SALAMANCA, N.Y. — Native nations from across the country have gathered in recent weeks at Cannon Ball, N.D., near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation to preserve sacred burial grounds and defend clean-water rights against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.
In Western New York, the Seneca Nation of Indians and members of the Seneca community showed their support Monday with a pair of peace walks at the Cattaraugus and Allegany territories.
Officials announced Sunday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers refused to grant permission for the Dakota Access oil pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota.
The Associated Press reported that protesters celebrated the victory Sunday evening in their push to reroute the pipeline away from a tribal water source but “pledged to remain camped on federal land in North Dakota anyway,” despite Monday’s government deadline to leave.
On the Allegany Territory in Salamanca, marchers headed down Broad Street from Veterans Memorial Park to the Seneca Iroquois National Museum. Some participants held flags and signs in front of the museum on Broad Street for hours afterward.
Through the peace walk, the Senecas honored the wishes of the Standing Rock Sioux spiritual leaders by arranging for a peaceful show of solidarity on Seneca territory.
Among the more than 50 participants in the peace walk in Salamanca was Darren Cooper, who said the walk was a good opportunity for the community to stand together in unity.
“There’s going to be different issues close to our territories and in the surrounding areas,” Cooper said.
Cooper said he thinks those who are responsible for environmental issues — such as the pipeline in North Dakota — aren’t holding up their responsibilities to preserve the planet, even in local communities. Recently an apparent leaking gas pipeline was discovered in Franklinville, but action to take care of it won’t happen until after Christmas.
“Again, we’re trying to raise the awareness, to bring about the unity and let people know that the only way we’re going to get beyond any of these problems that we have is if we stand together,” he said.
Cooper is a member of a group that calls itself They Who Guard the Door Where the Sun Goes Down. The group formed about three years ago after conversations about concerns for the community and environment.
“It grew very rapidly,” he said. “We were having weekly meetings with upwards of 40 to 60 guys at one time.”
Cooper said the message they’re trying to spread goes back to the formation of the Iroquois Confederacy and the Seneca’s role as Keeper of the Western Door, the western-most people to join the Haudenosaunee. The responsibilities come down to protecting Earth for future generations.
“I think the biggest thing we’re trying to raise awareness of is a lot of things that divide us,” he said. “The biggest thing we promote is the love, the honesty and the respect for self, for one another and for all creation, and that’s how we’re going to stand together as a family once again.”
In Irving, several dozen members of the Seneca Nation — including President Todd Gates and Treasurer Maurice John — marched over the thruway bridge that carries Route 438 over Interstate 90 as part of their peace walk.
“We’ve had our own battles with the Army Corps (of Engineers), and we’ve lost,” Gates said. About those in Standing Rock, he said, “we support them fully in their efforts.”
Prior to the walk, Gates said Sunday’s news was a “small victory” but that the situation was something the Senecas still need to monitor.
“I know the company that is doing the pipeline is going to continue on, so we have to stay right on it,” he said. “It’s about protecting the waters and protecting Mother Earth and exercising our sovereignty.
“Had there been true consultation in the beginning, none of this would have happened.”
Despite the force used by government officials at Standing Rock — deemed by many to be excessive — Gates said the peaceful protestors and the “water protectors” bravely stood strong in defense of what is right and sacred.
“We honor their determination and pray for their safety,” he said. “Above all, (Sunday’s) decision underscores that the rights of all Native people, the protection of our lands and the lawfulness of our treaties are sacrosanct and must be honored above corporate greed and other interests that look to diminish or destroy our sovereignty.”
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(Reporter Rich Place contributed to this story.)
