Water Protector

“Mark Tilsen’s poetry is sacred fire raging under a godless sky. A breeze to read, but make no mistake: there is nothing easy about this book. Darkly hilarious and devastatingly sad, Mark’s poems give voice to many complex and contradictory truths about his people’s struggle against the Dakota Access pipeline as he saw them ‘on a clear day; from camp. This book is a call to act, even (especially) when the situation isn’t ideal. Each page burns with love and fury and heartbreaking beauty. Whoever you are, wherever you come from: read this book on your feet if you can—it will make you want to do something.”—Mike Anderson, freelance journalist/writer

“The resistance at Standing Rock and the Oceti Sakowin camp was the moment where we came from our communities, reservations, neighborhoods, reserves and sovereign nations from all over the country and the world. For the months that we were there we could taste freedom and liberation. It was running through us like fire for those of us who brought our heart, passion and sacrifice to Standing Rock there were moments of tears, joy, solidarity and unity. Equally there was division, sadness, heartbreak and the feeling of defeat. 
This book of poems speaks to the heart of the matter, these poems speak directly to us those who lived at Oceti, who organized there, prayed there, chopped wood there and came there to fight a pipeline that was among the latest colonial forces trying to oppress our people and destroy our earth.”—Nick Tilsen, from the Preface