Chief Arvol Lookinghorse Visits McMaster
By Chezney Martin
HAMILTON – In the process of what has become the largest and most diversely supported indigenous display of reclamation since the Oka Crisis, the stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline has been the talk of North and South America.
And rightfully so after the recent “victory” in halting pipeline construction with the promise of possible redirection.
Chief Arvol Lookinghorse’s visit to McMaster University last Wednesday for the Indigenous Research Symposium allowed himself and other leaders including Cayuga Sub-Chief Jock Hill to speak on the protestation of the “Black Snake” alongside Dr. Dawn Martin-Hill.
Lookinghorse was appointed the head spiritual leader within the Oceti Sakowin (oh-cheh-tee shack-oh-hwin) encampment in Cannonball N.D. from the beginning. He is currently the 19th generation keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Woman Bundle of the Lakota, and is a representative of the Lakota, Nakota and Dakota of the Great Sioux Nation.
This is what makes his voice incredibly important.
“In our prophecies it says that some day the young people will step forward, for they are the ones that are really foreseeing the future,” he said. “I see that today, because when Standing Rock took place it was the young people that came forward.”
Lookinghorse explained that the elders within the camp helped to keep the stand against the pipeline spiritually motivated, but it was the youth that brought focus to the coming generations.
“When Dave Archambault was in the office [the young people] said ‘Mister Archambault, we want to take a stand as young people because we heard about the prophecies that water is life, Mni Wiconi (mi-nee wih-cho-nee), enough is enough. How can we live without water in our future? We heard about the elders speaking about false leaders, we heard that the people would be spiritually disconnected when nothing is good no more. We want to see a beautiful life, we want to have children, too,’” he explained.
Of these youth standing for the redirection of the pipeline include his and Martin-Hill’s son Cody Lookinghorse, who travelled to the camp earlier this month to stay until January.
“Our son has been out there and their spirit is just moving them to be there,” said Martin-Hill. “The media and other people get caught up on the men, or the action on the front lines, but what keeps that place going is the prayers and the young people who are prayerful and peaceful.”
But, as a parent she began talking about how the stand isn’t all peace and prayer, as authorities continue to push the limits on the human rights of the protesters. The actions made by authorities has caused incidents like the most well-known with Sophia Wilansky, who may lose her arm after being hit by a “concussion grenade.”
“I can tell you last week when they caught [some protesters] on that bridge, we didn’t know where [Cody] was,” she said. “And I thought he was on the bridge where they were getting tear gassed and I know that’s not gotten much attention, but they were trying to take blankets to the medics and the police cut them off on that bridge.”
“They did the same thing to the Mohawks in Oka,” she said. “They were getting tear gassed and they couldn’t run from it, they couldn’t move off of that bridge because police had them locked in there. And you know, as a mom I’m like ‘I know he won’t go to the front lines because he’s a very peaceful, loving young person. He doesn’t have a violent bone in his body,’ but, he could be stuck on that bridge,” she said.
Martin-Hill explained that she found out her son was safe at five in the morning, because he was in an all-night ceremony without his cellphone.
“But you don’t feel any better when you find out that they’re safe because all of those other kids were on that bridge, all of those other elders too, were getting hurt,” she said. “I haven’t really recovered from that moment because you don’t know if [you’ll see them again.]”
Shortly after, the open session completed all in attendance were invited to join for dinner; later, Martin-Hill’s indigenous studies students entered a speaking by herself and Chief Lookinghore about the pipeline and more. Then a rally was set and a march to a garden on the campus grounds that is dedicated to Murdered & Missing Indigenous women was held.
