Live from the Pe’ Sla Protector’s Camp

Added: 2026-05-10

[00:00:00]Poof, stand by.

[00:00:09]Stand by.

[00:00:15]Stand by though.

[00:00:19]Wait, you have to have unmuted in here when he's singing.

[00:00:22]Oh, did I? Oh, you don't need it.

[00:00:26]Excuse us. We're live.

[00:00:34]If you can hear us the Lakota Oyate, Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota people are here in Pe'Sla.

[00:00:44]We have occupied We have occupied this land to stop it from being desecrated, and we want to sing the sacred songs for the people at the time. Everybody who's been giving us prayers, everybody who's been helping us, everybody who's been making a stand with us who say "Wopila. Wopila Tonka ektichiyapo lo." There's no better place that we would rather be than right here in the He'Sapa.

[00:01:17]We want to thank you to all the grandmas and grandpas for instilling this spirit of resistance in us and this responsibility that we have instilled in us. We want to make sure that you all know that we're doing this for the Oyate. We're doing this for the children. We're doing this for the people. We're doing this for Mother Earth.

[00:01:37]And we're doing it for Pe'Sla and the He'Sapa.

[00:02:36]>> [chanting] [singing] [chanting] >> Good evening, relatives. We're coming to you live again from Pe'Sla. Just giving you an update. We're still here. We're safe. We're here in prayer.

[00:03:41]And, you know, we're here because this is our land. This is our inherent right as treaty people.

[00:03:48]And so, as we take this space and protect our land from future des- or from future desecration, just know that's our inherent right. We are not protesters. We are land defenders. We're water protectors. And so, I just want to remind folks out there that we're doing this in a good way.

[00:04:07]And we're guided by ceremony in this, too.

[00:04:09]And so, I just wanted to say that much about that. Um the principles of how you come up here at Pe'Sla, reminding folks that this is a sacred site. Pe'Sla is sacred, so treat it as such. We want the sanctity of the place to remain that to remain sacred.

[00:04:26]Start and end with prayer. And so, everything that we do, we start in prayer, and then we we end in prayer.

[00:04:33]Leave the land better than you found it.

[00:04:36]And so, we're going to you know, when you're coming out here, making sure that you leave it better than you found it.

[00:04:41]Pick up after yourselves. Be a good relative to Unci Makha.

[00:04:46]Mita kuye oyase, we are all related.

[00:04:50]Treat each other like relatives. Be good to one another.

[00:04:53]Treat each other with dignity and respect.

[00:04:57]We do this out of love for the people and the land, not out of hate for the enemy. And so, this is hard work, you know.

[00:05:05]And And I know this is really hard, but our people we we deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. And we do this out of love. We don't hate the enemy.

[00:05:14]What we want Ushala them. And so, we want to remind folks of that when they come out here, when they go out to Pe'Sla and all the sacred sites. All of He'Sapa is sacred to us as Lakota, Dakota, Nakota people.

[00:05:27]No fires. Protect the land, and that means no cigarettes, no fires. We're in a drought season, and there's so many fire hazards out here in He'Sapa right now. So, we want to remind folks no fires.

[00:05:40]This is the Ocheti Sakowin. So, respect people that are from here.

[00:05:45]We are indigenous led. So, again, the decisions that are made here at Pe'Sla and our He'Sapa, it's by indigenous people. Our allies do stand with us arm in arm, but remembering that this is indigenous led.

[00:06:01]Respect each other's autonomy and what they feel comfortable about their decisions. We cannot make decisions for one another. All of us have a voice, and so respecting that.

[00:06:11]Make decisions that build community, not divide. We want to do things in a good way, and that's one of the things that the We know for those folks, the mining company, they'll do anything to divide and conquer us. And so, remember that we are stronger together as Ocheti Sakowin and as allies coming into this.

[00:06:30]Respect each other's levels of risk.

[00:06:33]We put the most vulnerable at the center like the buffalo, and they decide that who if they're vulnerable we we put them in the center like the buffalo, and we protect them.

[00:06:42]We practice consent together as a community. We want to feel good about what we do, and we do we do so as community and in consensus [snorts] making matter.

[00:06:53]We, not I. Big egos make good targets.

[00:06:57]This isn't about an individual. This is about all of us. This is a This is bigger than even what we're doing here, and we want people to understand that.

[00:07:07]We're We're taking We know This is our land.

[00:07:11]You know, taking taking space here, we are allowed to do that. We were told by elders that the Black Hills are yours, and start acting like it. And so, that's what we're doing here, and all of us people, we can do that.

[00:07:26]We're here. Start acting like it, and that's what we're doing.

[00:07:29]>> [snorts] >> Another thing that I want to remind folks, too, and I don't think we spoke too much on it, but when it comes to this mining company, they're coming off like they're a local family-friendly business out of Rapid City, Pete Lien and Sons. But in actuality, they're wholly owned by Quickrete, a multinational, multi-billion dollar corporation based out of Atlanta. And so, this isn't a family-friendly, local business. This is a huge corporation that is doing this in not only here at Pe'Sla, but all over South Dakota and He'Sapa. And so, this is huge, you know. We must stand for what's right in this intervention. We know that prayer we it goes halfway. We must meet creator halfway, and that's what we're doing here. And we want folks to understand that we're doing our best with what we have and coming out of love, coming from a spiritual place, coming from ceremony. And talking about ceremony, we're inviting folks to come out here Monday at 12:00 p.m. Mountain time.

[00:08:33]We know that there's a hearing at 3:00 p.m., and we want to feel We want to feel, you know, rejuvenated. We want to feel positive. We want to have good prayers and good thoughts out there as that as we go into that hearing. And this hearing is, you know, the temporary restraining order hearing that's with with tribes and also with Indian Collective, Earthworks, and and Great Plains Clean Black Hills Clean Water Alliance. And so, we want to feel good and send the positive vibes and prayers out there. So, we're inviting folks to come out here 12:00 p.m. Mountain time on Monday. And again, we want to say "Wopila Tonka Wopila Tonka ektichiyapo."

[00:09:08]To all of our relatives that are out there that are praying for us, that have been supporting us. We feel the love. We feel feel it from all of you from all over, not only Turtle Island, but we feel the love from all over Unci Makha.

[00:09:22]We can feel it here. And so, Wopila Tonka ektichiyapo for those continued prayers. We feel it from our Hochokas.

[00:09:30]And again, we're reminding folks, come here in a good way. We are not protesters. We're here to defend our land that the to defend our way of life because our children deserve a future to be who they are inherently in their homelands, the He'Sapa.

[00:09:51]Ohe chetu ye.

[00:10:55]>> [singing] [singing] [singing] >> We are Kokkola, anytime, any