally relevant causes: protection of the
water, soil, and habitat threatened by state-subsidized and liability-capped corporate resource extraction, opposition to the coercive eminent domain seizure of land from people justly inhabiting it, and an insistence that the treaties with and the sovereignty of indigenous people be upheld, to name just a few.
I caught a ride with my fellow ant Jesse, who brought along lots of firebricks and other rocket-mass-heater supplies to help winterize the camps while simultaneously demonstrating the efficiency and practicality of renewable energy alternatives to the oil economy. At the time of this writing, Jesse and Carol-Anne are still out there doing great work. I feel so fortunate and grateful to have such rad, inspiring, and courageous friends! Check out Jesse's
Patreon where you can support his valiant efforts:
https://www.patreon.com/jessegrimes
One of the projects that Jesse, Carol-Anne, myself, and many other awesome folks helped work on was a strawbale schoolhouse at Camp Sacred Stone. In the short time I was there I learned a thing or two about load-bearing strawbales, was able to lend a hand with many little tasks, and witnessed the roof go on, the windows and doors installed, and the rocket-mass-heater and interior plaster started. It was amazing to me the way all these volunteers worked together to make such a positive impact in the face of something so negative.
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-Art Donnelly
