The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“I wish I could not do my finals right now and go to Standing Rock and live in a tent”
By Crystal Kotowski
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth Crested Butte News story in a continuing look at Crested Butte and Gunnison connections to the situation in Standing Rock. Locals were present and part of the celebrations that followed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ announcement denying the easement that would allow the pipeline to cross under the disputed portion of the Missouri River. They also experienced the veterans’ forgiveness ceremony, the peaceful dynamics of the camp, and filmed a documentary that follows the journey of native canoers from the headwaters of the Missouri River to Standing Rock. Crested Butte News relays the experiences of two Western students, Dustin Crowner and Shannon Leonard, and the continuing journey of local environmentalists Jeremy Rubingh and Laura Yale.
Myriad parallels connect the journeys of the Gunnison and Crested Butte water protectors who have traveled to Standing Rock. Each felt a strong calling to go—fueled by the desire to witness and to combat what’s been described as enduring environmental racism—and returned with a more profound understanding of life, leaving them all yearning to return and to share their stories.
Crested Butte’s Jeremy Rubingh and Laura Yale are in the midst of producing a documentary, Flowing Water, Standing Rock. “When I was at Standing Rock, I was really curious about sharing the story of the people through the water. For the Native people, paddling is prayer. It’s communicating with the water. It’s becoming one. It’s cultural revival, but it’s also a way to pray. And what better way to follow the waters from where they begin to a site where inspiring things are happening, despite all the pain. It was amazing to be in such constant spiritual capacity. It profoundly impacted me—rocked me to my core,” said Rubingh. “Most of us academically know that indigenous people have had a really difficult struggle. But to live with these folks for weeks and just have them become your family and understand systemic oppression and trauma on this level, it’s something all together different.”
After hearing a fellow student’s experience of Standing Rock in a Western State Colorado University political science class, Shannon Leonard attended a meeting organized by Delaney Adrian that prepared students for direct action. The group crowd sourced for funding, and eventually had to turn interested students away to maintain a group small enough to ensure safety. Impressed by the organization of Adrian’s group, Leonard confirmed, “We needed to go up there and document it and observe—and of course help in any way that we can.”
A sociology major interested in the dynamics of social movements, Leonard wanted to share the profound organization and professionalism of the protest and water protectors, “because I think a huge problem with any protest is that people label [protesters] as disturbing the peace, as angry people, as disorganized. But really they’re incredibly organized. You have to go through a checkpoint before you enter camp. There are no drugs, alcohol or weapons allowed. There are training sessions to go to the frontline. They’ve got medical tents and legal defense tents where you can register. I even saw acupuncture places and shamans. They’ve set up this society that has no leader; there is no insane hierarchy. It’s a consensus society,” Leonard explained.
Dustin Crowner, a Gunnison artist, also traveled with the group. After venturing out with the first crew over Thanksgiving, talk of the U.S. military veterans coming to camp to help with protection and the impending eviction notices compelled him to return. “Despite arriving at dark, we quickly noticed that the size of the camp grew unbelievably fast, with no end in sight. People from all over the country and from all walks of life kept arriving. We could hardly recognize the camp we experienced a week before. The pure strength in numbers was truly a difficult phenomenon to fully grasp. Speechless and lost in translation, we searched for a spot to pitch our tent. More important, we felt at home again,” Crowner added.
Announcement of the easement: A cautious
celebration
According to The Hill, federal officials denied the final permits required for the Dakota Access Pipeline on December 4. The Army Corps of Engineers announced it would instead conduct an environmental impact review of the 1,170-mile pipeline project and determine if there are other ways to route it to avoid a crossing on the Missouri River. The Bismarck Tribune expanded upon this, saying that the EIS must include more detailed information on a route about 10 miles north of Bismarck, detailed discussion about the potential risks of a spill in Lake Oahe and review of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s treaty rights, as outlined by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Rubingh and Yale reached camp the day before the denial of the easement was announced, braving a final two miles of pure ice with their fellow travelers. “We paddled right across the pipeline route, and all of a sudden it was pure ice. As we were finally pulling up to the last couple hundred feet, there were a couple hundred people waiting for us on the banks. Every single one of us just had tears. Literally the next day we got the announcement that the Army denied the permit. That is such an important thing that happened. There’s a lot of apprehension about what the Trump administration will do, but [the Army Corps of Engineers’ denial] delayed this pipeline for months possibly. It showed that the people at Standing Rock were heard finally. It’s a very big deal that that decision happened,” said Rubingh.
The announcement was met with cautious celebration at Standing Rock, Leonard reported. “Right when they announced it, this man next to me said, ‘We need to turn this black snake into a golden ribbon and put solar panels where the pipeline used to be.’ They have this lore that a black snake will come across the land and create hard times for the people. And that was the most beautiful thing I heard. And then right after he said that, this formation of birds flies over camp and everybody looks up, and I look over at this guy and he says, ‘We will never be defeated because nature is on our side.’
