A group of Syracuse University students and community members chanted “Mni wiconi! Water is life!” as they marched from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management to Hendricks Chapel.

Homemade signs read, “Defend the Sacred #NoDAPL,” and “Water is Life,” both rallying cries for protesters of the Dakota Access Pipeline at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

The march and rally was held on Monday to stand in solidarity with those protesters. It also celebrated the announcement of the rerouting of the Dakota Access Pipeline away from sacred Standing Rock Sioux tribe lands. The entire rally lasted about an hour, with the crowd dispersing at 12:35 p.m.

Protesters have been at the Standing Rock Reservation for months, protesting the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Cody Jock, a sophomore political science major, organized the event on Facebook. About 50 people attended the rally. Jock went to the protest site at Standing Rock over Thanksgiving break. While he was there, he said he witnessed police brutality firsthand, seeing his friends shot at, tear gassed and sprayed with Mace.

Riley Bunch | Staff Photographer

Jock said he has no ill will toward law enforcement at Standing Rock, but he thought their brutality aided in suppressing First Amendment rights.

“Through all of that, we remained strong,” Jock said. “This isn’t a complete victory. This is a minor victory and it’s a step in the right direction.”

Jock said he doesn’t know what a complete victory would entail, he wants the Dakota Access Pipeline to halt construction permanently, but added that it’s not a realistic desire.

“I don’t stand for this big oil, but I do understand that these kind of infrastructure projects take precedence over citizens,” Jock said. “With America being such a big corporate state now, what else can we do than voice our concerns?”

As the group marched from Whitman to Hendricks, Chris Thomas, a member of the Onondaga Nation in Syracuse, played a drum and sang. He said he wanted to show his support through singing.

Thomas was joined by members of the Oneida Nation, including Jenna Jacobs and Brittany Ninham, who said they attended the rally to show support for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and to celebrate the halt of construction through the Standing Rock Reservation.

“We might have won right now, but there is a possibility that we didn’t, so it’s good that we’re coming together and supporting our people in Standing Rock,” Jacobs said.

Regina Jones, assistant director of the Native Student Program in the Office of Multicultural Affairs, said she came to the rally to support indigenous students at SU. Jones said she doesn’t think people realize how much the Dakota Access Pipeline would affect everybody and that it wasn’t only an indigenous issue.

Riley Bunch | Staff Photographer

Jones is a member of the Oneida Nation in the Turtle Clan. She said she was showing solidarity for other indigenous peoples in America. She stood with a colorful sign reading, “Water is Life.”

Halfway through the march, the group stopped in front of the Pan Am Flight 103 memorial to observe a moment of silence. Jock thanked veterans for their support of protesters at Standing Rock.

“Without the soldiers and veterans going out to Standing Rock, this wouldn’t have happened,” he said.

The procession concluded at Hendricks, with Jock giving a speech.

“The message I had originally intended to convey was one of dire circumstance to one of celebration,” he said. “Cautious celebration, that is.”

Jock illustrated the struggles indigenous peoples endured throughout America’s history, calling it “fraught with deception and violence,” and the importance of protesting.

Jock called upon students and faculty at SU to stand with indigenous peoples in America and “against big oil, and its never-ending war against the earth.”

Published on December 5, 2016 at 4:25 pm

Contact Kennedy: krose100@syr.edu | @KennedyRose001