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Maui residents recount their time at Standing Rock

Three join Sioux tribe’s protest of the Dakota Access oil pipeline construction in N.D.

By Leah Sherman 4 min read

At least three Maui residents have traveled to North Dakota in recent months to lend their voices to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's efforts to stop construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, and they say that the effort should resonate with people in Hawaii.

With the pipeline dispute rooted in water and indigenous rights, "I think it hits home for people from Hawaii," Haiku resident Cadence Feeley said Wednesday from North Dakota. "It's the same when there's no regard for people who have inhabited land for thousands of years."

The $3.8 billion pipeline to carry oil to a shipping point in Illinois is largely complete outside of a stretch under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. Tribe members and others have been opposing the construction for months, saying that the pipeline threatens drinking water as well as Native American cultural sites.

According to a New York Times editorial published Nov. 3, the pipeline's "current proposed route runs less than half a mile north of the reservation and under the Missouri River, a source of drinking water. Though the pipeline would mostly cross private property, the tribe also argues that these have been the Sioux's ancestral lands."

Protests have intensified since they began in April, with the total number of arrests since August topping 500, according to The Associated Press.

Among those who have been arrested is Kelli Love of Paia, who spent 3 1/2 months at Sacred Stone Camp on the Standing Rock reservation in southern North Dakota beginning in early August. Love said that she left the camp recently because did not have winter clothing, but plans to return to the area in December. While declining to comment on what charges she faces in North Dakota, Love said via email Wednesday, "Me, along with three of my good friends were arrested . . . for peacefully demonstrating and protecting the water for all people."

If the proposed pipeline were to be damaged, it would affect the residents of Cannon Ball, N.D., as well as "every community downstream" along the Missouri River, Love said. South of the proposed pipeline location, the Missouri River winds for more than 1,000 miles before it connects to the Mississippi River near St. Louis.

While the Maui women's daily activities in North Dakota included working in the kitchen, chopping wood, working with youngsters at the encampments and winterizing camp yurts, they also participated in "prayer ceremonies for the water on a daily basis," Love said.

Recent AP reports have described the demonstrations as violent, but Feeley said that the actions by members of the tribe and supporters are "mostly done with prayer, not protesting for what should be given."

"We're peaceful people," she said.

Feeley, a professional photographer, returned to Maui on Thursday and said that she plans to set up a fund to get indigenous people from around the world to Standing Rock to participate in the effort.

Love, a member of a band called One Tribe Movement, said Wednesday that she is "traveling to different regions to spread the awareness of what is happening in North Dakota and we are working on projects to support the front-line water protectors through this coming winter."

Also participating in actions in North Dakota is South Maui resident Daniel Kanahele, who was captured blowing a conch shell in an AP photograph taken Monday near Cannon Ball. Kanahele could not be reached Wednesday to discuss his experiences.

Maui residents have opportunities to show their support for the Standing Rock community without leaving the island. Vitality Wellness Maui will host a "Pray With Standing Rock" event from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Baldwin Beach Park as part of an International Day of Prayer for Standing Rock. See Vitality Wellness Maui's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/vitalitywellnessmaui for details.

Also, a group of concerned citizens meets weekly at 5 p.m. Thursdays at the Haiku Community Center to wave signs and bring awareness to the situation. "We are standing with the people of Standing Rock and the people of the planet," said organizer Dominique Pandolfi. For more information, call Pandolfi at 573-2782.

* Leah Sherman can be reached at lsherman@mauinews.com.

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