Nonviolent Native Protestors Arrested at Standing Rock: Dakota Access Pipeline Wants War. Native Drones Shot Down!

October 27th, 2016 - by admin

Navajo / The Daily Kos – 2016-10-27 01:37:27

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/10/23/1585874/-83-arrested-at-Standing-Rock-resistance-yesterday-Dakota-Access-Pipeline-wants-war-over-oil

83 Arrested at Standing Rock Yesterday, Dakota Access Pipeline Wants War. Native Drones Shot Down!
By navajo

(October 23, 2016) — A 19- year-old Arapaho girl is lying in the dirt under a prayer tipi. A Morton County, North Dakota deputy is on top of her with one knee pressed against her neck and the other pushed into her lower back. An officer from Marathon County, Wisconsin is crouched to the right, watching.

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(October 23, 2016) — Last night on October 22, 2016, Dallas Goldtooth reported, via Facebook Live about the 83 arrests that happened yesterday near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation where American Indian Nations are resisting the construction of a four-state oil pipeline being constructed under the Missouri River, the water source for 17 million people.

My detailed news timeline on Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) v. The Water Protectors can be read here if you need it.

Goldtooth, (Mdewakanton Dakota and Diné) the Keep it in the Ground Organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network is the frontline’s go-to reporter for the Water Protectors in North Dakota. I transcribed [emphasis mine] his impromptu video update:

Hey family, this is Dallas [Goldtooth], uh, you know who I am. I’m in the Bay Area in California right now at the Bioneers Conference which is large conference of people who are socially conscious and wanna protect the planet, basically, and here to just raise awareness about the fight against Dakota Access but also raise awareness about the on-going Indigenous resistance against extractive development and colonization, but that stuff doesn’t matter.

I wanna give an update from what I know, ’cause I’m here. I carry a struggle that I’m not at the camp right now. And so, I’ve been wanting to give good, clear information as much as possible about what’s happening.

And today, was one of the largest arrests, days of arrests so far, that we’ve seen. I wanna kina’ tell folks what happened as it was reported to me. And our organization is working to put out a press release, as soon as possible.

But, the main thing is that over 80 people, right now the confirmed amount from the sheriff, the Morgan County Sheriff’s office, is that 83 people were arrested today, in a mass arrest situation.

Um, that did not need to happen, and it was a clear case of just overtly militarized law enforcement just over stepping their boundaries and instigating something that did not need to be instigated. [ . . . ]

Various people on the ground reported night-before-last on Facebook that:

* Four semi-trucks worth of pipe were being delivered to the burial sites that were desecrated on Labor Day.

* Photos show them parked ON the desecrated grave sites with trucks. Cranes, pipes, and equipment are being delivered.

* Helicopters are overhead. [The ‘copters are constant, keeping the camps awake at night.]

* At least one new blockade is set up, facilitated by the national guard, north of camp, on highway 1806, just south of Fort Rice.

* Bi-plane is now circling.

These are all shots over the bow to incite our people to gather and force us to protect our ancestral burial sites.

DAPL did this once already: The Dakota Access Pipeline guards unleash attack dogs on our American Indian water protectors. In short, on Labor Day weekend, DAPL stopped construction 25 miles away, deliberately moved heavy construction equipment to a newly reported grave site and bulldozed the surface evidence before it could be assessed by the state. Our tribes noticed and objected!

They moved in without weapons urging them to stop. Can you imagine how upset our people were to see bulldozers plowing through sacred evidence that could halt this construction? DAPL was prepared for the outrage. DAPL pepper sprayed some of the Water Protectors and some were bitten by attack dogs.

Yesterday’s DAPL action was a reprise of the Labor Day incitement. From an article FIVE years ago: Oil Executive: Military-Style ‘Psy Ops’ Experience Applied:
Last week’s oil industry conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Houston was supposed to be an industry confab just like any other — a series of panel discussions, light refreshments and an exchange of ideas. [ . . . ]

But things took an unexpected twist.

CNBC has obtained audiotapes of the event, on which one presenter can be heard recommending that his colleagues download a copy of the Army and Marine Corps counterinsurgency manual. (Click below to hear the audio.) That’s because, he said, the opposition facing the industry is an “insurgency.”

Another told attendees that his company has several former military psychological operations, or “psy ops” specialists on staff, applying their skills in Pennsylvania.

