Kitchens of Isis - The New York Times Just Does Not Get Standing Rock

I am an embedded front line journalist at Standing Rock. During my eleven weeks on the ground I have been tear gassed and maced. I cannot tell you how many LRAD attacks I experienced. Smoke and concussion grenades have been used on me or near me. I have been soaked with water in sub-freezing temperatures. Police shot at me with rubber bullets and bean bags. My belongings were searched. My car has been impounded twice. I have been seriously injured. People have been hurt protecting me. DAPL security and police have chased me. 

On the 15^th I was nearly killed by police covering Standing Rock. The police opened fire into a car and attempted to shoot at it as it drove away. I was standing on the other side of the car filming and the car narrowly avoided splatifying me as they fled the hail of bullets. All after I was maced and chased in a sprint by unhinged officers for daring to cover the story.

Other press members have been attacked, arrested, strip searched and beaten. Some struggle with PTSD symptoms. Their data has been stolen by police and used in prosecutions. We have been targeted by police.

We do it with only the money people online give us.

When the New York Time’s article on the kitchens of Standing Rock, Squash, Rice and Roadkill: Feeding the Fighters of Standing Rock, came across my feed, I was flabbergasted and enraged. With all the resources at the New York times, the best NYT has to offer the public understanding is not about the near death experiences, police brutality, beatings, strip searches, U.N.’s investigation, surveillance, over charging, or press attacks – it is the kitchen.

NYT sent a reporter to a war zone and covered the mess halls. Gee – I cannot wait for NYT’s coverage of the kitchens of ISIS.

Standing Rock is not a human interest story. The larger media has to stop trivializing this story as a bunch of Indians at a Pow-Wow. This is a story of thousands of people facing unimaginable violence with peaceful, prayerful, purposeful action to protect water most of them will never drink.

Stop sending reporters for one day to cover what they can find while they are walking around camp. Have your reporters put on their big girl panties and show up on the line next to me. Have them investigate the FAA’s facilitation of the abuse against the Water Protectors. Track the number of arrests. Look into the number of dropped charges. Check out where the mace and supplies are coming from.

I don’t have the resources to do it all. NYT does. Other outlets do. But no – Trump had all those funny tweets to cover so why cover this story. They are just brown people.

I am in Oceti Sakowin Camp. Send your reporters to me. I’ll show your reporters the way to the front.

I’ll even bring them a fresh pair of grown up reporter britches because NYT and the rest of the established media seems to be running low.