We will be collecting donations of herbs and supplies to send to the brave warriors protecting the waters at Standing Rock. The weather is already bitter, and temperatures will soon reach -50 degrees! Their stand is against the Dakota Access pipeline, which would transport oil only a half mile from the reservation (and through sacred burial ground) and threatens their water supply. Many of us that attend the Portland Plant Medicine Gathering identify as and/or can be perceived as white. As white people we inherit the legacy of land theft and genocide. Moving our resources to support Indigenous led resistance is an essential form of solidarity.
We will have donation boxes at the Portland Plant Medicine Gathering to collect supplies and herbal medicines to send to the water protectors via our friend Shylah Schauer, who originally hails from North Dakota. A third-year Naturopathic student at NUNM, Shylah has been to the Oceti Sakowin Camp, which is home to a vast majority of water protectors, a few times over the late summer months and is making multiple runs throughout the winter and until the Dakota Access Pipeline is stopped once and for all. She has been going for long weekends, fitting the trek into the busy life of a medical student, and has been corralling her fellow students to make the trips as well to bring the abundance of our community to a place where it is in high need.
Another way you can help is by making direct contributions to the Water is Life: Two Spirit Warrior & Water Protectors Fund so they can purchase larger supplies as they prepare for subzero temperatures. They have a few weeks left for funds to come in and still need about $500. Many of the folks who have brought a strong Two Spirit Nation presence to Standing Rock are from our very own Portland. Candi Brings Plenty (Oglala Sioux) is director of Portland’s Two Spirit Society as well as Executive Director of The Equi Institute-- Oregon’s first Trans- and Queer- focused health clinic, research institute, and advocacy center.
Candi Brings Plenty is quoted in the Huffington Post about why Two Spirit individuals have united in Standing Rock: “Traditionally looked upon as sacred entities and bridges between the natural and supernatural worlds, Two Spirit individuals have been systematically attacked since the Invaders arrived on Turtle Island in the late 1400s. Widely regarded as leaders, dignitaries, healers and holy people, Two Spirit culture was an essential spoke in the wheel of tribal culture; Two Spirit absence triggered a time of unbalance that is only now beginning to shift.”
In this time of their shifting, the Two Spirit Nation needs our support in a big way!! If you prefer to pay in person AND if they have not met their funding goal by the time the 8th Annual Portland Plant Medicine Gathering begins, an announcement during the conference will be made about how to pay by cash, check or credit card.
Attached is a list of supplies currently needed, and these requests come directly from the organizers at the camps in North Dakota (link is listed below as well. Attached format is a little easier to read/decode!) Please honor the request of organizers by only bring supplies and medicinals that are in good condition, keep in mind that there is no trash pickup at the camps. It is better to send a few high quality items than a lot of low quality items.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for helping out in any way that you can! We will both be at the PPMG all weekend, so feel free to ask us any questions there.