COG Local Councils support Standing Rock Protest

COG Local Councils support Standing Rock Protest

Touchstone Local Council stand in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Nation

We of Touchstone Local Council stand in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, the Lakota people, and all Indigenous Peoples who are fighting to preserve and protect their homes and lands. We call upon our brothers and sisters of the craft to do likewise and stand in solidarity with all who declare these things sacred: clean water and air, verdant forests, meadows, prairies and wetlands, and ways of life that honor people over profit.

We believe that it is our sacred duty and responsibility that has been granted to us by deity that we must defend the Earth Mother from those that would bring harm to her for greed and profit. In the words of the defenders who have made their stand at Standing Rock, water is life. No amount of money, no profits that benefit a few, can justify a threat to the very means and sustenance of life.

We acknowledge the history of genocide of the indigenous peoples of this continent and the theft of land and resources that began hundreds of years ago and recognize the continuing actions against the Indigenous Peoples of the land whenever profit can be made. We honor the sovereignty and rights of Indigenous Peoples, and demand that no projects that affect their lands, territories, or resources be undertaken without their free, prior, and informed consent.

So Mote it Be

Touchstone Local Council

Covenant of the Goddess

NCLC Statement of Support for the Standing Rock Protests

We of the Northern California Local Council of the Covenant of the Goddess stand in solidarity with the people of Standing Rock, the Great Sioux Nation, and all Indigenous Peoples who are struggling to preserve and protect their homes, lands, and sacred places.  We ask our brothers and sisters of the Craft and of other Pagan, Neopagan, and Indigenous traditions to support the Standing Rock protests.  Clean water, pure air, and unpolluted lands are the sacred basis of all Life, without which none of us may live.  Aquifers, wetlands, and waterways must remain uncontaminated, for water is essential to life. We must preserve wild lands, and protect the plants and animals native to each place.  We must defend our Mother the Earth, the Provider for us all.

We acknowledge the history of genocide against Indigenous peoples worldwide, the theft of Indigenous lands and resources, and actions against their cultures, religions, and languages.  We honor the rights and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples.  We support ways of life that honor people over profits.

So Mote it Be!

Northern California Local Council of the Covenant of the Goddess

Passed September 10, 2016