Audio clips at the link. DAPL knows what they’re doing, inciting the public and expecting dramatic pushback. And influencing the police, state and federal governments to battle the public with them to protect the pipeline and corporate interests. DAPL wants war.

Unfortunately for that goal, we are being peaceful and representing with prayer.

Back to Goldtooth’s video update:
. . . and just causing a lot of trauma for our Water Protectors on the ground. And, there was an action earlier this morning, there’s folks that locked down at construction, to stop construction, [unintelligible] that occurred that were successful, that endeavor, but they weren’t able to, we didn’t have that many photos of it because police moved in pretty quick and shut off access to that site.

Meanwhile, over 300 Water Protectors did a walk of prayer and from what I understand, they were not on the easement itself but were on the land and doing a walk of prayer.

And the police, along, it was law enforcement, Dakota Access security, as well as the National Guard. So far, the National Guard has only stayed at the check point for traffic. They took that barricade down, they took out that checkpoint and they have since put up a new one. A military, a police barricade checkpoint for traffic on highway 1806.

But, this is the first time, really, that the National Guard was engaged in an operation to arrest people. They were helping corral folks, they were, um, pursuing Water Protectors who were on the land. So, at least 10 people were pepper sprayed as they were being pushed back towards the road.

As the group, the 300 people were out there praying, they were directed, they were given a clear instruction that if they stayed they would be arrested and they can move back, so the people said, okay, we’ll start moving. So they started moving back towards the road.

But this group had women and children, it had women in it, it had children in it, it had pregnant women, it had some elders, there was some children there. Again. This was a prayer march, a prayer walk, that was not near, it was not near people locking down on equipment, it was a prayer walk.

And as they were making their way back to the road, the police started aggravating the situation, the groups split into two.

There was larger group with a lot of journalists, a lot of people with media and press in that group. And, that group was all arrested. They were corralled, the police circled them up and started picking them off, one by one.

There was the second group that had some of our youth, from our Indigenous Youth Council in the camp there. Um, one of the Water Protectors is a young woman, there’s a video on my page, that I shared it, where she was giving a testimony about her experience and in that testimony she was talking about how police were aggressively poking with the batons to push them back.

There was a ten-year-old child in that group. [Who was separated from his family] They were trying to say, hey, let the ten-year-old child go. Um, in that process, protecting a ten-year-old child from the aggressive police, this young woman’s arm was struck with the baton, with a potential fracture in it. Protecting a ten-year-old child!

Uh, they ended up going, the child ended up going but they, a lot of the folks in that group ended up getting arrested, Um. You know . . . [deep breath out]

This is time a lot of folks are sharing information, like there is a general callout, and ongoing callout for people to come to camp, to Stand with Standing Rock. This is a general call to action for people.

I wanted to add something to this, is that, what we are in need of is (1) People that are willing to get arrested. (2) People that have training, a special focus on those that have actual training or have been in action experience, that know the ins and outs of civil, peaceful, civil disobedience and non-violent direct action.

There’s a general callout for people who might have building skills to help us with the winter camp, which is no where near, which is separate from the action space.

And, to also understand that if you’re going, it’s your duty to listen to local leadership. Listen to the local Indigenous leadership and follow directions. Follow what’s going on.

And, um, the other thing I want to end with is and I’m gonna end it here. Dakota Access isn’t the only fight. It’s not. I mean, it’s the big fight right now, it’s the big focus. And it can be one of the most monumental victories in our generation. Because not only will it demonstrate the power of Indigenous resistance and the power of self-determination and sovereignty, but it’s also a moment for us to decide our future relationship with fossil fuels.

Dude, this is gonna, you have no idea, this could potentially strike, such, it’s gonna be such a powerful moment for the climate justice movement but for us as a society. Or we’re gonna, we’re, demonstrating that people power is gonna decide the future of our society. And decide what just transition and climate justice looks like.

But, that’s not the only fight, we have a number of front line Indigenous struggles happening all across this planet and it has to be understood that we are doing this in solidarity with each and every one of them. And this is a coordinating effort.

It is no mistake that there is a fight against the same old pipeline down in Florida, or against an [L&G?] liquid natural gas pipeline in the Klamath River basin up in Oregon or there’s a struggle against oil port terminals and coal port terminals up in the Pacific Northwest. Or the fight against pipelines up in BC, or the East Coast, the AIM pipeline, that’s actually on the verge of being built, I know it’s called AIM, it’s kina weird, right? There’s a pipeline that’s going underneath fricking New York City and actually going right near a nuclear power plant!

