Rocky Boy sets pipeline protest prayer march

Members of the Chippewa Cree Tribe on Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation will hold a prayer march Thursday to show solidarity with those on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Taralyn Writing Bird, who organized the march with a few friends, said many on Rocky Boy want to show support for protesters in North Dakota but do not have the means to travel there to do so.

Writing Bird said the march which will start at noon in the parking lot of the former Stone Child College and go about a quarter of a mile to the Rocky Boy baseball field in the agency square.

Participants will pray as well as light traditional sacraments such as sage and sweetgrass.

Police will direct traffic along the route and water will be provided to marchers when they reach the field, Writing Bird said.

Demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline have made headlines and spurred opposition among Native Americans across the country as well as environmentalists and landowners.

The planned route of the $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile pipeline spans from North Dakota down to Illinois. Opponents of the project said the Standing Rock Sioux were not properly consulted to determine if the property affected by the construction has historical or cultural significance to the tribe. Concerns have also been expressed about the impact a possible spill could have on the drinking water supply on and beyond the reservation.

A federal judge Friday ruled that construction of the pipeline could proceed. Later that day, however, the Department of Justice, Interior and the Department of the Army issued a joint order temporarily halting construction on the pipeline.

Recently a group from the Fort Belknap Indian Community led by Fort Belknap Tribal Council President Mark Azure traveled to one of the protest camps.

Nine people from Rocky Boy associated with Our Saviours Lutheran Church on the Reservation also recently attended traveled to North  Dakota last week.

Writing Bird said others from Rocky Boy have traveled to North Dakota to join the protests in small informal groups.