With the recent notice from the U.S. Army Corps to vacate the Sacred Stone camp by December 5th, it’s become a dire situation as winter moves in and more needs to be done to ensure the Dakota Access Pipeline is not constructed. The pipeline itself is planned by Energy Transfer Partners, a Fortune 500 gas and propane company operating out of Dallas, Texas. The purpose of this underground pipeline is to go through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois to create a faster way to get crude oil to marketplaces. This corporate-funded project has several environmental issues, one big one is the endangerment of water resources within the Standing Rock Reservation. Lake Oahe, one of the bodies of water this pipeline plans to go under, is a vital necessity for the Reservation, and if the pipeline were to break, it would contaminate the water source. Environmental impact reports were done but not really focused on and the rights for this line to pass through rivers was fast-tracked by the Army Corps.

Protests started back in 2014 when it the pipeline was first announced, but started to become a more wide-spread movement back in April 2016. It didn’t gain international attention until late August or early September when a security firm acted against the growing camp. This increased tension and intimidation enacted by the firm ended with unleashing attack dogs and pepper-spraying protectors on Labor Day weekend. These people were unarmed and crossed a fence to stop bulldozers from digging more trenches. These actions were deemed irresponsible and abhorrent in agencies from the ACLU to various law enforcement officials. Amy Goodman, a journalist who was at Standing Rock, also had a warrant for her arrest issued based on trespassing charges, which was then increased to several rioting charges. Goodman challenged this arrest, calling it an infringement on her freedom of speech and freedom of the press. A judge found the evidence did not match her charges and dismissed the case.

At this point, police were already militarized with anti-riot gear, which does nothing but create fear and tension towards people acting on their right to assemble peacefully. In October, harsh treatment of prisoners was reported, including extremely disturbing reports of advocates being kept in dog kennels and being strip searched for disorderly conduct charges, one of those people including actress Shailene Woodley. Amnesty International has since sent observers to monitor law enforcement. With this new order from the Army Corps Engineers issued the day after Thanksgiving, the Standing Rock Tribal Chairman has issued a response of his own, expressing the disappointment he has with the U.S. and the renewed effort to continually fight for the right to water.

Yesterday, when I read the order myself, I felt anger and disgust at how little we've learned, along with a sense of disappointment towards our government for how the situation is being dealt with. People are having tear gas and rubber bullets fired at them, along with being arrested and having liberties taken away. The people at Standing Rock are protecting their right to water, and the Energy Transfer Partners have no right in endangering that resource. It strikes me odd that the country seems to have forgotten that only a little over a year ago, a contracted company under the EPA spilled mine waste into the Animas River, a river that goes directly into the Colorado. Surely people can recall on the news how the water turned a sickly yellow-orange color. The Navajo Nation was directly affected by this, as well as the states of Colorado and New Mexico. This cannot be allowed to repeat, or even come close to happening again to water resources. There has to be a larger awareness of our environment and a greater respect for Native Americans and the right to safe water and land.

During this time, we should support the protectors of the lands and rivers surrounding the reservation in any way possible. Here are links to charities that support the protest:

Sacred Stone Camp official Gofundme

Sacred Stone Legal Defense Fund on FundRazer

Fundraiser for Standing Rock Medic and Healer Council and their Amazon wishlist