Standing with Standing Rock - What You Can Do - #StandWithStandingRock

NoDAPL - No Dakota Access Pipeline - Stand with the Native Peoples at Standing Rock. You have seen the stories, the posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social media. What can you do? Can you go to Standing Rock? Why not contribute or send needed supplies. Can you host a solidarity house party? Here's how you can help, how your solidarity can be expressed.

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.,photo credit: Josh Fox <joshfoxwow@gmail.com>
By Nidhi Prakash
November 2, 2016
photo credit: AP // Fusion
photo credit: Quixote Center

As months of protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota came to a head this past week, with at least 140 people arrested according to activists, there has been a groundswell of support for the Native American and environmentalist protesters gathered at several sites along the pipeline’s proposed path.

On Monday, people “checked in” at the site on Facebook in an effort to derail what activists alleged was a strategy used by law enforcement to target them based on their location according to the social network. The check-ins likely just amounted to a show of support, but amplified the #NoDAPL message nonetheless.

Native American protesters say the crude oil pipeline runs through traditional sacred land and they fear it could contaminate drinking water that supplies several nearby reservations. The Standing Rock Sioux, the tribe with the reservation closest to the pipeline’s North Dakota stretch, have been joined by several other tribes and environmentalists demonstrating against the project.

photo credit: Josh Fox 

As protesters enter their fourth month camped out at several sites near the pipeline’s 1,172-mile route, here’s what you can do to support them:

Make a donation directly to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

These donations help the Tribe with legal, sanitary, and emergency supplies on the reservation. The tribe is taking payments either via PayPalor checks made out and mailed to:

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Attention: Donations
PO Box D
Building #1
North Standing Rock Avenue
Fort Yates, ND 58538

Donate clothing or food to the Sacred Stone protest campsite

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You can help with supplies via this this Amazon wish list, this GoFundMe page, cash or checks to the following addresses for the Sacred Stone campsite where protesters are gathered:

Sacred Stone Camp P.O. Box 1011, Fort Yates, ND 58538

or

202 Main Street Fort Yates, ND 58538

The protest camp’s most pressing needs are firewood, tipis and tipi materials, a pick-up truck with four-wheel drive, trailers and campers for shelter, snow tires, gift cards for Lowes or Menards to purchase these supplies, wall tents with wood stoves and poles, and sleeping bags for sub-zero temperatures. A full list of supplies needed can be found here.

Donate to the Standing Rock Sioux’s legal fund, which they’re using to challenge the project in court

A few weeks ago, the Standing Rock Sioux lost a bid in federal court to halt work on the pipeline because they said the Army Corps. of Engineers granted development permits to Energy Transfer Partners without thorough tests and consultation. They have said they will appeal the judgement. You can donate to the fund at this GoFundMe page, which has reached $1.2 million of its $1.5 million goal.

Check in on Facebook
This might seem like an inconsequential act, but checking in to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation on Facebook is a show of solidarity and draws attention to this conflict, though it's unclear whether mass check-ins disrupt an alleged police strategy to target activists through their Facebook locations.
Send Energy Transfer Partners a message
The company that's building the Dakota Access Pipe Line, Energy Transfer Partners, is based in Texas. Reaching out to the company directly is another way of expressing concern over their $3.7 billion plans. You can reach their corporate headquarters at 214-981-0700
or
8111 Westchester Drive
Dallas, TX 75225
Get in touch with the office of North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple

Dalrymple has been mostly silent on the pipeline and the protests over the past few months, except that he called in the National Guard to deal with protesters and expressed his support for police arresting more than 140 protesters at one protest site last week.

Dalrymple’s office can be reached at 701-328-2200
or
600 East Boulevard Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58505-0100

Sign this petition to get the White House involved

This petition already has more than 347,000 signatures–well above the 100,000 it needed in order to require a response from the White House. But it’s still open and a good way to show the federal government how many people have concerns about the pipeline.

According to the company, the DAPL is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year, although it’s the subject of two lawsuits and a partial halt-work order from the federal Department of Justice, at least until the Army Corps. of Engineers re-evaluates public land near Lake Oahe. Until then, the fight is far from over.

watch here.
photo credit: Tariq Brownotter, Rezpect Our Water, Standing Rock Youth // Fellowship of Reconciliation
By Rev. Anthony Grimes,
Director of Campaigns & Strategy, Fellowship of Reconciliation
November 3, 2016

Since April, members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have been fighting the 1,172-mile, four-state, Dakota Access Pipeline construction by setting up camp along the banks of Lake Oahe in North Dakota. There are several camps currently in place, including Oceti Sakowin, Sacred Stone and Red Warrior.

