Oyate Wahacanka Woecun

 

Shield the People)

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday March 27, 2014

Contact: Gary Dorr, Media Coordinator, Oyate Wahacanka Woecun, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Email: gfdorr@gmail.com Phone: (605) 747-4255

IDEAL, SD: The Shield the People project has begun the final phase of preparation for its Spirit Camp on March 29, 2014 near Ideal, SD. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe Spirit Camp is an action to unite together in prayer for protection from the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, and ultimately to request President Obama deny the permit for the proposed  pipeline. A planned visit from Ed Schultz from the Ed Show on MSNBC is also planned. Crews from the Shield the People Project, and the Ideal, Ihanktowan, and Rosebud tribal communities have erected tipis, and a fortified wall of 1,500 lb. grass bales to surround the spiritual encampment. A cooking tent has been put up also along with a tipi that will be manned twenty-four hours a day until either the proposed Keystone XL pipeline  permit is denied or the ground gets broken with pipeline construction.

Rosebud Sioux Tribal President Cyril “Whitey” Scott said “we’re trying to devise plans to protect the people from these things like KXL.” This Spiritual Cam

 p is the first of several concrete actions planned by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to prevent the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from passing through the Rosebud territory. Scott further added

, “we’ve made an oath to protect you and we’re going to do that.”

 The spirit camp is one of several planned actions that can be taken by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in defense of its lands to prevent encroachment by the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. The opening ceremony will take place on Saturday, March 29, 2014 at approxim

ately 12 o’clock noon.

The Ed Show producers and staff will be around the reservation filming for a live show and a planned documentary and will attend the opening ceremony. An ABC affiliate has also notified that they will be in the area filming the opening ceremony. The event will be streamed live with a link to be provided later on the Oyate Wahacanka Woecun Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/shieldingthepeople. The appearance on the Ed Show on MSNBC is part

of an ongoing dialogue that will make known the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s and the Oceti Sakowin’s opposition to the

 proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Tribal representatives from the Oceti Sakowin (7 Council fires), Nebraska, Montana, and South Dakota are anticipated to attend the Spirit camp opening. Representatives from the Cowboy Indian Alliance in Nebraska are also anticipated to attend. The weekend will be full of activity as the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Spirit Camp opens; the Oceti Sakowin will hold a meeting at the Fort Randall Casino on the Yankton Sioux Reservation; and there will be a grassroots meeting on the