Friends,
On the banks of the Missouri River in North Dakota, a sacred gathering has grown. Thousands of people have travelled to the Standing Rock Reservation to stand in solidarity with our Native brothers and sisters in their struggle to protect water and all life from the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Two weeks ago, Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light joined them in that sacred affirmation, along with 500+ people of faith, representing more than 20 faith traditions. It was an incredibly powerful day of prayerful action, an important moment to repudiate the doctrine of discovery and its legacy of violence and oppression that continues today.
As people of faith, we understand that this is about the sacred water, our climate, and the human rights of Indigenous People. We must stand with the people of Standing Rock, whose resistance is rooted deeply in prayer and nonviolence.??
We know the value of our traditions and sacred spaces. For the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, this pipeline not only puts their only source of clean water at risk, it violates their sacred burial grounds.??
We have a small window of time in which the Army Corps has stopped Energy Access Pipeline from completing construction. They need to hear from us now more than ever that the Army Corps should deny the permit outright.
Sign the petition today asking President Obama to direct the Army Corps to deny the permit. Then forward the petition to your friends and family and share a printable version in your faith community!??
This pipeline doesn???t just endanger the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. By investing in oil infrastructure we are committing ourselves, as a nation, to deepening our dependence on fossil fuels ??? the greatest contributor to global warming.
It is time for people of faith and conscience to stand with Indigenous communities to protect the sacred: Our children, the Earth, and our future.
Together,
Julia Nerbonne and Erin Pratt
Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light??