Photos: Winona's Kitchen helps feed pipeline protesters at Standing Rock


Winona Kasto adds golden hominy to homemade soup.
1 Winona Kasto of Green Grass, S.D., adds golden hominy to a batch of homemade soup at the Oceti Sakowin Camp on Saturday. While her kitchen is not the only option for prepared food at the camp, Kasto is known for her generosity and a knack for getting things done. Saunders Youngbear watches his mother's efforts. 
A morning fire helps warm hands and water.
2 A morning fire helps warm hands, feet and thaw jugs of drinking water on Sunday. Much of this water will be used by Kasto and other volunteers to prepare food. 
Strips of venison dry inside a small RV.
3 Strips of venison dry inside a small RV donated to Kasto and her family at the Oceti Sakowin Camp. The dried meat is called 'papa,' said Kasto, who is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. 
Winona Kasto has been living at the camp since Aug.
4 Kast has been living at the camp since August. She plans to remain there until late January. Before preparing food, she sweeps a rug outside a small RV camper on Saturday. 
Morning sun illuminates dried corn.
5 Morning sun illuminates dried corn at Kasto's campsite. Kasto, who is Lakota, aims to serve meals that embrace traditional American Indian food. 
Ruth Miller, 19, prepares an egg sandwich.
6 College student Ruth Miller, 19, prepares an egg sandwich. Miller, who is Dena'ina Athabascan, came to the camp with a group of 11 Native Americans affiliated with Brown University to volunteer for a few days. Miller spent much of Saturday pitching in at Winona's Kitchen. "This is such a healing place," she said. "I'm still reflecting on what it all means." 
Winona Kasto arrived in August and stayed to cook.
7 Kasto's home in Green Grass, S.D., is less than a three-hour drive from the Oceti Sakowin Camp. She arrived in August just to check things out and saw a need for more food offerings. "I'll cook enough for 400 and then I'll hurry up and be cooking more," she said. 
Mark Lesser of Minot, N.D., has spent two months there.
8 Mark Lesser of Minot, N.D., has spent two months at the camp. "You might hear people talk about the energy here. It's awesome," said Lesser, who has been sleeping in his Jeep Grand Cherokee next to Winona's Kitchen. 
Kasto operates Winona's Kitchen at the camp.
9 Kasto briefly sits down inside a donated RV on Saturday. "I haven't seen a dollar since I've been here," said Kasto, who relies on food and other donations to prepare and serve hundreds of meals every day. 
Part of the camp is visible through Kasto's window.
10 A small portion of the Oceti Sakowin Camp is visible through a plastic-coated window of the RV at Kasto's campsite. The camp, located 40 miles south of Bismarck, is home to a few thousand activists who are protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline. 
Cook Winona Kasto talks with volunteers.
11 Kasto talks with volunteers. "I'm really busy from the time I get up until the time I go to bed," said Kasto.