Message of Thanksgiving from Standing Rock #NoDAPL By: Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn

Illustration by Chameleon Horse Art & Design

Author: Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn

Message of Thanksgiving from Standing Rock #NoDAPL 

Sometimes the pressure is crushing when it is most difficult. When your mind tells you your alone in a group of ten thousand people. These are the days when you must release a tear. Admit how weak you are. And talk strength from experience. The mind is weak. The heart is open free. As the tears run i think of today. My daughters birthday and thanksgiving. Thanksgiving for me is only important because i like the fact families usually congregate on this day. In todays society you get these times when you can. The close family ties we once had are becoming less and less. 

Government gives us a couple days a year set aside for family. For me, my favorite thanksgiving is when my lil sister came up. We shared a laugh that would make the world laugh with us. But now its gone. Its lonely without laughter. It is taking sometime to get back, sometimes its easy. Sometimes not so much. 

Family is my life. That is why we are here. 

We will revert to the ways of our people and make peace with the past to build a great future. We will spread positivity, we will share our voice and stand united for this way of life. As we immerse ourselves into this way of life, we Do NOT Remove the negativity in our life. We dont run from it. We embrace our weakness to make us strong. We look it in the face and stand tallest when we are weakest, and deplete our strength to the weak when we are strong. This is natural law
What goes around comes around.

Act of sharing

Give respect to earn respect 

While you may not be arrested for these crimes. They are crimes against our soul. Easily overlooked but powerful when executed. The simple word thank you is a ceremony in itself.
Being thankful is beyond measure the greatest gift you can give someone. As we give thanks from the heart. That is all we need.

NOW THE BUT, society has turned the word, thank you, into a derogatory term. Meaning, we never know if the person saying is truly thankful. We have developed our mind so much to the point that we have lost the connection to our heart. We have become processed. Disconnect from the heart means we are programmed to say 'thank you'. While we say the word, the action must be reciprocated as well. The actions of the word need to be adhered to in Natural Law for the "ceremony" to take place. 

Pay-it-Forward is an example of the word 'thank you' used in ceremony. 

Pay it forward is when a big part of you is givin to another party usually an expensive gesture(mainstream). 

Example: Like how the world has been giving to our people here at Cannonball. 

Now in order for the Ceremonial part to take place, us the people here at Oceti Sakowin must reciprocate that back to the people. We at camp have been givin an enormous responsibility as we have answered the call of our relatives to join them in battle. While here we are givin many special gifts. One is we are blessed to be witnessing the 'Ceremony of giving' this is what drives us crazy when we get home. Because we are not thankful as a people everyday. 

When something is given here at camp. More so than not, it is really heartfelt. Because of the conditions usually we use things of 'NEED' or survival type things. And not the 'wants'. TV's, headphones, Starbucks, or extra anything etc. So if someone gives me a pink blanket, i will cherish it. Not because of color, but to protect me from the cold. So the color isn't important. The functionality is. So if it is super cold like it has been. The most powerful egotistical manly man will cherish the pink blanket and curl up in it as if it was warm apple pie. That thankful.

Let us reciprocate our gratitude here at Oceti Sakowin and show thanks as you are giving us these blankets everyday to keep us warm. It isn't unnoticed. These acts may be unnoticed to Media. It might be unnoticed by people that are outside this circle and are "Reporting" information instead of living here and being thankful. 

For me and my relatives at the front lines, we are eternally grateful for the whole situation we are in. It is waking people up. 

So this is the experience you wont be able to comprehend from outside media resources because it is hard to put these types of feelings into words. Cause these are feelings of the heart. No word can really explain it fully but it is also a feeling as well. So you give to us freely cause you know the need for our people is severe. 

Now that many people are reporting the camp. The mind of the outside is changing from us needing help to us becoming a nuisance as you start to hear how it really is up here. All the negativity, now you become fear and your mind plays the game. Now these beautiful beyond beautiful moments are tainted by focusing and reporting negativity. 

This is why media and the educational system cannot tell our story. Because to tell our story you need to immerse yourself in it. Cause we need to have both the negative and positive to walk in balance. Live it, begin to understand it. Your body will stream endless water down your face as you realize what this place is. So be cautious how we perceive any information by the media news all these outlets have trained us well to be scared and afraid. To combat this. We want to do something. 

We at Oceti Sakowin regardless of faction of ethnicity or if you believe in thanksgiving or not. Would like to ask you to come and celebrate in this Thursday and we will rewrite the atrocity of Americas thanks giving what it means. We will sing and dance and show the true meaning and strength of our people of the world uniting. And then have a meal prepared with love of the people. The countless grandmas in the kitchen. And share it with the world. 

Give us, Oceti Sakowin, the opportunity to reciprocate "The THANKSGIVING" back to you and your families. Let us complete the ceremony. Let us share our love and compassion as we are here in unity.

We still have time ❤️
 
#WeAreAllRelated