How we can collectively help.......

The BEST way to help now:

There are many large projects needing funding. The one I would like to focus on first is FIREWOOD! For those standing during the winter.....firewood is a must. Individually this is a hard one to meet. But collectively it can be done.

I have made a contact out of Sundance Wyoming. He has a limit to the number of trucks of wood he can send to Standing Rock. His limit is based on sustaining the health of the forest. He runs a sustainable forest lumber business. But he can bring in several truck loads of firewood (dry). On one truck, he can fit between 16-18 cords of wood. Each truck load is $1700.

I also have another contact for wood out of Rapid City. Offering the same deal to this cause.

For those of you not familiar with a cord, one cord equals a stack of wood that measures 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet. The above cost is a good price being offered to this cause.

I first looked into a Go Fund Me page. I learned they keep 5% of all donations plus a 3% service fee.
By clicking on the Pay Pal button on my page, they keep 2.9% plus 30 cents per donation.
By logging into your Pay Pal account linked to a credit card---our test run showed a $50.00 donation came directly to the cause but the donor was also charged $1.75 to process.
For convince and the lowest fees----Pay Pal Seems to be the best.
I tell you all of this because I want to be transparent. I want you the donor to be informed.

I've set up a paypal account for this cause.
The link is on the main page of my blog----upper right hand corner.
Or you can log into your pay pal account and enter my pay pal email address:
crystaldigger@hotmail.com
Be sure to click it's a donation to family or a friend.

For those of you wanting to help fund this project but don't want to do it on line, My address is:
Angela Borup
HC 64 Box 9136
Ketchum, ID 83340

For those of you wanting to send in individual donations directly to camp, they can be mailed to:
Sacred Stone Camp
P.O. Box 1011
Fort Yates, ND 58538

Right now my target is 3-5 loads of wood delivered. If we are successful in this, I would like to use additional funds to help with other projects needed for winter survival. ***I am not currently certain on what those projects may be as the needs of camp shift. Firewood is not one that is going to shift anytime soon. Once the firewood goal has been met, I will communicate with my contacts in camp to assess priority camp needs.

For those of you sharing your resources through this page, please send me your name as the tribes wish to do a prayer/blessing on your names to show appreciation and send blessing back to you.

This is 6ish cords of wood. 

This is the amount of wood it takes to keep

 this man warm through the winter in a 1 bedroom cabin.

Smiley Creek, Idaho

Contacts, Research, What I helped Fund while in camp.

NOTE: I'm not using anyone's name I have not yet asked permission to use.

A big push for me wanting to go to Standing Rock is to find out what the current needs are. From afar, the needs seemed to move so quickly. I wanted to get there. Research current needs. Help fill some of those needs and learn how I could continue to help from afar.

Sunday I put on my "Protect the Bears Ears" tee shirt. This teeshirt opened doors.
It assisted in my contact with:

• The woman over all press and reporters coming to camp.
• A man over community events in camp
• The man that has set up a solar communications van--radio program and documenting interviews with those in camp.
• Ladonna (land owner where original camp was set up)
• Ladonna's Sister (Working in one of the Kitchens)
• I was also was led to a man that had prepared the ground and had designed a root cellar but needed help getting building supplies.
• A man from Seattle working on donations being stored properly.
• I also met with the man over all of the mail coming to Sacred Stone Camp
• A man that is a 6th Generation Decendant of Sitting Bull <-----with wood contacts! :)

*****all of the above people are doing way more than what's on my simplified list. 

Thru the above I learned of the following needs:

• Solar generators---I called my hardcore outdoors friends. Their opinions is best one on the market currently: Goal Zero. I was unable to find said solar generator in Bismarck as they can't keep them in stock. But I've also learned they are made in Utah! 
• Long distance radios for better camp to camp communication. 
• Batteries for the solar panels arriving to better serve the communication van.
• Shipping containers to better store donations. Currently they are stored in tents. (As of two days ago).
• Building Materials for a winter ready kitchen, a root cellar to best store winter food, etc.
• Tepees- to better house water protectors staying the winter
• Meat 
• FIRE WOOD. FIRE WOOD. FIRE WOOD! FIRE WOOD!!!!

