Brrrrrrr Outside (and Inside Too)
Bitter cold is predicted for Pine Ridge Reservation. Most homes are poorly insulated and many rely on wood stoves as their sole source of heat.
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Guardians protect and serve everyone on the ‘Rez’
RAPID CITY, South Dakota: At 3 am this morning it was 14 degrees below zero in Porcupine, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Darvis Weston sat outside in his truck warming the engine just in case someone’s car broke down or someone needed help, so that he could go immediately to assist them without waiting for his car to warm up. And someone did need help. A lone brown-gold figure trudging through the bitter cold had six more miles to walk before reaching home when Weston spotted him and gave him a lift in his warm truck.
Our heroes
Toward the end of the long blizzard, on the night of Dec. 7th, our heroes at the Standing Rock Camp circled for a sacred pipe ceremony to pray and consider what to do. They unanimously decided to stay despite the sub-zero weather, despite being advised to leave and despite the Army Corps' denial of DAPL's permit to drill under the river.
(One rumor is that DAPL is drilling anyway. They haven't removed the barricades or razor wire around the drill pad. Armed police guards haven't left.) Regardless, our guys don't trust what DAPL will do if everyone leaves the campground. So they advised the elders of their decision and the elders gave their approval because they are young Lakota who understand the harsh winter conditions there.
