This Monday, Nov. 28, North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple signed an executive order for an “emergency evacuation” of tribal activists and other “water protectors” who have been camped out for months on land north of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation to protest the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL).
This follows Friday’s announcement by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that it plans to break up the Oceti Sakowin (Sioux for “Seven Council Fires”) camp by December 5. The Corps’ district commander said that anyone found on Corps-managed land north of the Cannonball River after that date will be considered trespassing and subject to prosecution.
Meanwhile, the Sierra Club and its allies—notably the Indigenous Environmental Network and Honor the Earth—have been keeping up a steady drumbeat of protests and demonstrations against the pipeline. One week after Election Day, tens of thousands of people gathered at more than 300 events in all 50 states for a #NoDAPL Day of Action to stand in solidarity with water protectors at Standing Rock and call on President Obama to reject the pipeline.
More than 5,000 gathered at City Hall in San Francisco (above); 3,000 rallied outside Army Corps’ headquarters in Washington, D.C. (below); more than 2,000 marched in Lower Manhattan; 1,500 rallied at the Army Corps’ office in Los Angeles; over 1,000 marched through the streets of Chicago; nearly that many gathered at the Army Corps’ office in Albuquerque; another 1,000 gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota; over 300 rallied in Louisville; and more than 100 gathered in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Gainesville, Florida—and this list leaves out far more than it includes. (More photos at end of post.)
That same day, some 500 water protectors, led by the Indigenous Youth Council, marched through the Oceti Sakowin camp and created a “human mural” of a medicine wheel (below), and the spiritual leaders of Oceti Sakowin led a ceremony near the Dakota Access drill pad. “To hold this ceremony on Army Corps land evokes Executive Order 13007, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act,” said Standing Rock elder Arvol Lookinghorse.
Photo by Elvia Mendoza, courtesy of EnvironMedia.
“All across the country, we are bringing the proverbial fires of the Oceti Sakowin to the doors of the U.S. Army Corps, demanding action to stop this bakken oil pipeline,” said Dallas Goldtooth, an organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network. Now it’s time for the White House administration and its Department of Army to support indigenous rights and sovereignty by rescinding the pipeline permits and ordering a full environmental impact statement. We all stand in solidarity with Standing Rock because we know this is a fight worth winning.”
The situation took a turn for the ugly on November 20 when in subfreezing weather police and a tactical SWAT team unleashed water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets, and concussion grenades in a military-style assault on 500 unarmed water protectors at Oceti Sakowin. According to sources at the scene, a dozen were critically wounded or sustained head injuries and were rushed to the hospital, while 168 were treated for hypothermia and pepper spray exposure on-site. One woman may lose her arm after it was torn open by a grenade and became frostbitten. were rushed to the hospital, while 168 were treated for hypothermia and pepper spray exposure on-site. One woman may lose her arm after it was torn open by a grenade and became frostbitten.
As this story went to press, some 2,000 veterans announced that in response to the Army Corps' and Governor Dalrymple's evacuation orders they would travel to the Standing Rock Reservation and serve as “human shields” for the water protectors in an effort they are calling Veterans Stand for Standing Rock.
Stay tuned—and take action.
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More photos from #NoDAPL rallies on November 15:
New York City
Los Angeles
Philadelphia
Austin
New Orleans
Tulsa
Kansas City
Durango, Colorado
Montpelier, Vermont