Something that I've seen more and more recently around social media is the #NoDAPL hashtag. Have you seen it too?
At first I wasn't really sure what was going on, but I kept seeing it. #NoDAPL, #waterislife, and #MniWiconi. And finally someone shared this video of Shailene Woodley with me and if you fast forward to the end you'll see that she was arrested on October 10, 2016. At that point in time, she and the viewers saw no one else being arrested, but over 20 other people were arrested that day while peacefully protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. Woodley's arrest is what opened my eyes to the situation going on in North Dakota.
What's the Dakota Access Pipeline?
The Dakota Access Pipeline is being built to transport crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois. This 30 inch diameter pipe is set to be built through the Missouri River and each day the company that is building it, Energy Transfer Partners, gets closer and closer to the waters of the river. This is a major issue not only because pipelines like this can cause oil spills but allowing the continued construction of the pipe through this land is breaking a treaty the U.S. Government has had with the Natives of the area for over a hundred years.
But why should I care? You may be asking yourself this right now.
Here's the thing, the Natives in the area have been protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline since April, they are the Water Protectors. And since October 10 things have escalated very quickly between the riot police and the peaceful protesters as construction gets closer to the water. Protesters have been roughly handled, shot at with rubber bullets, bones have been broken, they have been tased and pepper sprayed, and hundreds have been arrested for "trespassing" on their own land, yet they have not had any weapons on them. The indigenous people protecting water for more than just themselves but all of the people and animals affected by the Missouri River are being treated more harshly than the Oregon Militia who were just acquitted for an armed standoff lasting 41 days starting this last January!
Yeah, but they're on private government property!
Hmm, okay I hear you, but let's rethink this one shall we? Before any treaties were even talked about with Native Americans, the white man came to America and decided "okay this is our land now and we found it and anyone who is already here is trying to take it from us". Let's just skip over any denial you might have of the horrors our white ancestors committed against the Native Americans and go straight to acceptance of the criminal acts, because without accepting that we really messed up the rest of this might not make sense.
So after many battles and deaths of the Sioux Nation, the Treaty of Fort Laramie was signed on April 29,1868 between the U.S. Government and Sioux Nation. This Treaty mostly focuses around the Black Hills, but it states that the Black Hills are recognized as part of the Great Sioux Reservation (take note of the addition of the Black Hills to the already existing reservation). Fast forward seven years: after slaughtering the Natives and trying to make up for it by giving them their land back, the government (specifically General George A. Custer) decided gold was more important than honoring our agreement and so we went back on their land and said "okay, this is the Government's again and we are taking it from you because there is gold here" and so our Government took the Black Hills and even brought the Army in to protect the gold miners from wandering Sioux who were hunting (which was allowed due to the previously mentioned Treaty). Then in 1877, the U.S. Government officially confiscated the Black Hills. This was the first of many confiscations; and since this Treaty was signed a lot of the lands included in the Great Sioux Reservation have been taken back by the U.S. Government and used for Government purpose (gold mining) or offered to the public for purchase (this happened about 100 years ago or more). Ownership of this land has been a constant dispute between the U.S. Government and the Sioux, because apparently we haven't taken enough from the Native Americans.
Boom, there's some basic history for you.
But... let's be real, if we just honored the Treaty of Fort Laramie (and every other treaty we signed with the Native Americans for peace) there would be no dispute between the U.S. Government and the Sioux because we'd just be honoring what we agreed to give back to them in the first place.
So back to the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Currently there are hundreds of protesters at the Sacred Stone Camp. They are not only protecting the water of the Missouri, but their land which is rightfully theirs, and sacred burial sites. Think about this: if Energy Transfer Partners was trying to build this pipe through Gettysburg National Cemetery do you really think anyone (including the Government) would allow it? No! Everyone would be protesting and saying how un-American it is, and how it's disrespectful. So I ask you, WHY ARE WE EVEN ALLOWING THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE? The answer should be a simple, "We shouldn't be allowing it" the same as we would never allow it through Gettysburg.
Have we learned from the past at all? Where is the mainstream media? How much more will we allow our Government to take from the indigenous people of America before we say enough is enough? I am disappointed in many of my fellow Americans for not standing against this, for not seeing how wrong this is.
Okay, but what can I do?
Send your support through monetary donations: legal defense, general fund, or through Shailene's Omaze support fund. The general fund will help for food, winter supplies, and other things for the Sacred Stone Camp. You can also make phone calls to the pipeline companies, corporations, and elected officials behind the pipeline, also the Army Corp of Engineers. Send your support through prayers and positive thoughts! Even posting on social media to get the word out there to more people to garner more support helps.
