PIERRE – For the brave men, women and children who went to Standing Rock to protect the water, their sacrifice and courage has not gone unchecked by law enforcement and the judicial system in North Dakota.

Several are currently fighting charges and have been convicted. On May 31, 2018, HolyElk Lafferty (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Member), became a convicted water protector convicted of two charges and awaits sentencing; the court date for sentencing is scheduled one year from her conviction. Her charges were Class A Misdemeanor Criminal Trespass and Class B Misdemeanor Engaging in a Riot.

Many of the water protectors were born into families who have for generations been taking stands against the United States government, wanting their treaty rights honored. Lafferty is no exception.

HolyElk Lafferty left out the details of her actions from the day of her arrest, as it “may incriminate others who are still going through or waiting for their trials.”

Lafferty was born in Gordon, Neb. At the time, her parents were living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Porcupine. Before moving to Minnesota in her teens, the family lived between the Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Reservations, as her father was a Mni Coujou Lakota from Lighting, SD (Cheyenne River Reservation) and her mother was Oglala, Mni Coujou and Sicangu. Currently, Lafferty lives in Minnesota.

“My parents were both involved with activism beginning in their early teen years. My father left home at 14 and hitch hiked all across Indian Country becoming involved in many different efforts to help our relatives from different tribes along his journeys,” said Lafferty.

In 1977, her father was a Youth Representative in a delegation which traveled to Geneva, Switzerland for the United Nations Conference on the Indigenous Nations of the Western Hemisphere. Her father presented on the inadequacies of the forced educational system in America.

Lafferty’s mother was active during the many events in South Dakota during the 1970’s when violence was a necessary and common occurrence between Indians and whites. Her mother was present in Custer, SD when the “Courthouse riot broke out in early February of ‘73, my mom was in front with others as they busted open the front courthouse door.” Following the Custer incident, her mother joined the occupation in Wounded Knee and remained there until the final day of the takeover. Part of the trauma her mother experienced at Wounded Knee was witnessing her uncle Buddy Lamont being shot and killed.

The term “activism” wasn’t used in her family discussions. According to Lafferty, her parents instilled in her the belief in protecting the people and fighting for their rights guaranteed under the treaties and U.S. constitution. Being a “Lakota Woman” was part of what defined her as a protector of mother earth and those who are part of that system.

Raised in the traditional Lakota value system, her parents made sure ceremonies were part of her early teachings. “My brothers and I grew up surrounded by grandmothers, grandfathers, aunties and uncles who also reinforced the traditional teachings our parents were instilling in us,” she said. “I have never set out to be an activist. I don’t think of the things I have done or will continue to do in my life as such.”

For Lafferty, if doing the things her parents taught her and doing right by the people is considered activism then so be it. She feels she is just doing what is required of her as a Lakota woman. “We have to remember that we have powerful voices and there is real power to create change and bring healing when we use them to speak our truth collectively,” said the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe member.

Lafferty along with her mother, daughter and niece, initially went to Standing Rock with the same intention as others. There was a spiritual pull which guided her and thousands of water protectors to the large gathering of tribal representatives from around the world. In Sept. 2016, the family went back and decided to make a camp within Oceti Sakowin Camp. “Our intention was to remain until we either won the fight or were removed from our camp,” she said.

“In the beginning months of my stay there, my focus was mostly on building, winterizing and maintaining our camp. Over time we were able to turn our initial tent into a kitchen and supply storage space and we added a canvas wall tent to our camp which then became our sleeping space,” said Lafferty. “My brother made many trips down to help us winterize and built a strong windbreak around our camp to keep us safe in the worst of the wind and blizzards.”

She explains her days at the camp as being simple and traditional in nature; beginning and ending each day in prayer. Keeping the basic needs met were the daily chores and each person had a task. The camp was aware of the dangers just outside of the hundreds of tents, but within this tent city was a functioning society of school, kitchens, and other cultural events.

“When the people would gather every morning at South Gate to leave for actions, we would take the girls to aziliya (smudge) them as they exited camp. We viewed our role there as holding prayerful space because at that time, there was plenty of capable leadership doing other parts of what needed to be done. It wasn’t until much later that my role changed in camp,” she claims.

On Dec. 5, 2016, an announcement came to camp about a “win”. Soon after, a video was circulated in which Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault asked the water protectors to go home.

