Mni wiconi - Water is life

Chapter 7

Maggie turned out to be a real treasure. She tirelessly showed Emily around the camp and introduced her to the activists. Most of them were inhabitants of the reservations in North and South Dakota. Lakota who were fighting to preserve nature and keep the drinking water clean.

"You joined the American Indian Movement in the seventies?" Emily looked in awe at the three native men, whose faces were marked by the decades they had lived through. Deep furrows that each seemed to tell a story of their own. "Maggie, I don't want to keep you from your work any longer. I think I can find my way around now."

"As you wish, dear." The older woman smiled gently. "Then I will leave you in the care of these three gentlemen." She turned to the men. "Emily has traveled from Washington to assist us. She works for an institute there that deals with environmental protection. She can tell you the interesting stuff herself."

"I would rather hear the stories about the fight against oppression. How people found the courage and strength to stand up to corruption and abuse of power. Their life stories. My daily routine is unlikely to be as interesting," she added, blushing. She lowered her chin and bit her lip. In the face of these activists who had experienced this much, she felt like a foolish schoolgirl. She probably was in comparison to them.

One of the men looked at her thoughtfully. "Every story is worth telling. Because there is something to be learned from even the tiniest detail."

Maggie nodded in agreement. "You are right, William." She patted Emily on the back. "You will have to share something about your life before the three of them will tell you about the subject you are interested in."

Fuck. Emily nibbled on her lower lip and then sat down with the men. One hand washes the other. As much as she did not like it, she was aware that information always came at a price. "I am Emily Sanders and, as Maggie mentioned, I am from Washington. Through my work at the Institute, I learned about the construction of the pipeline and that they want to lay it across the reservation despite opposition, after bowing to the protests of other landowners. I don't like this unequal treatment. That is the reason why I have come here to collect material for a blog to make people out there aware of the situation."

"A blog?" Walter frowned.

"Uh, it is a modern means of communication on the Internet. A kind of newspaper from private individuals. You can read it online." Emily fell silent. The amused glint in the old man's eyes told her he was just toying with her. "You know exactly what I mean." She tried to keep a neutral expression on her face. The Lakota was making fun of her. One thing her colleague had warned her about. And yet she had naively fallen into his trap. Like a stupid sheep.

William grinned. "We learned early on at AIM to use advanced means of communication. We had to coordinate somehow. And the good old smoke signals are a bit out of fashion. That is why we know about the Internet and other modern topics. Because we need them in the fight against oppression."

"You need effective means to make your voice heard," one of the other old men interjected. "They used to occupy Alcatraz. Or Wounded Knee. Nowadays, we use YouTube and other tools to get our message out into the world. Or rather, the younger ones among us. Like you, Emily." He held out his hand. "I am John Running Deer and these are my friends William Bald Eagle and Walter Crazy Badger. We are glad to have you join our fight."

Emily breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the fun William had allowed himself was a kind of initiation rite. To see how she would react in such a situation and whether she was worthy of acceptance. From the looks of it, she had passed the test. "Thank you. I am happy to be able to participate in the protests. We cannot allow the pipeline to be built. Too many lives are being arbitrarily put at risk."