Food & Water Action Fund: #NoDAPL fight continues

Update and action alert from Eleanor Bravo, Senior National Pipeline Campaigner, Food & Water Action Fund:

Some good news — yesterday, the Army Corps of Engineers put a halt to the Dakota Access Pipeline by denying a key permit for the pipeline to cross the Missouri River next to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Dallas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network said:

“Today, the Obama Administration has told us they are not granting the final easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline. This is not just an amazing victory for Standing Rock and the Oceti Sakowin — but also for the many other Tribal Nations, grassroots Indigenous communities and millions of Americans around the country who have stood in solidarity with us here in person, at rallies around the country, and through phone calls and letters. This is a victory for organizing, and it doesn't stop now. We are asking our supporters to keep up the pressure, because while President Obama has granted us a victory today, that victory isn't guaranteed in the next administration. More threats are likely in the year to come, and we cannot stop until this pipeline is completely and utterly defeated, and our water and climate are safe.”¹

Ask President Obama to PERMANENTLY stop the Dakota Access Pipeline to protect the Standing Rock Sioux's drinking water and sovereign rights.

The fight is not over. The corporations behind the pipeline — Energy Transfer Partners and Sonoco Logistics — want to move full steam ahead with the project to carry Bakken crude oil across native lands in North Dakota and down through farmlands and across waterways in South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

And while the Obama administration is beginning to show the Standing Rock Sioux the dignity and respect they deserve, we know President-elect Trump will not do the same. Not only has Trump expressed his support for finishing the pipeline, but he is personally invested in Energy Transfer Partners — one of the multinational corporations building the pipeline.²

President Obama must come up with a permanent solution to stopping the Dakota Access Pipeline before Donald Trump takes office.

We can't allow a private oil and gas corporation to build a dirty and dangerous pipeline through sacred indigenous lands, put key waterways at risk and keep us addicted to climate-changing fossil fuels.

In the past months, following the lead of our indigenous allies on the ground, Food & Water Watch staff, volunteers and supporters have organized and supported solidarity actions across the country. We did the research on the financial backers of the pipeline to expose the ties of big banks,³ we’ve held fundraisers to support the camps, and our staff have traveled to Standing Rock to bring supplies and show support — in fact, we have staff are on the ground right now. Members and supporters like you have generated more than 70,000 letters and made more than 5,600 phone calls to get President Obama to finally take action. I can't thank you enough for all you've done.

While this decision from the Obama administration and the Army Corps of Engineers is an important moment, we must all continue to stand against the injustices against Native peoples and their allies.

In North Dakota, the water protectors are preparing to keep all five camps running throughout the harsh winter. I hope that supporters like you will continue to support those on the frontline. 

Here's what else you can do to help:

1. December is a Global Month of #NoDAPL action: Check out the map to find an event near you.
    
2. Donate to support the Water Protectors in resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. 
   • Indigenous Rising — a project of Indigenous Environmental Network.
   • Water Protector Legal Collective — to fund legal defense for those who have been arrested. 
   • Standing Rock Medic and Healer Council — to support those needing medical treatment as a result of violence inflicted on water protectors.
      
3. Other. Check out the #NoDAPL Solidarity website for more information and ways to support the indigenous-led movement to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline.

I'm so proud to stand with you and others across the country to support Native communities. Thank you for everything you've done to stop pipelines that threaten our communities, our drinking water and our precious climate.

In solidarity,

Eleanor Bravo
Senior National Pipeline Campaigner
Food & Water Action Fund
act(at)fwwatch(dot)org

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1. DAPL Easement Denied, but the Fight's Not Over, Sacred Stone Camp, December 5, 2016.
2. Trump supports completion of Dakota Access Pipeline, Reuters, December 5, 2016.
3. Who's Banking on the Dakota Access Pipeline? Food & Water Watch, September 6, 2016.

Today's Midwest Energy News headlines/links re: DAPL resistance

PIPELINES:
• The Dakota Access developer is “fully committed” to completing the project without rerouting it. (Forum News Service)
• President-elect Donald Trump has not said what he’ll do about the Dakota Access pipeline as he faces pressure from industry groups to overturn the Obama administration’s decision. (Associated Press)
• An attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council says: “Legally, this is an action that can be overturned easily.” (Mother Jones)
• The leader of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has asked protesters to return home and seeks to meet with Trump about the future of the pipeline. (Reuters)
• Work on the Dakota Access pipeline is nearly complete in Iowa. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
• Enbridge is confident that its plan to replace and increase the capacity of a pipeline through northern Minnesota will move forward. (Forum News Service)

Veterans at Standing Rock Ask Forgiveness for Military's Crimes Against Native Americans

As reported by Democracy Now! news headlines:

On the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota, Wes Clark Jr., the son of the retired U.S. Army general and former supreme allied commander of NATO, Wesley Clark Sr., led military veterans in a ceremony Monday to ask forgiveness from Native Americans for the crimes of the U.S. military. Thousands of Native and non-Native veterans have descended on Standing Rock to support the water protectors fighting the $3.8 billion pipeline in recent days. This is Wes Clark Jr.

