Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

SOUTH DAKOTA - A person may learn to respect her own tradition more deeply by learning from another one. I recently learned this truth regarding prayer during a brush with a tornado while working with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) on La Framboise Island in the Missouri River.

The Lakota have set up a tipi camp to protest the transfer (confiscation) of 200,000 acres of their land to the state of South Dakota. The camp and a sacred fire represent their living treaty rights to the land. Meanwhile, Congress drags its feet on the camp's demand that it hold oversight hearings on the bill, which was never discussed in committee. As the Lakota camp people wait, and CPT watches beside them, there are tests.

Passersby yell things like "You f... Indians, get a job." Police minimize concerns about a van that drove by and emitted a loud sound and flash like a backfire -- or a shot. Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota, who accomplished the land transfer by slipping the bill into a 40-pound budget bill last fall, clings to shaky moral and legal grounds by denying the validity of treaties broken by only one side -- the U.S.

On a daily basis, rain, wind and storms challenge the perseverance of the campers -- and it was here that the faith of the campers gave me new respect for the power of prayer and hope in a seemingly uphill struggle for justice.

Late one Sunday afternoon, we heard there were going to be severe thunderstorms with the possibility of tornadoes. We packed up my clothes and CPT's literature and books into a friend's car, took down the tent and weighted it with stones.

I looked around the camp. Clouds hung low and the wind was picking up. A woman from town came to warn us that a severe thunderstorm was heading for the island from the south, and to leave. The camp members gathered in a tipi to pray, sprinkling a bit of tobacco in the fire as a symbol of their prayers for safety.

I was scared. It was not reasonable to stay but something in me balked at abandoning my role as an observer to bad weather.

Outside, in the center of the circle of tipis, a large fire was crackling merrily. One lady said, "This is a test of faith." We gathered around it quietly, sitting down so as not to attract lightening, as she sang.

The syllables and strong notes of the lady's voice mingled with rain spattering on the stones in and around the fire. As the wind blew, flipping the new leaves of cottonwood trees upside down, I sat still. Suddenly feeling at peace, I knew I was there to learn to trust.

Thunder rolled. The lady said to the people scattered around, "If you're afraid, go into the sweat lodge." The round shape and stakes in the ground would be protection and something to hold onto. Not one to tempt fate TOO far, I went into the dark lodge, sitting beside other camp members. The wind increased and rain splattered onto the plastic tarp covering the lodge. One woman wept. We held onto each other, not sure if or when a tornado might tear off the covering above.

A phrase I've heard often in the camp is, "Think [or pray] with your heart, not with your head." Feeling the solidity of earth below me, I prayed with all my heart for a right outcome as the lady outside prayed for the safety of the camp and for the townspeople of Pierre.

Eventually the wind subsided. We emerged into a dripping world and joined the rest of the camp in the tipi. The lady who had warned us about the storm had returned from town and brought strange news. She said that two storm cells had been converging on Pierre. But when they reached the river, a lightening bolt flashed and the cells separated.

Rationally, with my head, I don't believe the weather was as bad as we had been led to believe. With my heart, I believe that it was a test of faith. The strength of the camp to stay through a possibly lethal storm were tested -- as they will be tested through the storms and challenges of Congress and by racist hecklers and law enforcement in the coming months.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative among Mennonite and Church of the Brethren congregations and Friends Meetings that supports violence reduction efforts around the world.

Christian Peacemaker Teams
P.O. Box 6508
Chicago, IL 60680
Telephone: 312-455-1199 - FAX: 312-666-2677
email: cpt@igc.org

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