This is an event in support of the Water Protectors at Standing Rock, peacefully resisting the Dakota Access Pipeline. Details of what we'll be doing are below the contact form.

If you are interested in attending or helping us organize, inquire below. Thank you!

An alternative Thanksgiving ceremony*

Out of a realization that the bodies of all human beings are over 70% water, and that we are all called to be water protectors, we plan this Thanksgiving, to gather with family, friends, and neighbors to give thanks for the mystery and miracle of water. It is threatened everywhere.

We will gather in Prospect Park and make our way to the boathouse together.

We'll hold a simple ceremony to express that we realize we all play a part in the desecration or healing of water. Originally, before human despoiling of water, all water was pristine.

We'll express gratitude for the heroic courage, endurance, and inspiration of the Water Protectors encamped at Standing Rock to resist any further despoiling and polluting of the Missouri River by private corporate invaders on their lands, which are historically protected by the Treaty of 1851.

We'll reflect on how fictitious aspects of the Thanksgiving story have also diminished the true meaning of what all peoples long to do at the end of a harvest season – gather with loved ones to express gratitude for the sheer miracle of food and existence.

We are awakening to the profound desecration that has been done to water everywhere. To help change this pattern of destruction and disrespect, we'll:

• Collect donations for the Water Protectors at Standing Rock, here is a list of current needs (particularly the Medic Healer Council)
• Write letters to Pope Francis to rescind the Doctrine of Discovery that ultimately led to the colonization of this continent and the genocide of the people who lived here for thousands of years prior to European conquest
• Share food with deep gratitude for the energy that goes into growing, distributing, preparing it and the energy and nourishment it provides us

*This action is inspired by a recent newsletter from Genesis Farm in Blairstown, NJ. Many of the words used are theirs, and with permission, are blended with my own above. I greatly admire their work and, though they said I didn't need to give them credit for the words above, I felt it only right to mention them here. Check them out if you feel called!