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In the summer of 2016, members of the Cowboy & Indian Alliance traveled to meet landowners and Tribal Nations in Virginia and West Virginia and plant “Seeds of Resistance” Ponca sacred corn on land that lies in the paths of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley fracked gas pipelines.

The harvest of this year’s crop of Seeds of Resistance corn will take place Oct. 14-16.

Speakers will include Jane Kleeb (Bold Nebraska) and Mekasi Camp Horinek (Bold Oklahoma) sharing his insights and experiences living at the Standing Rock camps protecting our water from the Dakota Access pipeline. (If you planted Ponca corn on your own land, please bring some to one of the Harvest Celebrations!)

*Please RSVP to attend on the form below*

Friday, Oct. 14: Augusta & Nelson Counties, Virginia

  • 11:00 a.m: Harvest Corn at Stuarts Draft Farm Market
  • 6:00-8:00 p.m: Harvest Celebration, Speakers, Music, Potluck

Saturday, Oct. 15: Monroe County, West Virginia

  • 1:00 p.m: Small Ceremony at Indian Creek Covered Bridge
  • 3:00-9:00 p.m: Harvest Celebration, Speakers, Music & Potluck

Sunday, Oct. 16: Bent Mountain, Virginia

  • 2:30 p.m: Harvest Celebration, Speakers, Music & Potluck
    • Bent Mountain Center, 10148 Tinsley Lane, Bent Mountain, VA 24059

Can’t join us? Click here to donate to help spread the “Seeds of Resistance.”

BACKGROUND

ponca_corn_sproutingPipeline Fighters and the “Cowboy & Indian Alliance” of farmers, ranchers and Tribal Nations that formed to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline gathered in 2014 to plant the first Ponca sacred corn “Seeds of Resistance” in the path of the proposed pipeline.

The first planting of “Seeds of Resistance” returned the Ponca’s sacred corn to the tribe’s ancestral homeland in Nebraska — after a 137-year absence following the tribe’s forced removal from the state.

The Ponca corn will be harvested for its third year in the fall of 2016 on the farm of Art & Helen Tanderup.  The Tanderup farm hosted the “Harvest the Hope” Stop Keystone XL benefit concert featuring headliners Neil Young and Willie Nelson, as well as two massive #NOKXL crop art installations — on land that crosses both the historic Ponca Trail of Tears, and the proposed path of the Keystone XL pipeline that TransCanada is still suing over to get U.S. taxpayers on the hook for $15 billion in claimed losses.

In the summer of 2016, members of the Cowboy & Indian Alliance along with Bold Alliance and Oil Change International traveled to meet landowners and Tribal Nations in Virginia and West Virginia and plant “Seeds of Resistance” on land that lies in the paths of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley fracked gas pipelines.

The Ponca sacred corn growing on the Tanderup farm in Neligh has been given USDA certification, and will continue to be planted and harvested to grow the bond of the Cowboy and Indian Alliance and spread more Seeds of Resistance to communities around the world.

Read the full background of the Ponca sacred corn “Seeds of Resistance.”

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Pipeline Fighters plant sacred Ponca corn on land directly in the paths of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley fracked gas pipelines during the “Seeds of Resistance” tour in 2016.

ACTIONS

CAMPAIGN STATUS

  • The 3.5 acres of sacred Ponca corn planted in Neligh, NE was certified by the USDA, and with the land now protected from Keystone XL, the corn planting and harvests continue to help propagate more Seeds of Resistance.
  • View photos and media coverage from the Summer 2016 “Seeds of Resistance” Tour in Virginia & W. Virginia

Together our families will plant sacred Ponca corn seeds of resistance. As the corn grows it will stand strong for us, to help us protect and keep Mother Earth safe for our children, as we fight these battles against pipelines.

— Mekasi Camp Horinek, Ponca Nation member and Bold Oklahoma coordinator

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Mekasi Camp Horinek, Jane Kleeb and Art Tanderup during the 2016 “Seeds of Resistance” planting in Virginia and West Virginia.
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Bold Oklahoma coordinator Mekasi Camp Horinek explains the significance of the Ponca sacred corn planted in the path of Keystone XL during the “Seeds of Resistance” tour in Virginia and West Virginia.