Surviving Trump: The Standing Rock Doctrine
This week of Trump’s inauguration, I want to tell everyone about a positive way forward that I think we’re all going to need from here on out. I found it at Standing Rock — it has very little to do with oil pipelines, but it has everything to do with who we are as Americans and how we’re going to make it through whatever is coming as soon as tomorrow.
With Trump actually becoming President now and the seeming regression towards some of the racist values we shouldn’t be proud of as a country, I’ve been thinking back to where I grew up in Ottawa Hills, Ohio, a Trump voting, relatively affluent village surrounded by the working class, sweat pants wearing town of Toledo, Ohio.
Since the election a lot of the people that bothered me for no reason in high school have felt comfortable basically coming clean about their anti-Semitism they’ve always had. As my mom, who was born in a displaced persons camp after World War 2, the daughter of holocaust survivors recently said of these times — we’re in a better position now than we were in the 30s, and it’s better to know who these people are and what they think out in the open.
What I’ve told people who are transgendered, gay, black, women or just scared is that the transgendered people I’ve met this year who tasted what it was like to begin to have some sort of regular acceptance — those feelings won’t go away. We have made progress and it won’t be forgotten during the impending darkness we all know is coming.
The Good From Standing Rock Transcends the Pipeline
There’s a good chance when Trump takes office the first thing he’s going to do is allow the North Dakota pipeline to continue being built, reigniting a confrontation with the protestors — possibly erasing a win in the minds of those who protested and risked all to prevent this pipeline.
I, by chance, happened to have been at Standing Rock last month, when this decision came down. It was my first day there — and a ritual was taking all day, with drumming and songs — which eventually lead to something that looked like hands across America in a circle that surrounded the camp. I came running out of a trailer when I saw it fully formed — joined the circle and as soon as I clasped hands, I shit you not — the ruling came down that it was all over.
People were incredibly excited, but anyone doing the math there later that second knew, that it was not likely to stand as a decision — only that the impending conflict between Police protecting the oil interests, the natives, the politically active community and the veterans would likely not happen the next day during a brutal blizzard as had been previously planned.
If they end up building the pipe anyway, why do I think something positive came out of Standing Rock — wasn’t it all about stopping the black snake (oil pipeline)? There are environmental threats all over the country. Natives have been forgotten about, ignored and taken for granted since Columbus (ha Ohio) called them Indians in 1492.
Something is different about Standing Rock.
The Triangle of Support — For lack of a better term
In TED TALK fashion I’m about to DAZZLE you. While you may have thought Standing Rock was about stopping the pipeline, and sure it was — it actually was about much more. In the coming years, the boundaries of partisanship which have been in place, roughly since the 1970s are going to change — in fact, they already have, you just don’t know it. There may be somethings you agree with Republicans on if your Liberal — heck, and don’t strike me dead where I sit for writing this, there maybe something you can agree with Trump on while he’s president. Those who want to make the most of their time here on this planet, need to embrace those opportunities, Sen. Bernie Sanders has said as much.
The reason I point this out, is if you do not get a larger group than your own to begin to agree with what you’re doing, no matter who you think you are or how righteous your mission you do so at your own peril. You have been divided and concurred. Don’t waste your time or the attention span of those actually making a difference with the limited bandwidth we have.
The reason the stand off at Standing Rock did not get violent on December 5th — the day of eviction as had been planned is because what started as a native protest of one tribe, grew to a political action by largely white people — followed most prominently by unimpeachable United States Veterans.
For lack of a better term I call this THREESOME — the Triangle. And if you played junior high basketball at Ottawa Hills, you know the Triangle offense could not be beaten (depending on the talent of the team executing it of course, void where prohibited).
Especially in this day of Facebook when it’s almost impossible to get differing points of view, for political movements to move, they actually have to climb beyond a single group of people. Madison avenue might call it “crossover appeal” — essentially you need more than your group of friends and the people who already think the way you do, to get anything done and we have not been good about this as a country in quite sometime — maybe we haven’t need to do it till now?
It’s uncomfortable. The bridges aren’t really there. They may not look, smell or act like you. But as I’ve said at every town hall meeting or dining room table from here to election day, you’ve got to get more than just your own group together in order to get anything meaningful or lasting done— and to actually do it, you need at least three distinctive groups. We had that at Standing Rock the day that decision came down and things moved quickly. So you can try to build your own Triangles, here are the three very different groups we had that day.
Native Americans
Standing Rock was the first time since Crazy Horse led the Lakota to victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 did this many Sioux gather in one place. All 7 bands of the tribe were present — hence the name Oceti Sakowin camp –which meant Seven Fires Council.
Beyond that, just about anyone else I asked said this was the largest gathering of tribes period from around the country and that Standing Rock was different in the sense that so many tribes were coming together over this moment.
When you consider the effectiveness of divide and conquer as a tactic, and the fact that there are many differences between the tribes, coming together over this moment could mean more collaboration in the future. This one worked since before the founding of United States of America. I’m hopeful, that the bridges built and the success achieved from Standing Rock will engender more cooperation among the tribes so this is a beginning to the enfranchisement, not an end.
