(Oklahoma City) — One of the lead organizers in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, Phyllis Young, will be a special guest at the 12th annual Spring Powwow at Oklahoma City University (OCU), Saturday, April 7th. The powwow will start at 2:00 p.m. in the Freede Fieldhouse on the OCU campus.
The tribe’s opposition to the 1,200-mile pipeline, which they said would destroy sacred burial sites and threaten their water supply, drew worldwide attention in 2016. Thousands of “Water Protectors” gathered in camps near Cannon Ball, North Dakota in protest. The Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference (OIMC) was among organizations that provided support at the camps which included food, gasoline for generators, and paper goods to feed the swelling camp, which ranged from 1,000 to 2,000 people. In addition, the OIMC sent 700 hundred Christmas stockings to the camps along with gloves and coats during the winter.
“Phyllis has a long and profound history of working on and fighting for rights of Native peoples across the country,” said the Rev. David Wilson, Conference Superintendent, Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference and sponsor of the OCU Native American Society which is hosting the powwow.
In addition to the powwow, Mrs. Young will be speaking at Grace United Methodist Church on Sunday, April 8th at 9:30 a.m. Grace is located at 6316 N. Tulsa, Ave., in Oklahoma City. She will also speak at Norman First American United Methodist Church Sunday at 3:00 p.m., located at 1950 Beaumont Drive in Norman.
“We are excited that Phyllis will be with us at OCU and at our United Methodist Churches. We invite everyone to come and hear her story and the continued struggles of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe,” said Wilson. For more information or questions contact the OIMC office at (405)632-2006.