One of the biggest needs is someone that can research the above needs, fund said needs, and coordinate getting those items on the ground. As camp has grown so fast, everyone has become stretched thin. 

I was able to help fund the following projects while in camp:

• 4 golf cart batteries to support the solar panels for the communications van ($600)
• 4 radios for camp to camp communication (they best ones available to any lay person)
• I purchased a LOT of building supplies to get the root cellar started. ($1,600)
• I left my Spring Bar Tent (10'X10') for a man and his family pulling more than their own weight.

So I now need YOUR help. Together let's pull OUR resources.

The Pictures below will show you how camp has grown. It's so very lovely but also demands more resources.

Photo Taken August 19, 2016

by Antonia Ybarra 

Photo Taken September 11, 2016

By Antonia Ybarra 

  

Some of my experiences....

MARCH TO THE SACRED BURIAL SITES

Morning of Day One in Camp (Friday): I met an Elder camped near us. I didn't know this at the time but he came to be a great teacher not only to me but others camped around us. He informed us of a march being led by native veterans to the burial site that had been plowed by the pipeline workers Labor Day Weekend. He told us where to meet for the March. So a little before the march, we gathered our protest signs and met at the main gathering spot. Around a thousand people were gathered to march.

It was then we learned during sacred ceremonies, no photography was allowed.

Men with beautiful sacred staffs (no photos allowed) led the march and we all followed the three ish miles from camp to the sacred sites. Along the walk there were signs tied to the fence as well as little bits of fabric. One of the signs caught my attention as it was placed there by my friends of the Kanosh Piutte Tribe. I knew I missed them by only a few days but it warmed my heart to see some of the steps they walked while there.

To honor my mothers wish, I did not enter the site but rather stood on the side of the road to watch the ceremonies from afar. I held a sign made by my mother that said, "Mother Matters More Than Money."

As we walked back, we were offered a ride in the back of the truck. Those in the cab handed us drinks and jerky to share. We picked up others along the way and shared the gifts with them as well.

SEVEN DIRECTIONS

The seven directions were shared with me by Antonia (several photos on this blog were taken by her----in camp she was my neighbor for a weekend when camp was estimated at 7,500)

There are men that have dedicated their lives to the horse. A man and his horse represent the seven directions.

These are the seven directions:
The four hoofs represent North, South, East, and West
The tail of the horse points down to the earth and represents the direction toward the land--toward the earth.
The horses head reaches toward the sky, the heavens, the Creator.
The seventh direction is represented by the horseman. This direction is the direction that comes from within.

These men are the protectors. The messengers. It was then I learned these men circle camp on horseback in shifts 24 hours 7 days a week. They are their to ensure the safety everyone in camp.

Photo Credit: Antonia Ybarra

Antonia's Photography

ELDER'S FIRE

One night several of my neighbors were around an Elder's fire. Late in the evening three young women entered the circle surrounding the fire. They had been at this fire before had returned for more stories. The Elder shared a story but then asked for those of us around the fire to share as well. One young woman told a fun story about how the coyote got his tail. Another young woman sang us her prayer song--so very lovely--and then told us the story of how she had come to write it. Another young woman, a sister to one of the younger, thanked the elder for sharing his stories and igniting an excitement in her younger sister....not only about his stories, but to share them with others, as well as returning home to hear the stories of her tribe's Elders. Then she sang a song. Her voice drew me in as did all the young women. I was so thankful to have been invited around this fire.

There are so many stories and I will share them as I unpack them from my memory.

Our Arrival....

I left Idaho for Utah on Labor Day (Monday), organized donations and made protest signs with friends (Tuesday), loaded van and left Ogden (Wednesday), arrived in Standing Rock at 5 pm on Thursday.

