Amina Bryan (center), of South Royalton, is cleansed by her grandmother, Violet Cortes, visiting from Big Pine, California, during a sage smudging ceremony that preceded the raising of the Sioux Flag on the campus of Vermont Law School (VLS), on Friday, May 19. The VLS chapter of the Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) honored Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II, with an honorary degree from VLS, acknowledging his work in environmental stewardship. In a follow up email, Jacklyn Bryan, mother of Amina, and outgoing Vice President of NALSA, stated, "I left my home on my small reservation in California to come to VLS because I knew they could give me the skills to advocate for underrepresented minority groups like mine. My Tribe has unresolved water rights with the City of Los Angeles, and I hope to one day to be a part of that resolution. Coming to law school with this mission made it easy to connect with the issues at Standing Rock. The opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline lead by Standing Rock Sioux was joined by many tribes because so many could relate to a potential violations of the Tribes clean water." (Herald / Seth Butler)