Wes Clark Jr.: "We came. We fought you. We took your land. We signed treaties that we broke. We stole minerals from your sacred hills. We blasted the faces of our presidents onto your sacred mountain. And we took still more land. And then we took your children. And then we tried to take your language. We tried to eliminate your language, that God gave you and that the creator gave you. We didn’t respect you. We polluted your earth. We’ve hurt you in so many ways. And we’ve come to say that we are sorry, we are at your service, and we beg for your forgiveness."

That was Army veteran Wes Clark Jr., son of U.S. retired Army General Wes Clark Sr., kneeling at the feet of Leonard Crow Dog, Lakota medicine man and spiritual leader of the American Indian Movement who was part of the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee. On Sunday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied the Dakota Access pipeline company a permit to drill underneath the Missouri River—halting construction for now. Water protectors have committed to remain at the resistance camps and stay vigilant, and the company has vowed to build on. Click here to see our coverage of Sunday’s historic victory.

Victory! Thanks for Standing With Standing Rock

Message from Dave Archambault, II, Chairman, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe:

STAND WITH STANDING ROCK

Yesterday we were notified that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not grant the easement to cross Lake Oahe for the Dakota Access pipeline. Instead, they will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement regarding alternative routes for the pipeline. This action strongly vindicates what the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been saying all along – that we all have a responsibility to protect our waters for future generations.

This is an historic moment. For centuries, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and tribes across the country, have faced fundamental injustice at the hands of the federal government - which time and again took our lands and tried to destroy our way of life. Our Treaties and our human rights were ignored, our interests in protecting lands and waters were considered unimportant, and our voices were not heard.

It was this shared history that led Tribes to come together as never before to seek the protection of our waters against the threat of the Dakota Access pipeline. With peace and prayer, indigenous people from hundreds of Tribes said: our future is too important. We can no longer be ignored. The goal was to protect these sacred waters, and to do so in the name of our children.

And, with yesterday’s decision, it is clear that our voices have at long last been heard.

Yesterday’s decision demonstrates that, despite all the challenges that Tribes face and all of the terrible wrongs the federal government has committed in dealing with us over the years, justice for Indian people still remains possible. My thanks to the Obama Administration, and particularly to Assistant Secretary Darcy, for upholding the law and doing the right thing.

Yesterday’s decision belongs in large measure to the thousands of courageous people who put their lives on hold to stand with Standing Rock in support of a basic principle -- that water is life. At Standing Rock, our youth played an important role in spreading our message and I am so proud of what they have been able to accomplish.

But Standing Rock could not have come this far alone. Hundreds of tribes came together in a display of tribal unity not seen in hundreds of years. And many thousands of indigenous people from around the world have prayed with us and made us stronger. I am grateful to each of you. And, as we turn a page with yesterday’s decision, I look forward to working with many of you as you return to your home communities to protect your lands and waters, and the sovereignty of your tribes.

My thanks to all of our allies, here and around the world, each of whom contributed to this effort. I want to give a special mention to the veterans who have come to Standing Rock in recent days. I am sure that the strength of your message in support of Standing Rock, and the rights of the Water Protectors, had a powerful impact as the Army made its decision. I appreciate all you have done.

While today is a great day, there is still much that needs to be done to protect Tribal rights and ensure justice for indigenous people everywhere. Using peace and prayer as our guideposts, and with the teachings of our elders and with inspiration from our youth, I believe there is much we can accomplish for the future.

Sincerely,
Dave Archambault, II, Chairman
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

Update on December 5, 2016 by admin

Law360 has reported on this story. So too has Huffington Post. 350.org is calling for everyone to send a thank you letter to the water protectors for their good work. Thank yous to President Obama are also very much in order. (Or call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111 to leave a thank you message.)

Update on December 6, 2016 by admin

See Food & Water Action Fund's alert, where you can thank President Obama, and also urge him to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline for good!

Amy Goodman Tells CNN Media Has Responsibility to Cover Standoff at Standing Rock & Climate Change

As reported by Democracy Now!