NOCTILUCA February 2017

OPINIONS Appleton, Wisconsin February 2017 Volume XXII

Issue V Page 4

The lost art of communication and its influence

Noctiluca Mission Statement The Noctiluca and north noct.com are the student-run news sources of Appleton North High School. Noctiluca and northnoct.com are designated public forums for student expres- sion. Student editors make all content decisions. Noctiluca’s mission is to publish information relevant to its readers and its community. Its goal is to maintain high ethi- cal standards and provide a des- ignated public forum for free and responsible expression of views. Appleton North High School 5000 N. Ballard Road Appleton, WI 54913 Phone: (920) 832-4300 Mr. Ramponi, staff advisor, at: ramponiaaron@aasd.k12. wi.us.

Conversation quality is diminishing, we need conversation

five minute passing times and loud lunches are not ideal for sharing life goals or dissecting each other’s opinions. However, we seem to find a way to make time for the things important to us, and I hope authentic conver- sation will become one of those priorities. But first we must move from skeletal communi- cation to artful conversation. Conversation truly is an art— a lost art to be specific—the ability to engage, to listen, to share stories, to interact. We all know the people that we want to talk to—the people that make us laugh but also make us think. We all know the conversations we like to have—when words and facial expressions are in sync, and it never seems like there’s enough time to say all that wants to be said. So, why is it that these moments with these people have become so rare? By definition, conversation is the “informal exchange of ideas

by spoken words.” Conversa- tion is not just the sharing of words, it’s the sharing of ideas,

her facets. Water is addressed like so: We give thanks to all the wa- ters of the world for quench- ing our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms- waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greet- ings and thanks to the spirit of Water. Now our minds are one. Water is so integral to Native American, specifically Haude- nosaunee, spirituality. It is im- portant for this aspect of the Dakota Access Pipeline’s story to be told. The humanitarian implica- tions of having contaminated or restricted drinking water is clear to all people, whether they are at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation or in Wash- ington D.C. The spiritual and traditional aspects of the access pipeline has been a story less told. It is important to keep in mind the activism and protests seen in Dakota as not just an act to maintain health, but to save a way of life, predating oil use by thousands of years. Although the USACE and the Obama administration made the decision to stop fur- ther building of the pipeline, as other routes are explored, this does not reflect the intents of the current administration. As executive power was trans- ferred, this story is farther from conclusion than apparent. Water is life. Atuné·tlsa tsyuKhiya·wíheˀ ne·n ohne·kánus. Mni Wiconi. Communicating—the mere exchange of words and infor- mation—is clearly different than conversing. “Let us make a special effort to stop commu- nicating with each other, so we can have some conversation.” Mark Twain’s eloquent yet sim- ple words put it so perfectly: we need to stop staring into screens waiting for a sense of closeness and instead, start a conversation. ideas discussed, walking away changed. Texting someone cer- tainly does not evoke this same kind of change. Yet most of our communication is through our screens—empty words that can be misinterpreted due to the lack of body language and facial ex- pression. By relying on texting, we have taken the emotion and receptiveness out of conversa- tion, and eventually we will have taken the importance of real conversations out of our daily lives.

By Annessa Ihde “hey” “what’s up” “nothing much, hbu?” “same”

“cool” “yeah”

After months of activism, protesting, and lobbying at Oceti Sakowin, the Standing Rock Sioux gained a major victory on Dec. 4, not only for their tribe and its people but for all Native American tribes. This victory however was short lived as the current Presidential administration works to negate this success. Under Obama’s administration, the USACE de- nied the access of the Energy Transfer Partner’s permit for constructing a pipeline through lands near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation that would contaminate the drinking water of this tribe and disrupt cultur- ally sacred lands. The Dakota Access Pipe- line was planned to run from North Dakota to Illinois, car- rying 570,000 barrels of crude oil, of which is the dirtiest in the world. This pipeline not only would have transversed through our country’s bread basket, but it would have cut through the ancient, sacred Sioux burial sites, and the Missouri River, which if pol- luted would cut off the water of 10,000 Native Americans on the Standing Rock Reserva- tion. Although the Texas-based corporation denies the poten- tial catastrophe waiting to hap- DAPL conflicts with Native American culture and sanitation You may have laughed at this pathetic attempt at a conver- sation, but there’s also a good chance you have texted these very words. The truth is, in- teracting face to face with oth- ers on an intelligible level has become a rarity. Before you argue…I know we DO talk, but after the obligatory “Hi, how are you” and “Good, how are you,” there are few meaningful words uttered. That said, I realize that By Carter King

the staple of the pre-Columbian diet, they intertwined support- ing one another relying on water. The three sisters helped solidify long term agriculture in tribes, sustaining large popu- lations from one harvest to the next. Canoeing for fish, game, and as highway connection be- tween other tribal lands served as another pillar of life. Water lay the way for food, travel, and communication in a way, which is largely unnoticed. Not only is there traditional impor- tance of water in Haudeno- saunee life, but there is incred- ible spiritual importance. Water plays a large part in Native American creation sto- ries. In many of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) cultures, the Earth was all water, where life existed only below the sur- face. The secrets for creating land and prosperous life lay below, guarded by the water’s surface, where only the best swimmer, amongst animals, had to retrieve it from the ocean floor. The water drums played a crucial part in ceremo- ny and dance. Drums laid out the heartbeat of Mother Earth, and the tones, the water in the drums created, a cry to Mother Earth; water was used in a way to communicate with the inner- self, Mother Earth, and the Creator. In the Kanehelatúksla (pronounced: Gā’nĕdū’slŭ), or the thanks-giving address, wa- ter is directly respected. Different from the holiday Thanksgiving, as it is a literal giving of thanks, prior to any business or meetings, used to appreciate Mother Earth and opinions, and beliefs; the prac- tice of getting to know someone and better yet, being known is fulfilling. A true conversa- tion is marked by all parties walking away thinking of the Students engaging in tech- nological pursuits instead of fostering healthy conversa- tion. Photo illustration by Maeve Salm

Editorial Staff Senior Editor-In-Chief Nora Ptacek Junior Editor-In-Chief Jake Zajkowski Managing Editor Kate Bennett News Editor Ally Price Opinions Editor Maeve Salm Features Editor Henry Ptacek Centerspread Editor Salma Abdel-Azim Olivia Molter Copy Editor Fatima Ali Advertising/Social Media Rachel Sina Graphics Editor Henry Ptacek Online Editor Kate Bennett Investigative Editor Erik Bakken Webdesign Editor Sarah Fleming Advisor Mr. Ramponi Contributors Salma Abdel-Azim Fatima Ali Culture Editor Maddy Schilling Sports Editor Maddie Clark Photography Editor

Dakota Access Pipeline interferes with Native water

pen, recently the Belle Fourche Pipeline leaked 176,000 gal- lons of similar crude oil only 150 miles from the site; along with the roughly 3,300 other pipeline leaks in the United States since 2010, according to PHMSA. Clean water is im- perative for self-care and hy- dration. Even if we, as a coun- try, were to ignore the looming humanitarian crisis, water has a large cultural importance to Native American Tribes. Observing water, or ohne·kánus (pronounced: ō’nĕ- gā’no̅o̅s), as the local Oneida Nation’s language would dic- tate it, from a cultural perspec- tive is key to understanding why these protests are resound- ing so loudly in Indian Coun- try. Both the Oneida and the Standing Rock Sioux believe that water is incredibly sacred. Water has always been integral in daily life, of which occurred between fishing and agricul- ture. The self-sustaining three sisters, corn, beans, and squash, Carter King explains the ben- efits of the Dakota Access Pipline win for Native Ameri- cans . Photo by Salma Abdel- Azim

Nolan Arnold Mac Bagwell Erik Bakken Kate Bennett Maddie Clark Adison Cole Jack Heimerl Kyle Hoffenbecker Annessa Ihde Carter King Addisyn Kohlbeck Devon Lehman Olivia Molter Sophie Plzak Ally Price Henry Ptacek Nora Ptacek Gabe Retzlaff Maeve Salm Maddy Schilling Raven Wilson