“I immediately started tearing up because I couldn’t comprehend the amount of attachment these people have to just literally the ground they’re standing on,” Leonard continued. “After that happened, it just felt as though the Earth became excited with them as well. I am not religious in any sense of the word, but I truly believe that there is something supernatural about these people.”
“With uncertainty, we quickly made our way to the Sacred Fire, a place where announcements could be trusted. Shortly after the announcement was confirmed, the energy of the camp grew immensely. Indigenous peoples marched through camp, veterans holding flags of many hardships marched, and the sound of drum circles became the synchronized beat of Mother Nature’s heart,” Crowner added.
After the announcement, Leonard noted that there were announcements on the speakers asking people not to go the frontlines to signal de-escalation. Drum circles and fireworks continued throughout the night.
Moving forward
According to the Bismarck Tribune, Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners said the decision from the Department of the Army that ordered a full Environmental Impact Statement is a purely political action, pointing out that two federal courts have ratified the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers review process. “As stated all along, ETP and SXL are fully committed to ensuring that this vital project is brought to completion and fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe,” Energy Transfer Partners wrote in a release after the announcement. “Nothing this administration has done today changes that in any way.”
That lines up with what Leonard and Rubingh saw on the ground.
“From what I can gather from being there, the oil company is not flinching [after the easement was denied]. What it sounds like is that it’s a ceasefire”Leonard said. “It’s both sides saying they need to step back and reevaluate their tactics. There are people there who have been there for five months—they need to go back and visit their families. I think that’s the biggest victory; everyone just gets to take a break for a second. This is a victory because it shows that these people matter. These people are not going away. They made an incredibly powerful force stop for a second—at least reevaluate their strategy. I think it’s important to know that at least for now, nobody is gassed, nobody is getting water cannoned in the face—and shields aren’t necessary right now.
“It sounds like the oil company is just waiting for people to leave. What they don’t understand is that the Natives know. They’ve been told this lie before; they’ve had this conversation with the government before. The core Native population is still set up and will stay there. They’re in it for the long haul,” Leonard continued. “The oil company thinks that these people are going to leave because their standard of living in the camps is low enough that at some point they’ll break, but they also don’t understand that these people live like this year-round. This is their daily life—they just picked up and moved somewhere else. They didn’t change their living standard. Standing Rock is their address now. If you maintain that camp and maintain that infrastructure, the second anything goes down—the second cops start throwing tear gas—everyone is going to show up again.”
“The frontline today in snow blowing sideways and frigid temperatures. The day after news of the Army Corps decision denying the drilling permit spread to camp, one thing remains clear: these water protectors are not claiming victory and they are not going anywhere,” Rubingh reported on Facebook.
“I’m going to go back there again, I guarantee it, because there is a place for me to go,” Leonard explained. “And that’s the real problem for the oil companies—they can’t stop that from happening. It’s an 8,000-person camp; it’s bigger than Gunnison.”
Profound moments
The warm dynamics of the camp deeply moved the Gunnison Valley water protectors. “There were people from completely different places coexisting perfectly. And I don’t get that because I’m an American; I haven’t seen that kind of maturity from humans. I haven’t seen that kind of kindness. And it blew me away,” Leonard shared.
Crowner agreed. “Standing Rock is the realest example I’ve been involved with that truly represents a society working in harmony for one goal: a brighter future for generations to come, a system that sustains fair treatment for all people, and a planet that is respected for its resources.”
Rubingh echoes the sentiments. “The story for me is being welcomed into an indigenous canoe family. At camp, too, it’s just one of the most profound experiences to be there because there is constant prayer—and you’re in it. It takes over,” he said.
And they remain bewildered by the arcane, such as the prophecies’ foretelling of the pipeline. Leonard said, “They have lore saying that a black snake will come across the land. A group predicted the building of an oil pipeline—they are fighting together to prevent their children from being poisoned by the water they drink and have come together in a self-sufficient society. How much more poetic can you make it? Their spirit, because they’ve had to hold onto it for so long, has become unbreakable. That was what was most profound to me. A different form of existence is what I saw there. I believe that the Native Americans have this ability to create a society that just creates joy– in the face of ridiculous odds they just create a bubble where you can be okay. That’s weird and beautiful. I wish I could not do my finals right now and go to Standing Rock and live in a tent.”
“I saw literally magical things happen, and the way they would get explained to me is that they were the spirits of the ancestors. Everywhere we went, bald eagles would circle these canoe dugouts. Every single day. I’m pretty pragmatic, but I think there’s something to animal spirits and ancestors. I started to really feel that and believe that,” Rubingh concluded.
