Wasté Win Young:
'Take Courage, Keep Going for our #Takojas'
By Wasté Win Young
#Lakota, #StandingRock
November 10, 2023
"The showing of the documentary 'End of the Line' in Sewanee, Tennessee was probably the most emotional response I’ve witnessed and felt. A lot of people came up to me afterward and they were visibly crying. One young woman couldn’t talk and I hugged her for a long time. She said that she and her mom had gone camping in North Dakota and drank water from the #MissouriRiver.
"A lot of the youngins in college had never even heard of #NoDAPL. There was an anthro professor who was so moved. He said he showed his class the documentary last year as well. I felt the love and am beyond thankful. I told them that they could help by submitting comments for the #DAPL environmental impact statement.
"I think my spirit needed this as much as they needed it because yesterday as I got home, I got the word that the Eighth Circuit ruled against #WaterProtectors in Dundon.
This is no surprise in the court of the #colonizer — two of the three judges were appointed by #Trump. One judge was sleeping during the arguments. Smh. Houwn I really cried...
"Despite these decisions made by #WhiteMen who think they are the law and that their say is final — it is not. It never will be.
"I know we have to keep going, that we persevere for our takojas and future generations. Even on the days when I wanna curl up and sob dramatically with my mom and dad or lay in bed with my kids and dogs all day.
"I know that there will be justice for our people and allies in this world and the next. Blíhíčiya — take courage. We keep going."
Waste Win Young, Lakota of Standing Rock, North Dakota, previously served as Standing Rock's Historic Preservation Officer and is a graduate of the University of New Mexico Law School. She is a leading voice for the rights of water in the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline.
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2023/11/waste-win-young-take-courage-keep-going.html