Arriving at Standing Rock:
As we came over the hill and the view of camp opened up to us, I was hit with this feeling of love, awe and gratitude that so many people had come to stand for water. Cars lined the road, North and South, waiting for their turn to get into camp. We followed the other cars till ground opened up for us to camp. People started setting up camp with haste as a storm was approaching. As we set up camp, we met our new neighbors that like us, we're just arriving. Our closest neighbor was a freelance writer for Huffington Post and her boyfriend.

Once we were set up, the rain started. Trevor and I quickly grabbed the rain gear and headed to the donation tent. We took several trips back and forth of tents, sleeping bags, tarps, and rain gear. The rest could wait till morning. We had some exploring to do to get our bearings and learn about our surroundings.

As we walked around, in the rain, we found the main gathering area, a side stage set up for youth performances, a volley ball court, the row of Flags representing the tribes and nations that are in solidarity with Standing rock, a seven tepee (in one) set up that had a lovely glow from the fire within, horse corrals, port potty stations, water stations, firewood stations, collective art areas, fire rings throughout camp, and so on.

The rain lightened then stopped. We wandered camp listening to the drums, the singing, watched the performances and dancing, heard stories shared from tribes across the country and world, and enjoyed the glow and warmth of the fires until exaughstion of our travels took over. As I lay in bed, the sound of all the above lulled me to sleep.

Seven Tepee:

Above Photo Credit: Antonia Ybarra Photography (Check out her FB Page)

Flags

The View From Our Campsite

AfterStorm Rainbow

The Plan.......

Allen asked me to come up with a plan, I did so.

THE PLAN:

Find a traveling partner----Check.

Contact friends to see if they wanted to donate as I could deliver-----Check

Gather my camping supplies-----Check

Call neighbors to help Allen with fire wood and my dog while I am gone-----Check

Locate Standing Rock on a map and best way to get there-----Check

Load car and head from Idaho to Utah to pick up donations and traveling partner----Check

Organize donations------Check

Load donations----Check

Make protest Signs------Check

Get some SLEEP------Check

Hit the open road------Check
(Drive over half way the first day and arrive the next day in the light of day)

I must give credit to the many people that helped with the above. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. They helped send me off not only to represent me but to represent all of them. I took that responsibility on with respect and great care. 

Protest Signs:

Sign made by my mother

Sign made by Briden

Sign made by Briden

Sign made by Taime

Sign made by Taime and held by Trevor

Car Loaded!!! 

Why I got involved.......

I had been following the stand of Standing Rock for weeks but only thanks to independent media sources. I couldn't understand why this wasn't being covered by the main stream media.

During that time, I kept feeling a pull to go stand with the water protectors in North Dakota but, with so many responsibilities at home, I ignored the pull. I kept going back and forth on whether I could or should go.

One afternoon I was on my kayak in the middle of Perkins Lake in the Sawtooth Nation Recreation Area of Idaho. My back yard. I was surrounded by lovely mountain views, large pines, and crystal clear water. It was then I knew I could no longer stay in my paradise while someone else's was at risk.

I approached the topic yet again with my boyfriend. He too had the desire to go but with so much on his plate could not go. But he supported me going as long as I had at least one other traveling partner and a plan. So a traveling partner I found----our long time friend Trevor in Utah----and a plan was developed.

As I was preparing for my trip, news hit about court cases in Wahington DC, Happy and others attaching themselves to bulldozers, and dogs were forced at crowds of native people trying to stop the bulldozers from destroying sacred burial sites.

Suddenly it felt as if I could not get there fast enough.

I am thankful for the people of Standing Rock. If it were not for them, none of us would know of this threat to the water. It is in fact our Native American Brothers and Sisters that have been and are on the for front of protecting Mother Earth. Protecting our resources. Not just for them, but for all of us.

My Paradise:

Alturas Lake, Idaho

Little Mountain Stream

Smiley Creek Idaho

Hell Roaring Lake, Idaho

My Private Idaho