The prairie is where I grew up. The land has taught me many lessons about myself and our Earth. Summer and winter have taught me that in order to flourish, we must endure times of dormancy and go within ourselves. Spring and fall give us an opportunity to appreciate regrowth and recreation. These are simple laws of nature.
We now watch these laws violated as pesticides are sprayed on our food and soil only to drain into our water supply. Fracking occurs with zero regulations and no accountability for what chemicals are being put into the ground. Flaring in North Dakota contributes to the United States' status as one of the top natural gas polluters worldwide.
Our landscape has literally and culturally been changed by outside corporations determining how we interact with the land.
We are a people of resilience, but we have sat around and allowed these things to happen in the promise of job creation. When nearly half of Americans are predicted to be eventually diagnosed with cancer, the time for apathy has passed.
I am done sitting idly by as outside interests that make billions of dollars decide which people are expendable while poisoning our water and our land.
ADVERTISEMENT
So when Herald readers speak, speak of the prairie and what's happening in Cannon Ball, N.D. We have gathered as people in solidarity for the land and the future.
We are done waiting for someone else to take action, because we understand that we are the ones we have been waiting for.
Shylah Schauer
Jamestown, N.D.
