Despite the ongoing passionate efforts of the Native American community, conservationists and activists, it appears that the Dakota Access Pipeline is indeed filling with oil that will flow underneath the Mississippi River and traverse the distance to Illinois — destination refineries. This New York Times short article also maps the pipeline across its 1,172 miles.

We want to share a story written by a VISIONS friend, Michael Running Wolf, about the meals and traditional Lakota food that was served to the “waterkeepers” who maintained a peaceful and hearty protest camp during the winter months: At Standing Rock, No One Goes Hungry: The Kitchen That Serves Traditional Lakota Food and Values. We first met Michael when he was just a young kid, growing up in the traditional little reservation community of Birney Village (population ~ 100). Michael’s parents, Florence and Mike Sr., were instrumental in VISIONS starting our work on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation 27 years ago. Read a little about their work, and also learn more about VISIONS Northern Cheyenne program in southeastern Montana.