The recent approval of the Dakota and Keystone access pipelines have once again brought the topic of water into the center of national attention. The concerns about the pipelines' potential for contaminating water supplies in Native land is parallel to many other places in the country, such as Flint, areas in Baltimore, and many others, where Americans still do not have access to clean water. It's ironic that the government professes to have the money to build a wall along the Mexican border, but won't allocate funds to fix this country's infrastructure.

In researching how to get off of the grid by collecting and purifying one's own water (which is more economic in many cases), I found it interesting that collecting rainwater has been made illegal in many states, being equated with stealing government property.

The long and short of it is that communities can't focus on prosperity when their basic needs haven't even been met. This video is meant to provoke conversation and the exchange of ideas as to how to fix this problem, which has become severely downplayed by the media. No one person has all of the answers, but as a group, we are a force to be reckoned with. Let's use our ability to make change for good, and help our brothers and sisters in the struggle.

P.S.

While water is a pertinent issue in respect to basic needs, so is food. The #ResistanceGardens project hopes to address this issue in a way that is community minded, hopefully with the goal of eventually being able to implement a successful model into communities across the country. Feel free to check it out when you have time, and learn how you can help: