What’s going on at Standing Rock??

Unless you’ve been hiding under a (Standing) Rock for the past few months, you will no doubt have heard about the protests happening south of the border by now. If not, here’s a recap – Dakota Access construction workers, private security, and local law enforcement have been stuck in a months-long standoff with Indigenous protestors, activists, and allies over a proposed pipeline to be built near Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. Members of the Standing Rock Sioux maintain the pipeline goes through sacred ceremonial and burial sites, and that the risk of oil leakage could directly affect the Missouri River, a water source for millions of people. Dakota Access say they’ll use advanced pipeline technology to limit leaks, and will be careful around sacred sites.

Thousands of people have traveled to North Dakota from all over the US, Canada, and even South America to show solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux. Protest leaders and chiefs have called for peaceful demonstration, though there have been instances of DAPL private security and North Dakota law enforcement using pepper spray, dogs, water cannons, sound cannons, and armoured vehicles to remove protestors from construction sites. Video footage has sprung up all over the internet leading to global outrage, and there have been statements made by United Nations advisory groups and representatives. As awareness continues to spread, more and more people are lending their voices, donations, and even Facebook check-ins to the cause – the BBC is calling it the “largest gathering of Native Americans in more than 100 years.” 

It is, then, both a tremendous and tragic situation – solidarity across many peoples, nations, and walks of life, brought together in what American Indian Movement founder Clyde Bellecourt calls “the most beautiful thing [he] has ever seen,” but that it happens under such unfortunate circumstances cannot be denied. As debate drags on and the pipeline issue moves its way through the courts, tensions will continue to rise as human beings find themselves on opposite sides of the protest. Regardless of where you stand on the issue of fossil fuel extraction, one cannot deny the sheer humanity of what this moment represents in history – that people feel so keenly and strongly about a cause as to make their voices heard, that people are speaking for the earth. We will not hope but for the continued safety and solidarity of all those involved at Standing Rock.

Peace.

If you want to read more about what’s going on at Standing Rock, click here or here. 

Photo taken from Outside Online. PC: Sara Lafleur-Vetter