Pipeline Protest: Herd Of Wild Buffalo Appear At Native American Rally In North Dakota
Oct. 29 2016, Updated 4:53 p.m. ET
As Native American protestors faced down police in riot gear backed by helicopters and Humbles on Thursday, a massive herd of buffalo appeared on the horizon and raced across the North Dakota plains.
Journalist Myron Dewey was questioning an unidentified pipeline protestor about the recent violence at the Native American rally when a massive herd of buffalo appeared on the horizon and stampeded across the plain.
-“The only reason we are moving back is because they are armed with batons, tear gas, riot gear, weapons, rubber bullets. That’s what it takes for them to push us back. They carry weapons just because they’re scared.”
The unidentified protestor starts to speak again, but is interrupted by the sight of the stampeding animals in the distance.
https://www.facebook.com/myron.dewey1/posts/10104036010414739?pnref=story
The Standing Rock Sioux keep a herd of buffalo on their reservation so the appearance of the animals isn’t miraculous, but the sight did serve to strengthen
Native Americans honor the buffalo as a symbol of sacrifice and believe that as long as the animals, considered a gift from the Great Spirit, continue to survive, the tribes will remain free and strong. Indigenous people use the meat and hides of the buffalo for food, clothing, and shelter.
When the animals appeared near the North Dakota pipeline protest, the activists there began shouting in joy saying their prayers had been answered, Dewey told RT.
-“The ancestors are with us.”
The appearance of the buffalo, Tatanka in Lakota, comes on the heels of a violent clash with police that saw 141 “water protectors” arrested after North Dakota officials brought in reinforcements from seven states.