You could feel the spirit in the air. It wasn’t just that, in my case, we all touched hands and the decision went in their favor — its seemingly thousands of years of symbiosis with this land we call America — that Native Americans are working with. You could totally not believe in any of the spiritual mumbojumbo and you couldn’t help but feel the solidarity of all the tribes and people coming together that day.
One thing that occurred to me during the two-hour newcomer orientation, which frankly was one of the best realizations I’ve ever experienced about my place in the world and amongst those around me — was the tragedy of the speeds of our Euro-white culture (FAST) and that of the natives we met here (SLOW). If you sat down at a fire and told a native you were there to listen — and asked a question, it would not be uncommon to get a 30 minute answer to your question. A poetic one at that. In our culture, its not our faults — time is money — we don’t have time for that- do we? Its how long it takes to explain and feel somethings, most times it takes even longer-which is why elders still are respected in most tribes, instead of 20 year old psychophant entrepreneurs.
We operate on different speeds. And yes, because we have to ‘make a living’ white culture is forced to be one that seems mostly pre-occupied with extraction. I firmly believe that the native culture not only works well but is one of greater survival — I can relate to this one some level as a Jew. Lets face it — Europeans have been trying to kill the natives since we’ve arrived here and it’s a damn miracle that some of them are still here — diabetes from the food we give them they can’t digest and all. Their culture is in greater harmony with this land, it works — it just takes more time than ours does — and we’ve all been in an increasing hurry ever since we got here.
With consideration to the diversity of tribes that once existed and those who somehow still do today — if you ever meet anyone who is a direct descendant from a tribe — please clear your schedule and take the time to listen to what they have to say about just about anything, especially on how they think they may be standing in front of you. They survived.
Iraq/ Afghan War Vets
As a journalist, I have to admit one bias — I loved talking to the natives, I largely avoided the white politicos-we’ve all heard what they had to say, but I could not get enough time in talking to the veterans.
While I spoke to living veterans from all wars going back to Vietnam — there is just something about these Iraq/Afghanistan war vets — I couldn’t spend enough time talking with them. Yet, if you spend the time, these vets often operated heavily advanced weapons systems, they are well trained, well spoken public servants, many of whom volunteered after September 11th to defend our country.
Here they were — many of them who served in Iraq in what many believe was a war over oil. This time, they felt obligated to defend American civilians at home against a militarized police force also protecting oil. There are valid arguments on the other side of this issue. Ask anyone throughout the west and they will tell you oil trains scare the shit out of them — and they should scare you too.
One failure of our decrepit infrastructure or yes a pretty easy terrorist act and one of those trains catches fire and you lose a town of people. We all have to do something about the demand first, or oil will have to find a way to market. So many drove and flew to the Standing Rock.
The positioning of the pipeline, however, through these lands changed purposefully just south of the white people encampment of Bismarck is the root of this problem and years of dumping on Native Americans. The town profits from the oil and doesn’t share in any of the risk-instead pushing it oh so slightly south out of their watershed.
I experienced the absolute abhorrent hospitality of the people of Bismarck from those who as a journalist, wouldn’t sell me clothes to keep warm to pretty much every person I met the hotels and airports who clearly didn’t want me there as an objective observer. Putting that pipe just south of their watershed directly through Indian burial grounds is hundreds of years of Bismarckians shitting on the Indians as if they are a lessor life form. If you somehow don’t care for the Indians either, those of you living in places like Omaha, Des Moines, Kansas City, St. Louis and those on down the line from Standing Rock have your drinking water at risk as well. You have Bismarck to thank and they didn’t give two shits about you either. The natives are fighting and risking all for you and you didn’t even know it. While it may seem like a joke that the people living in Bismarck get the punishment of having to live there with each other, unfortunately their North Dakota Mean is a threat and a danger to the beautiful Lakotas, who were there first and the entire rest of the country south of them who rely on the Missouri/Mississippi water complex.
In this regard, our veterans answered the call again. And in similar form to many native tribes, with the exception of a couple of movies and due to the dismantlement of war reporting due to the internet and budgetary constraints- our veterans have largely been ignored and forgotten about. This could be a point in common with the natives. I experience a similar feeling of shame and nausea, when I think about it.
The most interesting interview I conducted the entire time, was that of a Native American Marine & Afghan war veteran from North Carolina.
I’ve cut down here interview here — there are two points she made which really are the inspiration for what I’ve writing here. When I asked what she thought about everyone coming together at Standing Rock, she began to cry — she felt as if natives had been ignored for so long and she was over come with the idea that this many people cared about them. I followed up with — considering the history of our country, how does it feel to wear the American flag and fight on behalf of the United States. And she responded, many natives sign up to fight on behalf of America — it’s their country too.
