Jill Stein Spray Paints a Bulldozer and More Protesters Lock Down at #NoDAPL
Wednesday, 07 September 2016 00:00 By Kelly Hayes, Truthout | Report
Jules, a Water Protector from the Oglala Lakota nation, locks herself to
construction equipment to halt construction of the Dakota Access pipeline.
(Photo: Desiree Kane)
Over two thousand Natives have gathered in Standing Rock, North Dakota, in
what some are calling the largest Indigenous convergence in more than a
century. More than 100 nations are represented at multiple camps, with
Natives travelling to Standing Rock from reservations and cities around the
country, all with one aim: to thwart construction of the Dakota Access
pipeline. If constructed, the Dakota Access pipeline would transport crude
oil from the North Dakota Bakken region through South Dakota and Iowa into
Illinois -- crossing the Missouri in treaty lands. On Tuesday, Green Party
Presidential Candidate Jill Stein also joined protesters on the frontline,
speaking alongside Indigenous movement leaders and vandalizing a bulldozer
as protesters cheered. Stein spray-painted the words "I approve this
message" on a piece of equipment that had been shut down by protesters.
Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said Tuesday that Stein would be
charged with trespassing and vandalism.
"This is a human-rights crisis," Stein stated on Twitter.
Since April 1, Natives have encamped and held space along the proposed route
of the Dakota Access pipeline. As the legal battles around the pipeline
continue to unfold in court, Natives who have converged in Standing Rock are
escalating their tactics to stop construction. Last week, a Native man
halted pipeline construction for 6.5 hours by locking himself to a piece of
construction equipment with a blockade apparatus. Over the weekend, a large
group of Natives, including families with children, was attacked by dogs and
pepper-sprayed by pipeline security for stepping into a work area.
(Photo: Desiree Kane)
Native organizers say the site where the dog attacks occurred was targeted
for destruction by Dakota Access, in response to a legal attempt by the
tribe to have site protected.
"On Saturday, Dakota Access Pipeline and Energy Transfer Partners brazenly
used bulldozers to destroy our burial sites, prayer sites and culturally
significant artifacts," Tribal Chairman David Archambault II said in a
statement. "They did this on a holiday weekend, one day after we filed court
papers identifying these sacred sites. The desecration of these ancient
places has already caused the Standing Rock Sioux irreparable harm."
As bulldozers tore through a burial ground described in the tribe's motion,
a large crowd of Natives took defensive action by stepping onto the
worksite, in an effort to halt the machines. They were met with a seemingly
amateur security force, apparently hired by the pipeline company. A number
of the men held snarling dogs on leashes, and some actively sicced dogs on
the protesters.
Jan Hasselman, attorney for the Standing Rock Sioux, denounced the company's
attack on the site where the dog attacks occurred. "The Tribe has been
seeking to vindicate its rights peacefully through the court," Hasselman
said in a statement. "But Dakota Access Pipeline used evidence submitted to
the Court as their roadmap for what to bulldoze. That's just wrong."
Direct actions continued on Tuesday, as two Native Water Protectors locked
themselves to construction equipment at a Dakota Access worksite.
Jules locked down at a Dakota Access construction site to send a "sacred"
message. (Photo: Dell Hambleton)Jules, a Water Protector from the Oglala
Lakota nation, locked herself to construction equipment with a certainty of
purpose. "I am locked to send a message that our water is sacred. Our women
are sacred. Our children are sacred," Jules told Unicorn Riot, while still
attached to the construction equipment.
By the day's end, a federal judge ordered a temporary work stoppage for a
particular stretch of the pipeline, where Natives say sacred sites were
intentionally destroyed over the weekend. However, this momentary, partial
victory isn't likely to slow the escalation of this historic struggle:
Solidarity actions are still being planned in cities around the country in
the coming days and weeks.
Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
KELLY HAYES
Kelly Hayes is a direct action trainer and a cofounder of The Chicago Light
Brigade and the direct action collective Lifted Voices. She is community
relations associate and a contributing writer at Truthout and her
photography is featured in the "Freedom and Resistance" exhibit of the
DuSable Museum of African American History. Kelly's contribution to the
anthology Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? stems from her work as an
organizer against state violence and her ongoing analysis of movements in
the United States, as featured in Truthout and the blog Transformative
Spaces.
