Thousands Protest Dakota Access Pipeline in L.A.; Video Shows BIA Officer Beating Water Protector

As reported by Democracy Now! headline news:

On Sunday, thousands also rallied in Los Angeles to protest the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline, as well as the Keystone XL pipeline. Trump has moved to revive construction of both pipelines, which have faced massive resistance from indigenous nations, local white farmers and environmental activists. Meanwhile, at Standing Rock in North Dakota, agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs attacked and arrested at least three water protectors on Saturday. A shaky video shows a BIA officer beating one of the water protectors with a baton.

[See Democracy Now!'s regular coverage of DAPL, and related matters, extending back many months.]

Standing Rock: 76 Arrested After Police Raid New Protest Camp

As reported by Democracy Now! headline news:

In North Dakota, 76 water protectors fighting the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline were arrested Wednesday, after militarized police raided a new protest camp set up on historic Sioux treaty land. The Last Child Camp was established on the west side of Highway 1806 near the main Oceti Sakowin Camp. The land is now owned by Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the pipeline. This is water protector and former North Dakota congressional candidate Chase Iron Eyes.

Chase Iron Eyes: "We just established a new camp called the Last Child’s Camp in honor of Crazy Horse, who created that warrior society in 1873."

Chase Iron Eyes was among the dozens arrested Wednesday. The Army Corps of Engineers appears poised to grant the final permit required for Energy Transfer Partners to finish construction. A group of military veterans, called Veterans Stand, has vowed to stop the construction of the pipeline. Meanwhile, a jury in Morton County has convicted eight water protectors of misdemeanor charges related to the resistance to the Dakota Access pipeline. In more Dakota Access news, a Seattle City Council committee has voted to divest $3 billion in city funds from Wells Fargo, amid concerns about Wells Fargo’s investments in the pipeline. The full Seattle City Council will vote on the legislation Monday.

[See Democracy Now!'s regular coverage of DAPL, and related matter, extending back many months.]

Resist the Dakota Access Pipeline

Greenpeace action alert:

Trump and his administration keep unleashing new attacks on our communities and the climate.

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of Exxon, as Secretary of State. And Trump and the acting Director of the Army Corp of Engineers have directed the Corps to grant the final permits needed to restart construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Even with these directives I know our movement will not sit by idly and accept this takeover of our government by the oil and gas industry. Indigenous water protectors at Standing Rock have shown us that uncompromising resistance gets results. We can still stop the Dakota Access Pipeline but we have to double down on our solidarity right now and resist the flow of money to the project.

Building this pipeline means trampling Indigenous rights and sovereinty and putting the Standing Rock Sioux’s drinking water at risk. Tell Citibank, one of the largest funders of the Dakota Access Pipeline, that it must pull funding today!

I spent three weeks in Standing Rock sharing my direct action skills with fellow indigenous water protectors and other allies. The movement resisting the pipeline is truly humbling. A reporter told me there was little chance that we would win this fight. And I said that I think — and a lot of others around camp think — that the pipeline project was already dead, the company just didn’t know it yet.

The struggle to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline has fostered unity, strength, and power for Indigenous peoples unlike anything I’ve seen before.

And it worked. The peaceful and prayerful camp at Standing Rock resulted in a victory when the Army Corps of Engineers didn’t grant the permits to drill under Lake Oahe.

Trump is trying to revive the pipeline right now, but the water protectors’ camps are still standing strong through the North Dakota winter. And while they do their part from the ground to protect sacred lands and clean water, you can do yours by putting pressure on Citibank.

Tell Citibank to stop funding human rights abuse and environmental destruction by ending its support of the Dakota Access Pipeline today!

Citibank has a duty — and clear corporate policy — to consider human rights and Indigenous peoples impacted by the projects it funds. And it is failing the Standing Rock Sioux and all the water protectors who have been attacked with tear gas, rubber bullets, and concussion grenades by militarized police.

Citibank takes the complaints of people like you very seriously — every message sent could mean the loss of a customer or potential customer. So let’s make sure its top executives hear us!

Please send a message to Citibank today to tell the company you won’t support a bank that funds dirty projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Thank you for your resistance,

Harmony Lambert
Chumash Nation
Direct Action Trainer, Greenpeace USA

P.S. Trump is already trying to revive the Dakota Access Pipeline but we can still stop the project from being funded. Tell Citibank to pull funding from the pipeline today!

Water Protectors Call for Support as Army Is Poised to Approve Dakota Access Pipeline Construction

As reported by Democracy Now! headline news:

And the Army Corps of Engineers appears poised to approve the final permit required to build the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline, which has faced months of resistance from hundreds of indigenous nations and non-Native allies. On Tuesday, North Dakota Senator John Hoeven said he had spoken with acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer and that Speer has directed the Army Corps to issue the easement for Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the pipeline, to drill underneath the Missouri River. The Standing Rock Sioux and many more fear a pipeline spill could contaminate the river, which serves as a drinking water source for millions. Water protectors say that if the easement is granted, the government would be illegally circumventing the process of an environmental impact statement, which was ordered in December under President Obama’s administration. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said, "To abandon the EIS would amount to a wholly unexplained and arbitrary change based on the President’s personal views and, potentially, personal investments." Members of the resistance camp Sacred Stone on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota have called for water protectors to come to support the resistance to the Dakota Access pipeline.

[See Democracy Now!'s regular coverage of DAPL, and related matters, extending back many months.]

Seattle Committee Responds to Standing Rock

As reported by attn:.