Political White People — Damaged or Strong
So back to that village I grew up in, Ottawa Hills. I went to Ottawa Hills Elementary School on Indian Road. The Cleveland Indians was a little league team. We were taught killing the Indians was good. Christopher Columbus was a hero and if you stepped on our Arrowhead in high school, it meant you didn’t graduate Ottawa Hills high school on time — a place absolutely no one in 1998 wanted to spend any extra time at — yes even a wave of our hater teachers retired the year we graduated — don’t step on the Arrowhead!
Was your experience like this growing up? Be honest.
I’ve never met an Ottawa Indian. I know nothing about them. Nor the Maumee Indians or anything of the history of the people whose names still permeates the place I grew up. They’re probably all gone.
And then you consider North Dakota. Named after the Lakota indian tribe where they apparently got the spelling wrong on but had already printed the signs so it was too late. The tradition continues — the state road signs placed there by white people depict an Indian chief. So bizarre, but this craziness is all around us, everywhere in the country, from the name of your car to the name of your street.
Standing Rock is likely the most white people to have ever slept next to the Lakota tribe ever. If you consider what white people did to natives in this country — there’s been generations of mistrust. Most of native culture is shielded from us — not shared. A bridge was built there and the understanding will spread.
Of the three groups represented here, I would say roughly 80% of the white people arrived at Standing Rock with mantra damage. These were people who in many cases flocked to the middle of nowhere because of the righteous feeling of being needed simply for their body taking up space.
I told people my reason for being at Standing Rock was to listen — and while this is true, the individualist nature of the white people, they all seemed to tell me stories about their own damages from the outside world. There was the college professor who didn’t like what he was teaching anymore. The woman from San Francisco in her mid 40s who complained that nobody loved her. There was the 20 something dominating Bro-sef who would tell you that you weren’t from San Francisco, you were from Ohlone in an attempt to make you feel as empty and as guilty as he did for what his ancestors may have done, mine certainly didn’t but of which I have benefited from, but at the end of the day also for his inability to find larger purpose in his life. All of this self-reflection, and me me me damage was brought to Standing Rock while you noticed Native Americans getting much needed health care no a personal level and a larger concern for their very survival on a tribal level.
About 20% of these people certainly were organized, well-intentioned, knew how to build things and were trying their best to help orient the torrent of aimless white people who stumbled into the middle of a great plains winter, a makeshift encampment looking for this to fill the voids western culture had created for them. While yes, this 20% is the almost professional protestor class who answers the call whenever the phone rings and does their part with honor, they also must be terribly used to dealing with the other 80%
Bringing the Triangle Together
It should be noted that during the hellish North Dakota plains blizzard on December 6th, one in which Iraq veterans claimed it was some of the worst conditions they’d ever slept in, including every single Iraqi dust storm, that the Native Tee-Pees and the geodesic domes brought on mostly by the California camp withstood the conditions. Tents from places like REI got RIPPED UP and turned into sails, blew away, in some cases caused fires, in the 40+ MPH winds.
The native casino 10 miles from the encampment, and major source of revenue for the tribe became a refugee camp with people sleeping in the hallways, the buffet feeding women and children first and yet, constant regular announcements welcoming ‘guests’ to the latest potential raffle or prize.
When Chief Archambault after the permit was denied, suggested that it might be time for non natives to leave — you could tell, especially amongst the white people that some of them didn’t really have another place to go, especially where they may have a purpose as significant as lending their body in protest. This wasn’t a secret, they would plainly tell you as much. The tragic part of our culture, and now a reach people, because I made videos on the Obama campaign where I heard him say he intended to do this, we really need to expand some sort of service culture in this country for our lost suburban souls. This week they wandered the casino.
What does this mean for Trump and our future as a country? Well if you take the nerded our climate/environmental movement — and you consider that they have convinced just about every single person they are going to convince through making people feel bad through science and reason — and you combine it with the poetry, beauty, and spirituality of the Native Americans — you actually might have a better case. The history of the natives on this land and how they describe their relationship to nature has a much greater appeal than the harsh science alone. Its like the most beautiful part of one of the most beautiful places on the planet. You take that — and then combine it with the culture of our military, something that permeates throughout so much of our society, with so many families connected to people who have served and present it in a young, solid, unimpeachable way our veterans did, you have a winning combination.
So from now on.. and there will be an incredible amount of distractions, ranging from stupid tweets to militant marches to angry people just about everywhere — if you find yourself in a group of people trying to make a point, save some lives or just make things rational in an era of Donald Trump, the Manchurian candidate from Moscow by way of Queens — you must make sure that you have at least 2, but most importantly at least three different and distinctive groups working together with you to advance your cause or you are wasting your time at a circle jerk.
Yes it’s uncomfortable. Yes they may not agree with you on everything or even like to hear you talk about anything. I don’t care who they are — its better if they are a group of people who rarely ever talk to each other — mark my words, find the triangle of support and whether the pipeline gets built or not, it doesn’t really matter, this country we all care about, the hope of the world in terms of self government and people from different places trying to get along together despite their differences will survive. To not fell into the categories they’ve set out for us is a TRUE rebellion. And in my case, it was proven to me in a vision at Standing Rock.
