Asking For Permission
ServiceSpace
--Colleen Choi
3 minute read
Feb 13, 2017

 

Today I'm reflecting on a lesson/ practice of Asking for Permission. For years now I've been practicing asking for permission more and more. I ask the beach stones if they want to come home with me before I put them in my pocket. I ask the flowers if they want to be picked. The vegetables seem to always be giving. I especially pray and ask permission before taking medicinal plants or sacred plants/master plants. I will even make an offering of coffee grounds or water if I remember.

When I first arrived at Standing Rock, my carpool sister and I had no idea where to begin. The camp was so much larger than I anticipated. We parked the car, and roamed around by foot. We had a good two hours to find a place to camp before the sun went down. Synchronicity lead us just outside of a Navajo camp. A sweet man passed by and noticed our "fish-out-of-water" looks. He walked us into the camp to introduce us. We took the time to chat for a little bit, even though the temperature was dropping and the wind was picking up. That sense of urgency to create "home" was pushed aside for the importance of connection.

"Where are you staying?" asked one of the men.
"We just arrived and are looking for a place to put our tent. Would you mind if we put our tent just outside of your camp?"
"Please!!" then 3 men, now brothers, helped us set up our whole living situation, even brought out and extra tent and tarps for us. Then they said, "Dinner is ready, will you join us for blue corn smut?"

Just like that, we had a family. For the next few days, we cleaned, cooked, shared stories, shared tears, learned how to circle dance, prayed, and listened.

However, during my stay at Standing Rock, I observed that not everyone asked for permission. Many non-natives came self sufficient (as requested), created their little camp, with a perimeter, claiming space for themselves. They spoke their minds freely at meetings, sometimes overly asserting their opinions.They were doing the best they could to make themselves feel comfortable and more at ease in an intense place. While they came with a big heart, they soon learned that they just colonized that treaty land.

In response, the elders held their boundaries - they want us non-natives to Listen. They want us to be with our discomforts. At camp we had daily meetings on white privilege and de-colonization. These are not comfortable topics. But with the militarized police surrounding us, nothing is really comfortable. Being at Standing Rock gave us the opportunity to dig deeper into our patterns and habits. To sit in that discomfort, not in shame, but in humbleness. To unravel our way of being and look at our own privilege as a gift that we can use for the greater good.  

 

Posted by Colleen Choi on Feb 13, 2017


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