Red Warrior Camp has left the Lands and Waters of Oceti Sakowin

December 2016 Official Red Warrior Camp Communique

Red Warrior Camp has left the Lands and Waters of Oceti Sakowin.
Dutch translation by Alice Holemans at NAIS.

Grassroots leaders LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard, and Chase Iron Eyes from Standing Rock have spoken and have made it abundantly clear that they want those equipped for the harsh North Dakota winter to stay and help stop DAPL, due to our current circumstance it is with great regret that we as Red Warrior cannot accept this heartfelt invitation. That is not to say we do not support this effort, in fact, is quite the opposite, we send our Warrior Salute and War Cry to the universe and the Ancestors that their needs are met and they receive the love and support they need in the fight for clean water.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's Chairman Dave Archambault has made it abundantly clear that a diversity of tactics in the battle against the Dakota Access Pipeline is not respected nor wanted. We have this to say: without the courage and the actions of those who actually put their minds, bodies, and spirits in harm's way the pipeline would be built. Without the Warriors who locked down and took measures to put a stop to the work on DAPL, the black blood would already be flowing under the Missouri River. The encampment itself would not even be here right now. The hard work of the Warriors has cost ETP millions, we have struck the Black Snake a deadly blow.

The peace policing that was led by people who were for the most part self-appointed used ceremony and spirituality as a weapon against us, they too have made it abundantly clear by their actions and their constant slinging of arrows that they are not ready to embrace a world view that upholds decolonization and revolution.

After months of active duty as Warriors fighting for Sacred Water and protecting Sacred Ground, and due to the current political climate here at Standing Rock, Red Warrior Camp is evolving. We are taking time to recoup, and expand on who we are as a Society. We have worked very hard here for many months and must be mindful of ourselves and our families and also to self-care. We must also be true to who we are and as Indigenous Land Defenders, we are committed fully to our roles as Warriors and have worked too hard to allow any kind of outside threat to compromise our duties and movement.

Red Warrior Society is now dedicating ourselves to building a culture and community of Resistance on every level. We were called here by the People to help fight a battle that is far from our home territories for many of us, we have sacrificed much in the efforts for Mni Wiconi. Facing felony charges, lasting bodily harm and the long-lasting effects of battle fatigue we have laid it all on the line for the water. Our time here has come to an end, we have done all we can in this fight and we are honored to have stood beside not only the Tribe but to each and every one of you from all nations all over the planet who came here with the fire of resistance in your bellies and fought hard and long beside us.

We offer up our sincerest thanks to all who have bettered us as a Camp, we are grateful to those who have made our lives here easier and who have sheltered us and fed us. To all those who came forward and offered their help in the form of finances and the sweat from their bodies. We salute you, your help, love, and offerings have given us the heart to be here for so many months, and it has held us up when we were weary from battle and felt discouraged. Without this, we would not be in a place to carry on our battle to other frontlines and we would not be as strong as we are. There are no words in this colonized language to express the deep feelings we carry with us, for this movement that has arisen from this historic time, water is life.

One of the lessons we have learned that has inspired us is the very real need for a mobile resistance movement that is ready and willing to dismantle the capitalist regime that is destroying our planet. The mobilization of resistance is key to shattering the oppressive illegal military occupation of the so called 'Amerikkkas', for too long we have lived with broken treaties, genocide, racism and colonization. In order to best honor our ancestors and the future generations we are living our principles by forming a Warrior Society rooted in combatting the indoctrination of our minds, bodies, and spirits. We do not need Standing Rock to exist, but we did however require it to put us all in the same place at the same time. We realize now that all we need is each other, our Red Warrior family has undertaken the responsibility and role to uphold not only Mother Earth but Indigenous Rights. It is with this duty in mind we must rise up and move on.

We are unapologetically Indigenous, we embody resistance, everything we do from eating rubber bullets for breakfast to holding our frontline has been done in a manner that is nothing but spiritual. We have great respect and love for prayer and ceremony and understand its place in a time of battle, many of our People are spiritual leaders in their own right and in their own territories. We are the answered prayers of our Ancestors embodied in the flesh, we are given a sacred duty to ensure the continuity of our Peoples way of life on this planet, and to protect the future for those spirits yet to come. This is a call to action to which no man or women can or should deny in these precarious times.

The time has come for us as Red Warrior take a leap of faith in our Ancestors and carve a space for ourselves to exist as free from colonialism as we can. We recognize and acknowledge our role, we have been brought together by the struggle for clean water here at Oceti Sakowin and we are moving on as a group.

Our time together here has been a journey and a teaching experience for us all, it has honed our vision and our mission as a whole and we are looking seven generations forward. Focused on action to defend our Mother we are moving forward to ensure we are where we are needed and can be effective. Our people and our battles are all over Turtle Island, we have worked hard together to create a Warrior Society that is upholding not only Mother Earth but also each other. We are Mother Earths Army.

We cannot stay and fight a battle for land and water that is heavily invested in neo-colonialism. We are so grateful to the grassroots people who have supported us while we have been here. It is not easy to say goodbye, we are deeply tied to this struggle and are not abandoning our post. This fight is not over yet, the pipeline is still being built, Energy Transfer Partners will push this pipe through unless there is a diversity of tactics that include direct action and no court ruling or legal maneuvering will prevent that from happening alone; and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is heavily engaged in praying away a pipeline without action, this is in direct opposition to who we are as Warriors.

We are in a war to fight the greedy corporate whores who are pimping out our Mother for blood money and we say no more. Enough is enough, for over 500 years we have been brutalized and robbed, we are not victims looking for surcease we are Warriors fighting for our lives and the future. We cannot afford to allow our own corrupt leaders aid and abet this process, too many of our people are working for industry, too many of our people are selling out, we must remember the warrior blood that runs through our veins. We do a great disservice to ourselves and the People when we allow the values of white supremacist society to overshadow the knowledge of what it means to be a true human being.

Mother Earth is hurting and she’s calling for backup.

Warriors rise up. FIGHT BACK!

In The Spirit Of Resistance,

Red Warrior Society