The pipeline was originally planned to go near Bismarck, a predominantly white town. After understandable backlash against an oil pipeline being routed through their neighborhood, the Army Corps of Engineers, the State of North Dakota and the Energy Transfer Partners decided to risk the safety and health of a Native community instead.

Oil leaks are hardly unprecedented: just this Monday, there was a major pipeline explosion in Alabama (now affecting gasoline access throughout the Southeast); and this summer, elsewhere in North Dakota, 20,000 gallons of oil spilled from a pipeline before being fixed. The DAPL pipeline, which would transport crude oil from fracking, poses the same human and environmental threats as the Keystone XL pipeline.

credit: Entangled Roots Press // Fellowship of Reconciiation
And so, along with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Yankton Sioux Tribe, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is ultimately responsible for granting the construction permits.
#NoDAPL solidarity rally
photo credit: Fibonacci Blue, Flickr, Creative Commons // Fellowship of Reconciliation

In a parallel movement, local Indigenous activists have organized under nonviolent principles as Water Protectors, putting their bodies on the line to prevent construction.

As a result, they have been met by unprecedented violence by both state police and private security contractors using attack dogs and pepper spray.

Last week, law enforcement escalated the violence by using riot police to arrest 141 nonviolent Water Protectors and confining them to dog kennels.

Given that Native Americans and Alaska Natives are killed by police more than any other group, this coordinated attack by law enforcement is particularly disturbing.

Water Protectors have been subject to numerous death threats, and earlier this week, a suspicious fire was purposely set near Oceti Sakowin Camp, making those threats real.

While the #NoDAPL movement is centered on Indigenous self-determination and confronting colonial violence, the climate change implications of a major oil pipeline are also clear, which is a major reason why environmental organizations like the Sierra Club, 350.org, Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, Earthjustice, and Food and Water Watch oppose the project.

But you don't need to take our word for it — you can listen to voices from Standing Rock to hear from the Water Protectors directly.

As Sahar wrote earlier this week:

Our Indigenous brothers and sisters of Standing Rock are calling on clergy and faith leaders to join them in the next coming weeks. Imagine if this oil pipe line was going through Vatican City, Bethlehem, Mecca, Medina, Najaf, Karbala, Jerusalem, Varanasi, Bodhgaya, Lhasa, Haifa, Salt Lake City, Pushkar, Anandpur Sahib, Stonehenge, Nazareth, Galilee, the Pyramids of Gaza, Manchu Picchu, Qufu, Yawata, Qum, Jaipur, Udvada, the Wudang Mountains, Babylon, Zion, Canterbury, or any other sacred site.

Join us in taking action
If you'd like to watch the clergy action tomorrow online, be sure to follow the FOR Facebook and FOR Twitter accounts. Although Internet access is sometimes difficult to find on site, if any live streams are available we will share them there. You can also check the Unicorn Riot live stream, which has managed to transmit many of the actions at the camp.
In North Dakota, Indigenous leaders from the Standing Rock Nation are fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). This pipeline will carry over a half a million barrels of oil per day from the Bakken Oil Shale Fields. The route the pipeline will take, if approved, will be laid under multiple bodies of water, to include the Missouri River located a half mile upstream from the Standing Rock reservation. This river not only supplies drinking water to the tribe but is a major tributary to the Mississippi River where more than 10 million people depend on it for both human consumption and irrigation for the nation's "bread basket." This pipeline when it fails - and it will fail - will destroy land and water with little, if any, chance of remediation / cleanup. We only need to look at the devastating Yellowstone River, Kalamazoo, and many others. Protesters have continued to resist construction peacefully, despite surveillance and intimidation from the state. Click here to learn more - find out how you can join them - support them - and spread the word of this historic coming together of many nations to protect our precious water for the next Seven Generations.

 
 
 
Monetary & Supply Donations Can Be Sent To:
 
