{"id":14447,"date":"2021-07-29T10:57:17","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T14:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=14447"},"modified":"2021-07-29T12:04:56","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T16:04:56","slug":"red-road-to-dc-brings-awareness-to-sacred-sites-and-tribal-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/07\/29\/red-road-to-dc-brings-awareness-to-sacred-sites-and-tribal-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Road to DC brings awareness to sacred sites and tribal rights"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Red<\/a>
The House of Tears Carvers lead a prayer around a 25-foot, 5,000-pound totem pole during a welcome reception in Washington, D.C., on July 28, 2021. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Red Road to DC brings awareness to sacred sites and tribal rights<\/div>\r\n
Thursday, July 29, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. — After 20,000 miles and 115 stops across the country, a group of Native carvers and elders have finally arrived in the nation’s capital, bringing much-needed attention to sacred sites and tribal rights along the way.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe House of Tears Carvers<\/a> began their journey on the Lummi Nation<\/a> in Washington state two weeks ago. The 25-foot, 5,000-pound totem pole they created has traveled to some major battlegrounds in the fight to protect tribal ways of life, including the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota, where opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline has survived three U.S. presidential administrations<\/a>. \r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThis is not a Lummi fight or Standing Rock fight,\u201d Fredrick \u201cPhreddie\u201d Lane, whose traditional name is Sul Ka Dub<\/em>, said of the journey across the United States. \u201cThis is our fight!\u201d\r\n

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An eagle on the 25-foot, 5,000-pound totem pole created by the House of Tears Carvers. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe Red Road to DC<\/a>, as the journey is known, is now set to deliver one final message to the Joe Biden administration. As they present the totem pole to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland<\/a>, the only Native person in the Democratic president’s cabinet, they are calling on the federal government to live up to its trust and treaty responsibilities by ensuring Indian nations are at the table when decisions are made affecting their lands, their waters and their most important places.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cNative peoples are organizing to influence policy change,\u201d said Judith LeBlanc, a citizen of the Caddo Nation who serves as director of the Native Organizers Alliance<\/a>, one of the groups behind the drive to D.C.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cSacred places have been threatened for generations by development, extraction, and infrastructure projects,\u201d added LeBlanc. \u201cThe federal government is failing in its responsibility to tribes to gain consent before projects are approved.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\n \"Red<\/a>

A series of prayers, songs and blessings for the totem pole took place at Diamond Teague Park in Washington, D.C., on July 28, 2021. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe Red Road delegation arrived in D.C. on Wednesday afternoon and made two stops. They first brought the totem pole to the National Museum of the American Indian<\/a>, where an exhibit entitled Kwel’ Hoy: We Draw the Line<\/em><\/a> is on display, highlighting the Lummi Nation’s long-running efforts to raise awareness about threats to the environment and public health.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nFrom there, the group brought the totem pole to a park in the southeast side of the city for a welcoming reception hosted by members of the local Native community. Rudy Soto, a citizen of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes<\/a> who has worked for national tribal advocacy organizations as well as a key member of Congress, highlighted the location of the intimate, early evening gathering.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cIt’s the confluence of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers and the Washington Channel,\r\nSoto of the Western Leaders Network<\/a> said following a series of prayers, songs and blessings<\/a> for the pole at Diamond Teague Park<\/a>. \u201cSo there’s symbolic significance of this place.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nOn Thursday afternoon, the Red Road to DC makes one final stop<\/a> as part of its two-week campaign for sacred sites and tribal rights. With the help of President Fawn Sharp<\/a> of the National Congress of American Indians<\/a>, the group will bring the totem pole to the National Mall.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

After thousands of miles traveled and dozens of events across the country on the #RedRoad2DC<\/a> to protect sacred sites and AI\/AN rights, the Totem Pole Journey ends today.
RSVP to today\u2019s events in Washington, D.C. and learn more: https:\/\/t.co\/17pSFQWVuG<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/j8ApdYghoW<\/a><\/p>— National Congress of American Indians (@NCAI1944) July 29, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>