Lakota historian Nick Estes talks about the violent origins of Thanksgiving and his book Our History Is the Future. “This history … is a continuing history of genocide, of settler colonialism and, basically, the founding myths of this country,”
"Enough is enough. Pipelines leak - it's not a question of 'if', but 'when.'"
Thanks to grassroots organizing, the CLC, for the first time, took a clear position of solidarity with a Palestinian-led human rights campaign. The convention also showed progress on Indigenous rights, racism, queer or trans rights, mental health, and environmental justice. The potential of that progress, however, is limited by a "business-as-usual" approach by too many union leaders. What matters now is how union members act on the progress made.
In at least four states, encampments built as bases for pipeline resistance have emerged. They face corporations emboldened by Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress, which have used their first weeks in power to grant fossil fuel industry wishes, overturning environmental protections, appointing Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, and reviving the halted Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipeline projects.
The day after the Army handed down its decision on the Dakota Access Pipeline, it announced a public hearing on water permits for another controversial Energy Transfer Partners project: the Bayou Bridge Pipeline, which would cut through the ecologically important Atchafalaya Basin wetlands in south central Louisiana. The hearing will take place in Baton Rouge on Jan. 12.
For the first time Canada might be capable of shipping significant amounts of oil to markets other than the United States (assuming the project is actually completed — a big question mark given ongoing First Nations' legal challenges and resistance from British Columbians).
"I signed up to serve my country and my people."
The shocking images of the National Guard destroying tepees and sweat lodges and arresting elders this week remind us that the battle over the Dakota Access Pipeline is part of the longest-running drama in American history -- the United States Army versus Native Americans.
Dallas Goldtooth, a veteran organizer of the Keystone XL fight, is amazed at the historic support from tribes at Standing Rock—even tribes that rely on resource extraction.
Live From Standing Rock: Protesters Face Down Dogs, Pepper Spray. Donald Trump: I Love War. What the Earth Would Look Like If All the Ice Melted. Trump Challenged Over Ties to Mob-Linked Gambler. Angela Davis Delivers the 17th Steve Biko Memorial Lecture.
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