Oglala Lakota poet Mark Tilsen relives the Indigenous-led struggle against the pipeline at Standing Rock and elsewhere through a blend of journal entries and poems.

The poems and words collected in Water Protector are bold, urgent, and incomplete, just like the struggle at Standing Rock, where Mark Tilsen fought bravely and wrote defiantly. Through his meditations, he brings us to the frontlines of meaning and struggle, of poetry and power. His writings conjure the aching beauty of seeing Indigenous tribes from all around Turtle Island and beyond come to Standing Rock, the canoes of warriors coming to camp, the heartbreak of ever brutal action, the cold indifference of the government, the weird mixed blessings of the Veterans, the behind the scenes heroes, the bitter atmosphere left behind by social media opportunists and vultures. As Mark writes, “there comes a point where you have to call it and let it be, that point is here.”