Sacred Stone Camp
P.O. Box 1011
Fort Yates, ND 58538
Sunday evening's call with Red Warrior Camp, Black Lives Matter, and many others was inspiring. The bravery of those organizing on the front lines of the Dakota Access Pipeline resistance are doing the incredible work of speaking for our most fundamental, life-giving resource -- water.
There are many ways to engage with and support those who are organizing on the front lines, and we wanted to pass along several so that you can find a way to support this work that makes sense for you:
And while corporate greed doesn't operate on a calendar, elections do -- so we wanted to pass along another exciting engagement opportunity that will expire very soon. We're thrilled to partner with Color of Change to support their Voting While Black program, which uses brand-new technology to let you text thousands of Black voters across the country in just a few hours, in a way that explicitly names and centers a racial justice framework.
Sign up here for a shift this Friday, November 4 (the day that Color of Change is asking SURJ to show up in force to help.
It's easy to do from wherever you are -- whether in your home or in a coffee shop or in a library, you just need a computer and internet access. And participating in the program will not only help reach thousands of potential Black voters before Election Day, but will do so in a way that builds power for people, not for candidates.
We hope you'll find multiple ways to engage this week as we collectively move forward toward a vision of liberation for all...
In the struggle,
photo credit: Josh Fox 
On Monday, I asked you to call the White House and urge President Obama to deny all permits for the Dakota Access Pipeline. The bad news is that many folks weren't able to get through, but the GREAT NEWS is that it's because the lines were swamped! If the lines were busy when you tried before, can you try again?
Here's the info: Dial the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell President Obama to conduct a full environmental impact statement (EIS) and deny all permits for the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Is the line still busy or are you looking to do more? Here is a list of things you can do right now to stand in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their allies on the ground:
Thank you for standing with Standing Rock at this critical time.
Emily Southard, ClimateTruth.org
          =====
Flashbang grenades. Sound cannons. Tear gas. Rubber bullets flying through the air. Attack dogs. The photos out of Cannon Ball, North Dakota look like scenes from a war zone.
Yet what we are seeing is the violence which police have used against members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their allies. For months, peaceful water protectors have endured violent repression as they block the path of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which would cross below the Missouri River and endanger their water supply, sacred sites, and way of life.
Last Thursday, the assault by law enforcement authorities escalated as they arrested over 140 water protectors. Police forcibly evacuated a camp established on land that the Sioux say belongs to the tribe, affirmed in an 1851 treaty. Other camps are continuing their peaceful presence nearby. The violence and interference with tribal sovereignty must stop.
Widespread public pressure has already forced the Obama administration to pause construction at the location where the pipeline would cross the river. Standing Rock's water protectors are now calling for pressure on President Obama to shut down the project once and for all.
Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline went forward without a full environmental impact statement - and completing one would be likely to be the final nail in the coffin for this project. In fact, an environmental review is what led Dakota Access to redirect the pipeline from its original route - where an oil spill would have threatened the water supply of the 92% white population of Bismarck. Now, the Standing Rock Sioux face the same threat.
The move to endanger Native communities is no accident. The fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline is one face of an ongoing struggle for Native American sovereignty and survival. Today, Native Americans are more likely to be killed by law enforcement than any other group. They are also more likely to experience sexual assault or rape than any other group. The poverty rate at the Standing Rock reservation is nearly triple the national average. The violence that originated from the European colonization of North America lives on today in many forms, including threats to Native American lands, water, and livelihoods. The Dakota Access Pipeline is only the latest example.
Truthfully yours,
Emily, Brant, Amanda, Brandy, Daniela and the rest of the ClimateTruth.org team
MORE INFORMATION
  • "Full Exclusive Report: Dakota Access Pipeline Co. Attacks Native Americans with Dogs & Pepper Spray," Democracy Now!, 09-06-2016
  • "North Dakota pipeline: 141 arrests as protesters pushed back from site," The Guardian, 10-28-2016
  • "How To Talk About #NoDAPL: A Native Perspective" by Kelly Hayes, Transformative Spaces, 10-27-2016
  • "One-in-four Native Americans and Alaska Natives are living in poverty," Pew Research Center, 06-13-2014
  • "A History of Native Americans Protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline," Mother Jones, 09-09-2016
  • "Why Native American women still have the highest rates of rape and assault," High Country News, 06-07-2016
This Friday there will be an orientation on how to "come correct" if you're considering going to Standing Rock, or would like to support through local solidarity efforts. LJ Amsterdam of the Standing Rock Solidarity Network http://www.standingrocksolidaritynetwork.org/ will be leading the training. Topics include: settler colonialism + decolonization 101, solidarity, the Fort Laramie treaties, cultural protocols for Oceti Sakowin camp (the main camp), and how to show up in an Indigenous organizing space and ceremonial camp. A logistics orientation + suggestions for local solidarity work will also be covered. 
In NYC: come to the Soho Room at Hosteling International at 891 Amsterdam Ave
Not in NYC: the orientation will be streamed on Facebook Live from the solidarity network's page, starting at 6:15pm EST. 
If you're non-Native and you or anyone you know is planning on heading to Standing Rock, suggest perusing this resource packet that was put together by the Standing Rock Solidarity Network to help folks get oriented and bring their most-informed selves.
Encourage everybody to take a look at the #StandingRockSyllabus  
What I'm hearing from the Native folks I know on the ground is that they're tremendously excited about all the support... and that they want to make sure that, when folks come, the come correct. It's a tremendous learning and alignment process for all of us!