The Lakota, Dakota and Nakota make up the Lakota Nation. The nation includes the tribes of Rosebud, Oglala and the Cheyenne Indian reservation, the Yankton Sioux Tribe, Standing Rock, Flandreau Sioux Tribe and the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. Once again it appears these brave people will be at the forefront of the battle to stop the most recent apparition of the "Black Snake" - the Keystone XL Pipeline The members of seven Lakota nation tribes, as well as indigenous communities in Idaho, Oklahoma, Montana, Nebraska and Oregon, are preparing to take action to stop Keystone XL.
Freedom means living one's life fully in the here and now, not being controlled by fear. Living freely like the wild mustangs in the high mountains and valleys of the North American west, Crazy Horse understood that freedom means believing in life before death. To accomplish those goals the Lakota Nation has led the formation of a project called 'Shielding the People' to stop the pipeline. The Lakota also launched a 'Moccasins on the Ground' program to train people in Indigenous communities to oppose the pipeline.
"Those few pony tribesmen still standing know in their hearts that history is long and wide. They know, as do we all, that" as Touch the Clouds, Crazy Horse’s seven-foot-tall Miniconjou friend said when he pointed to the blanket that covered the chief’s body, "that within every person's heart who lives freely, defiantly, is the lodge of Crazy Horse."
"There are few resistance figures in American history as noble as Crazy Horse." Chris Hedges wrote, "He led, long after he knew that ultimate defeat was inevitable, the most effective revolt on the plains...." Crazy Horse remained defiant, he knew back then that his choices - even in the face of overwhelming odds, much the same as ours' now - were to die on your knees or to die fighting. His ferocity of spirit remains a guiding light for all who seek to live lives of defiance.
