From word one, it is important for the reader to know that from the Lakota perspective, there is no line drawn between human beings and the environment. Commonly, when reading literature about the impacts of mining, there are statements about the effects of mining on the environment and the effects of mining on human beings.

That line doesn’t exist in the Lakota mind. In the Lakota way of being, we have a philosophy that is bedrock to our way of life, that is the saying: “Mitakuye Oyasin”, which is in itself a “prayer”, which is said at certain points in our way of life, which means “All My Relations.” Our role in Creation, in the Universe, is seamless, there is no line between us and the environment, human health and the environment are connected.