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Stanley Mission residents trekking to Standing Rock

Nov 21, 2016 | 4:00 PM

Two feet and a heartbeat will take six Stanley Mission residents to Standing Rock, ND, where they will make a stand for what they believe in.

“My dad thought I was crazy but then stuff started coming to me, and everything is coming together. Now he’s with me, and he’s on this with me which is awesome to see,” resident Ricky Sanderson said.

Sanderson said he believes the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline is a fight for the whole world. He said he felt a calling to do something before it was too late.

“Standing Rock is important because they’re water protectors, and they’re defending the only accessible water they can drink,” Sanderson explained. “It’s tough right now because the police over there are trying to stop that from happening.”

Sanderson said if the pipeline continues to be constructed, it could bring the end of clean water for the people who rely on it.

“We need to protect our water more, this is why I’m doing this walk,” Sanderson said.

With at least 1,300 km ahead of them, the walkers made great preparations, according to Sanderson. The group obtained the appropriate winter gear to make its trip and camp in North Dakota.

Sanderson said he gathered advice from his friend Bruce McKenzie, who made a trip between Stanley Mission and Ottawa in 2013 for Idle No More.

“He’s telling me what he experienced on his walk, what he went through,” Sanderson said.

Sanderson said McKenzie will be joining the group on weekends, as he has a job to attend to.

Sanderson said the walkers have been planning for at least three months to make the journey. They have been fundraising within the community of Stanley Mission, and they plan on accepting donations while walking to Standing Rock.

All funds raised will be donated to the camps at Standing Rock to help winterize the camps, or to obtain whatever materials are needed.

The group will depart from Stanley Mission on Saturday, November 26. Sanderson said he estimates it will take the group about one month to make their journey.

“It’s pretty awesome right now,” Sanderson said. “We’re doing so good right now. We’ve got so much support coming our way.”

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline near Cannon Ball, ND since April of 2016. Water protectors have said the pipeline threatens the drinking water of the Standing Rock Sioux, while officials from the tribe say the pipeline crosses through Treaty 1851 territory, and its construction has desecrated sacred burial grounds.

The approved pipeline, if constructed, will move between 470,000 and 570,000 barrels of oil a day from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota bringing the oil to many different markets in the United States

 

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas