NOCTILUCA February 2017

OPINIONS

Appleton, Wisconsin February 2017 Volume XXII

Issue V Page 4

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-

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,

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,

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

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.

Dakota Access Pipeline interferes with Native water

The lost art of communication and its influence

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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.

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

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Henry Ptacek

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Salma Abdel-Azim

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Advisor

Mr. Ramponi

Contributors

Salma Abdel-Azim

Fatima Ali

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

By Annessa Ihde

“hey”

“what’s up”

“nothing much, hbu?”

“same”

“cool”

“yeah”

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

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,

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

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.

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.

By Carter King

Students engaging in tech-

nological pursuits instead of

fostering healthy conversa-

tion.

Photo illustration by Maeve

Salm

Carter King explains the ben-

efits of the Dakota Access

Pipline win for Native Ameri-

cans

Photo by Salma Abdel-

Azim

Conversation

quality is

diminishing, we

need conversation

DAPL conflicts

with Native

American culture

and sanitation