We Are Water
I can hardly believe it’s been a year since the people of Standing Rock out in the Dakotas stood up, stood for, stood by the water, the most precious thing on this Mother Earth. Water is the deal, and without it, no living thing can exist. So why are so many so blind?
Flying home yesterday, I left Chicago, sleeping for a time, my head against the window. When I awakened, we were over the Dakotas, and my eyes and heart feasted upon the landscape. Some folks think it is barren and feel uneasy in its spaciousness. I am sure the man who occupies the People’s House has never been there, and sees no problem running oil pipelines through land that is living and sacred to so many. The water there and its accompanying green is precious to the peoples there, as it is to so many people around the Earth. Many of these people came to Standing Rock to stand with the water protectors. Many stood where they were, sending prayers and money and support to the people there.
Sitting here today in Seattle, the smoke from the fires up north in BC blanket our beautiful city, and we are unable to see any mountains that surround us. The sun is coppery,its light like blood. We are now 51 days without rain. Oh, the water. I pray for rain. The trees are choking, and there are issues with breathing, just like the trees. These are crazy and dangerous times on Mother Earth. Yet, we must not give up caring. As the Northern Cheyenne say: when the hearts of women are upon the ground, a nation is done for. Let our hearts rise up, fierce and strong.
I have joined in a small but fervent effort with a fellow musician, Holly Miranda. She discovered my music - Lumiere in particular, and Midnight Oil, specifically - in the depths of despair about the murders of gay people in the Orlando nightclub. Down in the blues, she and her bandmates discovered my “children’s” album in a shop selling lps - which, of course, are imbedded in an oil product, vinyl. In their rehearsal space, they put on this record, knowing not who made it, or what its purpose, and when Midnight Oil came on, all things stopped for a deep and profound listen. They played it again and again, and finally decided to record it themselves. The eventual recording, replete with all sorts of Holly’s friends singing on the chorus, was released on the internet, so as to raise money and consciousness re: Standing Rock and the continuing fight. It will cost you 99¢ to buy it, even less to stream it --- and it all goes to the protectors of the water, even unto Earthjustice who remains hopeful that the flow of oil will be stopped. This is something you can do to lend your shoulder to the wheel of actual justice, of an appreciation of those who have stood and still stand and are fighting for all of us in the most ancient and sacred of ways. Help Holly Miranda and me to help them. Let us join the more than 350 tribes all over the world who came forward, who heard the call, who came to stand and repeat over and over again, that Water is Life and deserves, therefore, to live. Thank you.
Photo Credit: Homepage: Cris and Holly Miranda at Fantasy Studios: Irene Young 2017