And people are standing up and resisting. So the movement against Dakota Access is not just a movement happening in South Dakota or Iowa. It’s a movement that we’re all a part of and a movement to keep fossil fuels in the ground. It’s a bigger picture here. And each and everyone of us is a part of it. You’re a part of it. I’m a part of it. And were doing this for the land, the water, the air, our future generations.

Um, and it just pisses me off, just to see, to see, [heavy, exasperated sigh] the response and the ridiculous, absurd escalation by law enforcement in North Dakota, by law enforcement in Iowa, by law enforcement and by our elected leaders in, in, and the fact that this shit was not even . . . like, that, our elected leaders . . . everyone’s focused on the election, but there’s BEEN NO DISCUSSION ABOUT DAKOTA ACCESS, NO DISCUSSION ABOUT CLIMATE POLICY, NO DISCUSSION . . . what the…? lookit.

President Obama himself has stated that the greatest single threat to our society and to this planet is climate change. And yet the current, top running Democrat, the candidate for the Democratic Party has not, has refused to actually address that issue. That’s crazy and I [cellphone starts buzzing] I should reject that call . . . It’s ridiculous! So if you . . . I’m just gonna explain it there. I’m gonna be all angry Indian now. [typical Dallas chuckle]

It’s absolutely essential for us to talk about climate change and talk about the greater picture here. It’s much bigger than one pipeline. This about the future of all of us. So, not to be all dramatic, but it is.

I’ll talk to you guys later, I just wanted to give an update.

And look forward to the ongoing resistance, it’s not just the resistance that happened today, there’s much more beautiful movements that’s happening tomorrow and the day after.

So, hope you guys have a good day, much love to you. I’ve not read any of the comments, I just wanna give this update about what happened today.

We still have Water Protectors in jail. We have our legal teams on the ground helping support, you know, continue to fund the movement, fund the pipeline fights, you know.

And also, the biggest way you can help is look at home, research what resistance is happening in your homelands. Whether you’re, you know, fighting against the, the, freeway to go through your sacred mountain, uh, south mountain, the south of Phoenix, or whether you’re on the East Coast, West Coast for wherever it be, you best believe there’s a resistance there, and plug into it.

Support your local fights as well. Talk to you guys later.

Our people are still in custody. One man is missing five women from his family.

The frightening thing about Natives dealing with the police is detailed in this recent post by Meteor Blades: American Indians killed by cops at highest rate in the nation, but they’re invisible in the media.

Kit O’Connell from Mint Press News reported that police have beaten, harassed, and strip-searched activists: North Dakota Police ‘Out Of Control’ In Crackdown On Dakota Access Pipeline Protests.

As reports of police abuse at Dakota Access Pipeline protests accumulate, a civil liberties NGO warns that activists’ constitutional rights are under attack.

“In Standing Rock, the cops are out of control,” warned Cooper Brinson, staff attorney at Civil Liberties Defense Center, in a report published on Thursday.

Citing reports of humiliation, beatings by police, and unnecessary strip-searches of arrestees, Brinson wrote:

“The actions of police against the land and water protectors at Standing Rock are depraved, abusive, and disgraceful. They are exceedingly disrespectful and radically humiliating to the people who have occupied this land since time immemorial.”

This is on top of the strip search of Dave Archambault II, tribal chair of the Standing Rock Sioux, and Dr. Sara Jumping Eagle, a pediatrician and member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and Actress Shailene Woodley.

Now, regarding the photo at the top of this story, Winona LaDuke had this to say:
It makes me so sad. I want to feel like what we have been fighting for over the past hundred years is our dignity and that we as Indigenous people will be accorded full human rights.

This is not the case in Morton County. The endless aggression, strip-searching and attempts to humiliate our people are a continuation of 160 years of this. Morton County and North Dakota live in a colonial/military/pre- civil rights, old boy, paradigm. This is evidenced throughout North Dakota in the destruction of land and the desecration and oppression of native people and women. I pray for healing for my people and our land.

We are all stewards of the Earth

YOU can help stop dirty energy production:
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe – Dakota Access Pipeline Donation Fund

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