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Living in Oklahoma we grow up with a skewed vision of government. These lands have been taken away and re-assigned many times. Indigenous encampments were sprawled across the lands upon European contact. Every township, city and sprawling metropolis was cultivated and maintained by Indigenous nations for millennia. The paved roads we now travel have all been placed over ancient trails and pathways.

All of those trail systems led to beautiful safe spaces for clean water, hunting, fishing, trapping and harvesting. LIFE

My comrades and I have been on the lands every week this summer to document water levels in the lakes and rivers across Oklahoma. What we found was beyond devastating. Some rivers were completely dried up. Small green algae-infested puddles are what’s been left for the wildlife to survive upon. The trees and grasslands will soon dry to dust too.

We kept asking ourselves where did the water go? Well, about 3 weeks ago the answer came to light in the form of a bitcoin data center.

We prayed on the lands and asked for help to expose the disappearance. Lo and behold, a water line leak caused by an illegal operation had drained the El Reno community of close to 4 million gallons of water.

4 million gallons of water is a lake!

This operation was setup unregulated for 3 years. They were issued a stop-work order back in 2023 but they ignored it and continued to operate. It seems like when these operations start they are moving forward with the attitude “If we don’t ask, they can’t tell us no.”

It’s always about build, dig, steal and destroy without consent. At the same time they have seated government officials who are setting pro-bitcoin laws in motion that have gone undetected until now.

Everyone’s been busy fighting data centers across Turtle Island. Those fights have been so successful we should keep up that momentum at the same time we need to include the bitcoin industry in these talks.

The powers that be have separated the bitcoin conversation from the data centers. Our legislators have been allowed to write protectionist policies for these wasteful grifting operations while presenting them to the community as protections. Well, we now know that was all lies.

A mining project only benefits the sole owners of the facility. At least data centers provide a service to the public whereas bitcoin does not. They are just as destructive as a large scale data center.

Bitcoin facility operators can be traced to owning shares in companies like Kalshi. Kalshi is operating illegally on Turtle Island by allowing users to place bets that are disguised as stock trading investments via mobile device apps. When you use services such as Sleeper and Draft Kings you are promoting these illegal gambling systems.

Indigenous tribal nations are the only entity that are legally allowed to run gaming on Turtle Island. So why is this corrupt system still in operation destroying all of our territories? Where are our tribal leaders in these conversations?

I have been in many rooms across Oklahoma to see who these people are that come to our lands to grift yet I have NEVER seen one tribal leader speaking up for us. It’s always been just us grassroots organizers and community members trying to fight them off.

We must start these conversations and keep them at the forefront of all movements. We have to get out on the lands and inside these corrupt systems to stay visible or they see our silence as consent to steal as much as they possibly can.

IP3 has always been about ACTION and I take this to heart and soul. I will continue to stay on the lands and inside these rooms, praying that I won’t be the only one. It’s going to take all of us coming together to learn and Indigenize these spaces.

Do whatever you can to educate your people and get everyone you know to register to VOTE.

Make sure everyone updates their info before deadlines hit. In Oklahoma we have a cutoff of 25 days before the election and we are closing in on that date quickly.

Each state differs so start your research TODAY. Organize your local communities TODAY. Educate your nations on official duties of these elected positions so they are making the best choices for these seats. Together we can build reconciliation and protection.

~ Shawndae