These Chefs are Preparing a Thanksgiving Feast at Standing Rock

Thanksgiving—with its reductionist tales of harmony and shared food—isn’t always a straightforward cause for celebration for Native Americans. So when Judy Wicks thought about bringing a Thanksgiving meal to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, she asked her friend Tom Goldtooth, the Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, what he thought about the idea.

Jane Fonda Preps for Long Stay in Standing Rock, Donates Housing and Holds Massive Feast

Cannon Ball, ND — Longtime activist and award-winning actress Jane Fonda — a sharp critic of the government’s failure to honor treaties with Native American First Nations — will join a delegation of 50 people serving a feast to Standing Rock Sioux and other water protectors at the Oceti Sakowin camp on Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving Feast and A Straw Bale Community Center at Standing Rock

A Wopila feast – Lakota for Thank You – is being prepared for the Protectors at Standing Rock on Thanksgiving Day thanks to the spark and energy of  and 60 of her friends and fans. Judy is a household name in Philadelphia for her White Dog Cafe, which she sold a number of years ago, and for her ever-creative activism.

Philly restaurateur Judy Wicks to serve Thanksgiving dinner to Standing Rock protesters

CLEM MURRAY / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER   Artist Lou Ann Merkle (left) and Judy Wicks, late of the famed White Dog Cafe, hold a banner Merkle painted that they will be taking out to Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota to stand in support of those protesting the pipeline. Wicks has arranged donations to feed 2000 people a Thanksgiving dinner. The word Wopila means Thanks in Lokato language. Photo taken November 21, 2016.

Thanksgiving, Oceti Sakowin Style:

Shailene Woodley, Jane Fonda and 500 Water Protectors

Chefs Plan Free Thanksgiving Meal for Dakota Access Pipeline Protestors

Demonstrators against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation are facing below-freezing temperatures and militarized North Dakota, making their protests increasingly dangerous. But tomorrow, thousands of “water protectors” who’ve assembled at Oceti Sakowin Camp will enjoy a short, delicious reprieve at the nearby Standing Rock Community School in Fort Yates, where a group of chefs, celebrities and volunteers are currently preparing a Thanksgiving dinner they’re calling "Because We Believe Them We Feed Them," or Wowichuniah Un Wowichunkunpi. The dinner, a collaboration between entrepreneur Judy Wicks and the non-profit All It Takes, with contributions from several food providers and chefs, is free and open to all.