Hi folks, Carleton and I and another colleague from St Louis decided to go to Standing Rock...a few quick updates... Monday, 11/7: Carleton and I drove 11 hours to Flandreau, SD today. Talked with 97 year old PCUSA Santee Sioux clergy, Sidney Byrd--Google him--very interesting. Lots of history and stories about his people and the church. He was part of an interracial delegation in the south with Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights movement in the 60s. His great grandfather was from Minnesota, rounded up during the 1862 battle to protect land after which 400+ Native Americans were imprisoned and given death sentences. His was sentence was commuted by Pres. Abraham Lincoln. 38 others were not commuted and were hung in what was the largest governmental execution--now known as the Dakota 38. As the Dakota 38 walked to the gallows, they sang the "Dakota Hymn" (now in most denominational hymn books) as a song of praise, defiance, courage and victory . A missionary, Frazier, paraphrased the 2-verse version that is in most hymn books. Sid Byrd translated all 7 verses which is in the Dakota hymn book and the translation in the UCC hymn book. The tune: Lacquiparle is the tune of "Victory's Cry" which is in the ICA songbook, the song that was associated with the Cannonball HDP. Tuesday, 11/8: This morning we left Flandreau and arrived at our hotel around 3:30PM, checked in and then drove from north of Fort Yates, past Cannonball, to the Oceti Sakowin Camp, the largest camp at Standing Rock. The entrance is lined with flags from various Native American Tribes as well as from other groups. Lots of t-pees, tents, campers and other vehicles of resident campers spreading across a wide area. It was getting close to dark when we got there. Took a few photos and walked around the camp against the backdrop of a spectacular sunset. We eventually connected with Salvatore Caruso and Dianne Greenwald and had a good time around the main campfire catching up after many years. We saw Shiela Johnson briefly, but she was busy preparing a meal for 20 people. Hope to catch up with her again Wednesday. The police have blocked the road heading north to Bismarck. We drove in from the south. The police continue to harass the people by flying planes and helicopters over the camp and targeting the camp with spotlights. We weren't near where the clashes have occurred and won't be. We returned to the hotel, had dinner at the restaurant there which was crowded due to other people who were there because of Standing Rock. We are now in our hotel room, watching the election returns and sweating out the results. Tomorrow we will stop by Cannonball and one of the other camps, Sacred Stone Camp, and then return to the Oceti Sakwin Camp for the rest of the day. More later... Ellie elliestock@aol.com