“Our family initially planned to honor his request but after we prayed together that night in our camp, we decided that it didn’t feel right in our spirits,” she said. “We didn’t trust the word of a president promising to help us any more than we have ever been able to trust any previous president.”

Lafferty and her family decided to stay and ignore the plea from Archambault. They decided to hold their ground knowing there would be eventual leaks in the oil pipeline which was being built under the Missouri River. They eventually decided to leave on Feb. 23, 2017. This was the day after the forcible eviction was scheduled to take place.

According to Lafferty, much of the leadership in the camp had left following the victory declaration by the Standing Rock tribal president. During this time, she claims the entire camp had gone through a restructuring phase in which meetings were held daily.

“I never had the intention of claiming a leadership role. I simply started showing up, doing more and attempting to be accountable to all the people and their needs. It was very hard times but what I loved about it was how every person there was realizing that they were the leaders we had been looking for. It was beautiful to see such massive empowerment,” she said of her new role.

During these ending months of the camp, Lafferty was aware of the negativity within the camp and coming in from outside of the dwindling encampment. The movement was ending. “There was still hundreds of people on the ground willing to commit to winning this battle. That is where I held my focus. That is what I tried to nurture and grow in our community every day,” Lafferty said.

Continuing to attend meetings and showing leadership qualities admired throughout the camp, Lafferty was able to receive respect from many as the dangerous events were happening near the camp each day. Lafferty said she did her best to be aware of her surroundings and maintain her relationship with her higher power and use those prayers as guidance in decision making and day-to-day life choices for survival. She claims this time period of survival was an extremely emotional and wrenching experience which has taken over a year for her to process and slowly move past the trauma of Standing Rock.

Not all was bad in Standing Rock, according to Lafferty. When persons go to battle together, those emotional, and spiritual bonds, are forever with a person. She has fond memories of the many faces, Native and non-Native, who she met and shared laughs and sorrow with.

“My favorite thing about living in camp was witnessing all the beautiful sides of humanity. Everyone was so giving of themselves in every way,” she said. “It was powerful beyond measure to see so many Indigenous nations and allies come together with such deep love in their hearts and a common cause we were all willing to fight for.”

This love for the environment and the indigenous nations sent to Standing Rock to protect the water led to her arrest and eventual conviction. Lafferty shared her thoughts of the court case. She pleaded not guilty and went to trial.

“I went into the trial prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. The morning was long and difficult emotionally. They brought three officers to testify for the defense and we had to watch the arrest video, which showed so much excessive force used on all of us. The video showed very clear that we were not being violent or creating a dangerous situation for the officers who wanted to justify their actions by accusing us of those things,” she said.

According to Lafferty, the prosecutor was clearly inexperienced, inarticulate, and was not creating a very strong case that was sufficient to convict her of either charge by its own written legal definition. At times, she “felt like my lawyer was bringing such a strong defense, making powerful and concise points, asking critical questions regarding the validity of the these charges and she ended the morning with a motion to acquit. I felt like it was going in a good direction and that all the prayers were working. I was thrown off guard to what was coming next.”

Following a break for lunch, the judge returned with a new demeanor and had “coldly made a point of denying to motion to acquit before he spent a magnitude of explanation time leading up to a guilty verdict for each charge.” She was found guilty. “I do not believe I had a fair trial and I do not believe justice was carried out. I have decided not to appeal. It has consumed so much of my life for the past year and a half and I refuse to give them any more than what they’ve taken from me and my family,” she said.

Wanting to move on, she is putting the trial and experience behind her. “I have been focusing on my family and home life since the trial. I am co-founder of the Red Ribbon Alert Project, and we are currently working to build an MMIW App that will serve as something similar to what the Amber Alert does for missing children.”

She is also the Communications Director of Thrive Unltd which is introducing an innovative approach to trauma and healing through the trainings being held in Native American communities across the nation. “I also serve on the Governing Council of Makoce Ikikcupi, which is a nonprofit dedicated to land recovery for Dakota People within their MniSota homelands,” she said.

HolyElk Lafferty will continue to fight for indigenous nations. If there are no further arrests in the year leading up to her sentencing date in 2019, the charges will be removed from her record and the case file will be closed. She has one year and 30 days of jail time hanging over her head and a lifetime of good and bad memories from Standing Rock which will continue to keep her focused.

(Contact Native Sun News Today Correspondent Richie Richards at richie4175@gmail.com)