Climate Rally Photo Essay

Small and big climate change rallies took place across the nation yesterday, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, St. Louis, dozens more. What was unique about these rallies is not the protest itself but the coalition that has formed to oppose a specific yet potentially devastating project, the XL Keystone pipeline. The exploitation of the Tar Sands in Canada and proposed pipleline to the Gulf of Mexico have united two previously distanced movements, the environmental movement, including first time activists the Sierra Club and the emerging Idle No Move First Nations movement. Together, the nations are joining to unite against the continuation of the old paradigm that came to this land over 500 years ago, the path of endles consumption that leads to more suffering and eventually destruction, the serpent biting its tail. Together, the nations are showing us a different path, one where the grass is always green, one that is slower but sustainable, one where we practice a culture of peace. Are we the new people? Can we build a culture of peace?

Grandfather William Commanda shares the Seven Fires prophecy belt at the One Prayer gathering, 2000.