Today, hundreds of veterans from across the United States took a knee and begged for forgiveness for crimes committed toward indigenous people in the name of the U.S. military.
A massive awakening is being realized, and it’s stemming from the Standing Rock protest camps located near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. Since April, “water protectors” have been protesting the development of a four-state Dakota Access Pipeline.
Individuals in support of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, who believe the land is rightfully theirs due to an 1851 treaty, have been maced, tased, beaten with batons, shot with rubber bullets, and even sprayed down with water canons in freezing temperatures because they believe the DAPL’s construction will uproot burial ground and potentially contaminate the Missouri river.
Energy Transfer Partners insists that the pipeline is incredibly safe, but betting on “human error” has proven to be too much of a risk, which is why advocates for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe protest. This past weekend, over three thousand veterans arrived at the Sacred Stone camp to show their support for the indigenous peoples’ plight, as well as to help prepare activists for the cold winter.
Likely because of the veterans’ arrival – which was organized by Michael J. Wood, a former Baltimore police officer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied an easement to the oil companies responsible for the $3.7 billion pipeline. Cheers erupted in the camp as word spread, but a statement by Energy Transfer Partners soon made it clear that construction of the DAPL will continue regardless of the Obama Administration’s interference.
As of now, a standoff continues between law enforcement workers and water protectors; those who are present at Standing Rock – and many more who intend to venture to North Dakota – are adamant that they are not going anywhere until the pipeline is rerouted.
With heartache and humility in the air, veterans led by Wesley Clark Jr. did something remarkable today. Hundreds of veterans gathered before tribal leaders of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and begged for forgiveness for crimes committed toward indigenous people in the name of the U.S. military.
The ceremony, according to Redhawk’s Facebook post, was led by Arvol Looking Horse, Leonard Crow Dog, Phyllis Young, Ivan Looking Horse, and a number of other natives of Turtle Island.
Though many military personnel are in favor of the pipeline’s construction due to the potential boost it could offer the economy, others see it as another instance in which native Americans are being trampled upon within a two-hundred-year period. To attempt to ‘right’ the many wrongs of the past, the brave veterans asked for forgiveness.
According to Jon Eagle, who is the tribal historic preservation officer for the Standing Rock Sioux, Leksi Leonard Crow Dog – a Sioux spokesman – forgave the veteran military members present for the past actions of their government. In turn, he asked for forgiveness for the Battle of Big Horn – also known as Custer’s Last Stand – when Sioux warriors killed approximately 268 U.S. soldiers affiliated with the 7th Cavalry.
Redhawk wrote that they were “forgiven for actions taken to dehumanize the indigenous of this country, and a step towards solitary has been made.”
After the moving ceremony, the two groups made a unified call for world peace.
What’s happening at Standing Rock is no longer a fight between the indigenous and those employed by an affluent oil company. The uprising has morphed into a battle between those who understand that all life is connected and that by honoring the Earth, everyone benefits – especially future generations.
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I also bow and wish our government had been fair with the tribes of America. I have a tear in my eye as I type this.
We say we love and forgive one another but what we as humans imply as love or forgiveness is nothing compared to Gods Love, Forgiveness and POWER. Consider how (because of our sins) we have harmed and corrupted those around us who then contributed to the corruption of others, who again corrupted others. We can only speculate how many are involved and the negative impact to those of past and future generations.
We may sincerely regret, sincerely apologize, and seek forgiveness but we cannot undo the spiritual and physical damage we have caused to ourselves and others. For example: If we cause someone to lose their eyesight there is nothing we can do to restore it. If we lead someone into drugs, crime, or moral decline we then are responsible for their corruption. How can our individual responsibility for the damage we caused to so many be cleared? Taking it further how can our collective corrupted interactions with one another and the subsequent negative entanglements of millions and millions of souls be accounted for, sorted out, and reconciled?
We do not have the capacity to dissipate evil or satisfy the demands of justice for ourselves or for those in the world we have directly or indirectly injured and corrupted. Only by God’s perfection in love can we be redeemed from our sins obtaining forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
The world’s Religions and Philosophies perceive the need for a redeemer but avoid it, politely deny it, and then reject it. They choose not to acknowledge God because of there pride and desire to be free of moral constraints. By their own words: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” Full of pride they openly reject God and mans need of a Redeemer and stridently teach others to do likewise.
If you will have it dear you may move beyond man’s religions, man’s understanding, truly apprehending the Love, Wisdom, Power, and Glory of God.
Carefully consider the following: The effects of evil, the righteous demand for justice, our need of forgiveness, and Gods perfection in love, are eternally resolved and accomplished at the Cross. It is only through a Redeemer that the entangled influences and ramifications of individual and collective sins over thousands of years are accounted for, vindicated, and redeemed. Now dear reader you may here begin to understand the awesome POWER, WISDOM and GLORY of God and what He has done for you and all mankind. Truly it is Gods desire that you are forgiven, restored, renewed, redeemed, and born again into His Kingdom. This is the Good News of our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is yours to accept or reject. Amen.
Peace to all…Daniel