Portside

Urgent email from NATIVE ORGANIZERS ALLIANCE 11/20/2016

Dear all,
Yes, there was an action tonight and an out of control/violation of human rights response by Morton County Sheriffs. We driving on social media the following message:

PLEASE CALL THE FOLLOWING AGENCIES NOW!

Demand that law enforcement STAND DOWN on Highway 1806. There is no room in a democracy to fire hose, tear gas or use rubber bullets on peaceful, unarmed water protectors.

ND Office of the Governor: 701-328-2200
Morton County Sheriff's Department: 701-328-8118 & 701-667-3330
ND National Guard: 701-333-2000

Some are actually getting through and talking with live operators.

I am here until Thanksgiving to meet with groups on next steps in the struggle. We have 22 days before DAPL will actually get to the point of drilling under the river which they vowed to do without any regard for the process established by the The Corp.

We are going to maximize pressure on the White House to order The Corp to deny the easement. A coalition of groups will be calling for a No ?Banksgiving social media campaign to ask people to close their accounts with banks invested in the pipeline which will be connected to the previously planned national actions on banks on December 1.

The camp now is a majority non Native which has created a difficult dynamic for the Oceti Shakowin and tribal leaderships. There are many difficulties as a result. It is urgent to ask that non-Native allies who decide to come to Standing Rock come with a perspective of the historic significance of the Native initiative of this movement, decisive importance of Native leadership in maintaining the spiritual, strategic approach to direct actions as we enter the last critical stages of stopping the pipeline.

It is a difficult time, but people power, principled alliances and prayer have brought us this far, and can lead  to protecting the river as we go into the next stages of threats to Mother Earth.

My heart is full from all the support from this list, groups across the country and internationally,

Judith

JUDITH LE BLANC
Director
NATIVE ORGANIZERS ALLIANCE
Cell 917.806.8775 | Skype jleblanc12 | Twitter @judithleblanc  
nativeorganizing.org | native organizers alliance Facebook  | @NativeOrganizer

Clashes between protesters and authorities over the Dakota Access Pipeline escalated Sunday night after an estimated 400 people tried to breach a law enforcement barrier, the Morton County Sheriff's Office said.

The sheriff's office described the clash as a "riot" prompted by "very aggressive" activists, while protesters said authorities used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon in below-freezing temperatures.

NBC News couldn't independently confirm the use of rubber bullets, and a sheriff's spokesman, Rob Keller, told NBC News that no water cannon were deployed. He said the water was being sprayed from a fire truck to control blazes as they are being set by activists.

In a statement, the sheriff's office said tear gas and other "less than lethal means" were being used after protesters "engaged in organized tactical movement and attempted to flank and attack" a law enforcement line near a bridge.

The bridge had been closed since late October, when it was damaged in a fire after authorities evicted protesters from property owned by the pipeline developer.

The incident Sunday began at 6 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) after protesters removed a truck that had been there since Oct. 27, the statement said.

In an account posted on Facebook, Indigenous Environmental Network organizer Dallas Goldtooth said "water protectors" removed the vehicle to gain access to North Dakota Highway 1806.

"It was to open up the road so in the daylight the world can see the face of militarized law enforcement and state oppression," Goldtooth wrote. "Police in response are using a water cannon, tear gas and concussion grenades on the crowd!!"

By 8:30 p.m., the sheriff's office said, one person had been arrested and protesters were "attempting to start multiple fires."

The clash comes days after organizers held coordinated demonstrations across the country to protest a 1,170-mile oil pipeline that has generated the largest American Indian protest movement in modern history. Thousands of people have flocked to North Dakota, where the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe argues that the proposed pipeline could permanently contaminate its water source, the Missouri River.

Energy Transfer Partners, which is behind the pipeline, has said that it has taken measures to prevent such leaks and that the pipeline is far safer than transporting oil with trucks or trains.