(From our friends at Franciscan Action Network (FAN))
November is Native American Heritage Month. What better time to stand up and show our support of our Native brothers and sisters in Standing Rock and other tribes who have been peacefully protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline from going through their sacred lands. Organizations such as Pax Christi USA and Creation Justice Ministries have developed prayers and petitions to bring awareness to this wrong that needs to be righted.
In some cases, there have been representatives able to go to the camp, join in the ceremonies and bring back eyewitness accounts of the people and their stories. Just this past weekend, four sisters: two Sisters of St. Francis (Oldenburg) plus two School Sisters of Notre Dame (Mankato province) drove to Standing Rock with coats and other supplies and to be there as a gesture of solidarity. Mercy Sisters Aine O’Connor and Kathleen Erickson and the Sisters of Mercy West-Midwest Justice Coordinator, Mike Poulin also headed out to be a part of the Solidarity Circle, described below. Additionally, a Mercy Lay Associate, Virginia Fifield of the Akwesausne, who went to Standing Rock in September posted this blog of her time there.
Those mentioned above joined a group of nearly 500 faith leaders and clergy in a Multifaith Solidarity Circle in Support of Standing Rock. FAN urged people of all faiths across the country to fast and pray in a coordinated prayer of solidarity to support those in North Dakota. Here is a post of FAN’s prayer service on Facebook.
As the protests continue, we urge members and friends to continue to pray and show your support of our native brothers and sisters. For concrete ideas on what you can do, go online to Stand with Standing Rock.net.
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