Mni wiconi - Water is life

Chapter 4

He stopped the car on a hill and stared down at the camp. At first there had only been a few tents here. Traditional tepees made from modern materials. But the number had increased over the months. Smaller nylon tents dotted the wide area. A multitude of colorful spots on the parched prairie. A large supply or meeting tent in the middle. Plus the tepees.

Absolute chaos in Leo's eyes. He rubbed the itchy back of his neck. Too many people, too many strangers, possibly with weapons. Although the protests were mostly peaceful - at least on the part of the activists - he found it hard to imagine that the people were completely unarmed. If only for hunting purposes, one or two of them would have brought a rifle with them. To supplement the meager food supply. Or did the rich whites who had joined the resistance against the pipeline donate something?

Hardly. Leo snorted to himself. The strangers weren't interested in the matter itself. They just wanted to show off to their friends, to boast. That they were helping the poor savages because the latter were otherwise completely helpless. Ragged figures who were all addicted to alcohol and drugs.

He sighed. The white man's poison was a problem on the reservation. It plunged the people who walked on the edge into the abyss. His mother, his father, his former fiancée. They all succumbed to the seductive addiction.

He looked back at the encampment. Flags of countless Indian nations flanked the road leading into the camp. A virtual sign that the tribes were sticking together. If only they had done that a hundred and fifty or two hundred years ago and sent the white plague back to their countries of origin. But it was long too late for that now. The locusts had spread across the once free land and were attacking the mineral resources as if they would grow back in a matter of days. Fools.

Just like the people protesting against the pipeline. Leo put the car back in motion and drove down the hill. He felt a nauseous churning in his stomach. Up close, he realized how full of life the camp was. He pressed his lips together and suppressed a tremor. Why did he not turn back? They would not listen to someone like him anyway. But who was he if he did not at least try?

A coward who ran away from his demons.

He stopped the car in front of the supply tent and clenched his hands. Smile, you can't kill them all.

Someone opened the driver's door from the outside with a sudden swing. Leo instinctively pulled his fists up, holding them protectively in front of his face. His heart was pounding hard under his ribs. He broke out in a sweat, but the expected blow never came.

"Jeez, Leo, I am grateful I got to live to see this." The man his age patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "Sorry about that, I forgot how jumpy you have been since you came back to the Rez."

"Sammy." Leo lowered his arms and took a deep breath. Not a threat. It was just his old friend Sammy Fast Elk. "You joined the protesters?"

"We only have one Earth." He shrugged his shoulders. "Mni wiconi - water is life."

Leo stifled a groan. The fact that his best friend from school had joined in with this Punch and Judy stuff gnawed at him like a beaver on a tree trunk. "Your protests are only fueling unemployment on the reservation."

"Better unemployed than poisoned drinking water," Sammy replied dryly. He pointed towards the camp. "There is plenty to do here. Our tribal administration makes sure that everyone has something to eat and a place to sleep. You should come here with your grandfather. I am sure he will be full of enthusiasm to tell the stories of our people to the younger ones. Just like he did for us back when we were kids."

"Leave Grandfather out of this," growled Leo. "I definitely will not let him take part in this nonsense in his old age."

"Then you can share his knowledge." Sammy shook his head disapprovingly. "What have you turned into? Have you spent too much time with the white soldiers and forgotten the virtues of the Lakota?" The friend leaned on the open driver's door. "Get out now and take a look at everything. If you still don't want to join us, that's fine with me."