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Two National Guard dump trucks were parked by police officials in October to block State Highway 1806 north of Cannon Ball, ND. The burning Oct. 19 of the two empty trucks which caused no injuries was used by police as a pretext for arresting 143 people conducting a peaceful blockade the next day.  Photo by John LaForge

   In a stunning triumph of community organizing and disciplined nonviolent solidarity in the face of violent and abusive police assaults, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and thousands of other Water Protectors opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) won a provisional halt to construction of the 1,170-mile pipeline Sunday Dec. 4 — the day before a gubanatorial eviction order was to take effect threatening destruction of the now world-renown Sacred Stone Camp.
  

On Dec. 4, the Army Corps of Engineers announced it would deny Energy Transfer Partners the easement it needs to drill the DAPL under Lake Oahe on the Missouri River. The Army further promised to conduct and environmental impact statement (EIS), and consider forcing the company to find and alternate route.
The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is a nearly-finished crude oil pipeline from North Dakota to Illinois and beyond, that would transport roughly 550,000 barrels of crude oil per day, threatening the water supply not just of the Standing Rock Sioux, but of the 17 million people who depend on the downstream waters of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.

Committed to nonviolence, prayer and a peaceful spiritual demeanor, camp organizers have established nonviolence orientations for new-comers and have principles for nonviolent action prominently posted at the camp’s central speakers’ circle. Photo by Marion Kuepker

   Since April, thousands have been camped near the crossing, engaging in increasingly creative nonviolent actions against the pipeline’s threat of water contamination and its destruction of sacred sites. As the New York Times reported Nov.5, “Construction of the route a half-mile from the Standing Rock Sioux reservation has become a global flash point for environmental and indigenous activism, drawing thousands of people out here [Cannon Ball, ND] to a sprawling prairie camp of tents, tepees and yurts.”

   The Army’s decision, while celebrated at the camp and worldwide, has raised as many questions as it answered. Will the EIS review the full 1,170-mile length of the pipeline’s impact, or merely  the 40 miles under dispute at Standing Rock? Will Tribal governents retain authority as sovereign nations to veto proposed alternate routes? Will the incoming Trump Regime reverse the Army Corps’ action? Will police authorities enforce the Army’s decision and take action against Energy Transfer Partners which isreported to be drilling under the river in violation of the Army’s Dec. 4 order?

   The sprawling encampment, south of Bismarck, ND, has drawn thousands of supporters from around the world, including in the last few days at least 2,000 military veterans who have vowed to act as human sheids for the Water Protectors. The Standing Rock Sioux object to the DAPL’s threat of permanently polluting the Missouri River and permanently interfering with tribal members’s practice of inviolable rights to hunt, fish, gather, pray and conduct traditional ceremonies in the Ceded Territory beyond the reservation.

   The Camp has representatitves from 350 different indigenous and First Nations peoples from the continent and around the world, and many are identified by the flags flying United Nations-like along the entryway to the camp. Because of the ambiguity of the Army’s shut-down order, hundreds of campers promised not to leave the camp in spite of the suggestion Dec. 6 from Dave Archambault II, the Standing Rock tribal chairman, that people could now go home and spend the winter with their families.

   Video of police officials attacking large groups of Water Protectors have been seen by millions around the world via TV and social media. Standing nonviolenty on roadways, in open fields, and near the river bank to block construction, hundreds of unarmed men, women and children have been fired upon with tear gas, rubber bullets, flash-bang grenades, water cannon, pepper spray and beanbag guns. The use of water cannon was not initiated until winter’s freezing temperatures made the tactic particularly brutal and life threatening. Since the police crackdown started in September, charges of trespassing and other alleged offenses are pending against almost 500 activists.

Financial divestment key to ultimate shutdown

   Jade Begay, with the Indigenous Environmental Network, issued a statement Dec. 3 calling for sympathizers to sever their financial ties to banks that have invested in the pipeline. Began said in part: “At this point in time the US government has proven no alliance to The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe or to Indigenous Peoples of this country. Now more than ever we need people power to stop this pipeline and show big oil that they cannot control what happens to our communities and continue to sacrifice Indigenous Peoples for the sake of profit. We need to do what is in our power and divestment is one of the strongest actions we can make as individuals.”
 According to a recent Food and Water Watch study, 37 banks’ investments are fueling DAPL by extending lines of credit to the companies building it, totaling $10.25 billion as of early-September. In particular, Wells Fargo plays a key role in the pipeline’s construction, Water Protectors say, and it can play a major part in halting that construction by withdrawing its credit. Along with Wells Fargo, Bank of America, HSBC, UBS, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and others, combined, have extended a $3.75 billion credit line to Energy Transfer Partners. Please close your accounts -- and tell ‘em why.