Always remember: Water is sacred
Water is sacred, it cleans and heals the body. The day you no longer can drink the water directly off your land is a day of sorrow and pain. NSR stand in solidarity with Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in their fight for protecting water and land.
On August 17th 2016 NSR sent a letter of solidarity to Standing Rock Sioux Tribe stating that Norwegian Saami Association (NSR, Norgga Sámiid Riikkasearvi), stand in solidarity with our indigenous cousins in Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Sacred Stone Camp on Turtle Island in the defense of their land and the fight to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. Colonial intruders have for too long stolen, destroyed and disturbed Indigenous land, water and way of life. The existence of indigenous people is under pressure all over the world. We won’t let this happen. We, indigenous peoples all over the world, will not stop living, we can not accept colonial oppression and we will never stop fighting. May the fight be won and may justice be fulfilled.
This week the Saami Parliament on the norwegian side of Sápmi (the saami name for our land that stretches through vast areas in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, check out a map here), also made an unanimous decision to support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and urges the parties (i.e. the government) to respect the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples. Read the full statement here.
NSR also sent a gift to the youngest member of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe: a guksi. As long as one can drink directly off the land, with the use of ones own hands or perhaps a guksi, there is good hope of turning the land over to the next generation and the next generations survival. Chief Dave Archambault II accepted the gift on behalf of the tribe (watch video here). The gift was brought there by Sofia Jannok, Sara Marielle Gaup and Inger Biret Kvernmo Gaup.
NSR also gave a saami flag as a gift. The flag was raised (watch video from the happening) and the saami participants yoiked Sámi Eatnan Duoddariid as the flag was hoisted. It will hang there as a reminder of saami support of the ongoing struggle for protecting land and waters all around the world. Indigenous people are uniting, and together we stand.