RELATED STORIES
Standing Rock Sioux Chairman: Dakota Access Pipeline "Is Threatening the
Lives of My Tribe"
By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! | Video Report
Where Movements Meet: Black Lives Matter Organizers Visit #NoDAPL
By Kelly Hayes, Truthout | News Analysis
Whatever It Takes: Another Day on the Front Lines of #NoDAPL
By Desiree Kane, Kelly Hayes, Truthout | Report
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Jill Stein Spray Paints a Bulldozer and More Protesters Lock Down at #NoDAPL
Wednesday, 07 September 2016 00:00 By Kelly Hayes, Truthout | Report
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. Jules, a Water Protector from the Oglala Lakota nation, locks
herself to construction equipment to halt construction of the Dakota Access
pipeline. (Photo: Desiree Kane)
. Over two thousand Natives have gathered in Standing Rock, North
Dakota, in what some are calling the largest Indigenous convergence in more
than a century. More than 100 nations are represented at multiple camps,
with Natives travelling to Standing Rock from reservations and cities around
the country, all with one aim: to thwart construction of the Dakota Access
pipeline. If constructed, the Dakota Access pipeline would transport crude
oil from the North Dakota Bakken region through South Dakota and Iowa into
Illinois -- crossing the Missouri in treaty lands. On Tuesday, Green Party
Presidential Candidate Jill Stein also joined protesters on the frontline,
speaking alongside Indigenous movement leaders and vandalizing a bulldozer
as protesters cheered. Stein spray-painted the words "I approve this
message" on a piece of equipment that had been shut down by protesters.
Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said Tuesday that Stein would be
charged with trespassing and vandalism.
"This is a human-rights crisis," Stein stated on Twitter.
Since April 1, Natives have encamped and held space along the proposed route
of the Dakota Access pipeline. As the legal battles around the pipeline
continue to unfold in court, Natives who have converged in Standing Rock are
escalating their tactics to stop construction. Last week, a Native man
halted pipeline construction for 6.5 hours by locking himself to a piece of
construction equipment with a blockade apparatus. Over the weekend, a large
group of Natives, including families with children, was attacked by dogs and
pepper-sprayed by pipeline security for stepping into a work area.
(Photo: Desiree Kane)
Native organizers say the site where the dog attacks occurred was targeted
for destruction by Dakota Access, in response to a legal attempt by the
tribe to have site protected.
"On Saturday, Dakota Access Pipeline and Energy Transfer Partners brazenly
used bulldozers to destroy our burial sites, prayer sites and culturally
significant artifacts," Tribal Chairman David Archambault II said in a
statement. "They did this on a holiday weekend, one day after we filed court
papers identifying these sacred sites. The desecration of these ancient
places has already caused the Standing Rock Sioux irreparable harm."
As bulldozers tore through a burial ground described in the tribe's motion,
a large crowd of Natives took defensive action by stepping onto the
worksite, in an effort to halt the machines. They were met with a seemingly
amateur security force, apparently hired by the pipeline company. A number
of the men held snarling dogs on leashes, and some actively sicced dogs on
the protesters.
Jan Hasselman, attorney for the Standing Rock Sioux, denounced the company's
attack on the site where the dog attacks occurred. "The Tribe has been
seeking to vindicate its rights peacefully through the court," Hasselman
said in a statement. "But Dakota Access Pipeline used evidence submitted to
the Court as their roadmap for what to bulldoze. That's just wrong."
Direct actions continued on Tuesday, as two Native Water Protectors locked
themselves to construction equipment at a Dakota Access worksite.
Jules locked down at a Dakota Access construction site to send a "sacred"
message. (Photo: Dell Hambleton)Jules, a Water Protector from the Oglala
Lakota nation, locked herself to construction equipment with a certainty of
purpose. "I am locked to send a message that our water is sacred. Our women
are sacred. Our children are sacred," Jules told Unicorn Riot, while still
attached to the construction equipment.
By the day's end, a federal judge ordered a temporary work stoppage for a
particular stretch of the pipeline, where Natives say sacred sites were
intentionally destroyed over the weekend. However, this momentary, partial
victory isn't likely to slow the escalation of this historic struggle:
Solidarity actions are still being planned in cities around the country in
the coming days and weeks.
Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
Kelly Hayes
Kelly Hayes is a direct action trainer and a cofounder of The Chicago Light
Brigade and the direct action collective Lifted Voices. She is community
relations associate and a contributing writer at Truthout and her
photography is featured in the "Freedom and Resistance" exhibit of the
DuSable Museum of African American History. Kelly's contribution to the
anthology Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? stems from her work as an
organizer against state violence and her ongoing analysis of movements in
the United States, as featured in Truthout and the blog Transformative
Spaces.
Related Stories
Standing Rock Sioux Chairman: Dakota Access Pipeline "Is Threatening the
Lives of My Tribe"
By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! | Video ReportWhere Movements Meet: Black
Lives Matter Organizers Visit #NoDAPL
By Kelly Hayes, Truthout | News AnalysisWhatever It Takes: Another Day on
the Front Lines of #NoDAPL
By Desiree Kane, Kelly Hayes, Truthout | Report
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