Volunteer (original) (raw)

We are overwhelmingly appreciative of all of you who have offered to stand with us. We currently are going to stop taking new applications for volunteers as we process our over 900 volunteer applications. Stay tuned for more updates as the situation continues to evolve.

If you’ve already applied, we will be contacting you, but we won’t be accepting new applications until further notice.

We are here and do not plan on leaving camp.

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Want to volunteer your medic or healing services to the clinics at Standing Rock? Plese read this.

Dear Potential Volunteer:

Hello! We thank you for your interest in promoting health and wellness in the dynamic and challenging environment that is the Dakota Access Pipeline resistance. We wrote this letter to give you some insight into our working environment and practice before you arrive.

First, please understand that however advanced we may be clinically, we all need to contribute to basic work that keeps our space operating. We currently work and live out of tents while trying to prepare for winter on the great plains, where temperatures can reach -30F. We’ve already experienced windstorms with gusts of 60 mph. We haul our water by hand, wash the dishes, and organize supplies to keep our space running. Without this flexibility and willingness to roll up our sleeves and pitch in, our space would quickly grind to a halt. We all do all these collective jobs and strive to support each other in the various ways that we all need support. A volunteer working in the station must be flexible, adaptive, and caring.

Please know that we come from different backgrounds as healers and that we approach assessment and treatment from different standpoints. Critical to your success in this environment is appreciating this as a resource and a learning opportunity, and learning to appreciate different modalities and skillsets as resources for you and your patient. We manage differences and concerns discreetly and with respect.

Currently our work involves caring for the community that has come together to resist this pipeline, as well as individuals from the larger Standing Rock Sioux community who seek our care over other local options, as well as caring for ourselves and each other. We deal with emotional and physical stress, from the common cold to supporting individuals with life threatening acute and chronic illnesses. We also maintain a nonviolent medic and healing presence in the field at actions, and strive to cultivate an atmosphere of calm and care in all settings, no matter how militarized or intense.

If placed as a volunteer in rotation, you will first attend an orientation. Many of our volunteers have been serving at Standing Rock for over four months. Please expect to integrate into this environment subtly. The best place you can start is by being very helpful – boiling water to refill tea, doing dishes, fixing things, etc. If you are unsure, hang back, listen, and observe ways to be helpful.

We hope you find this info helpful and that our organizers can serve as a resource for you during the process of deciding if this work is right for you. Please remember that there are many ways to support our work, and coming to work with us is just one of them. Whatever your contribution, we thank you for your interest and support, and look forward to working together.

PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR CAMP :: PLEASE REVIEW OUR FAQ HERE