https://socialistaction.org/2016/10/31/minneapolis-rally-protests-use-of-sheriffs-deputies-in-standing-rock-attack/
Minneapolis rally protests use of sheriff’s deputies in Standing Rock attack
/ 1 day ago
nov-2016-minn-no-daplBy KAREN SCHRAUFNAGEL and JOHN SCHRAUFNAGEL
— MINNEAPOLIS — Close to 1500 people protested on Friday, Oct. 28,
outside Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek’s office. The protesters
were angered by the use of Hennepin County deputies and equipment
brutalizing Indigenous people and their allies at Standing Rock.
Sheriff’s departments from across the Midwest have been sending public
resources to aid private corporations in removing water protectors from
their own land, so that an unnecessary and dangerous pipeline can be
built. Citizens from these areas are rising up to protest the use of our
tax dollars to attack Native sovereignty in the name of insatiable
capitalist greed. Sheriff’s deputies from Madison returned home after
successful protests in that city, but deputies and equipment from
Minneapolis and surrounding areas remain.
On Sunday, Oct. 30, more than 100 people attended a “No DAPL Emergency
Response Action Briefing” in Minneapolis, where updates from Standing
Rock were shared and myriad ways to help / participate were discussed.
People were urged to go to Standing Rock if they were able.
In a phone briefing from the Front Lines provided by Honor the Earth, we
learned that as of Oct. 30 the pipeline is within 750 yards of the
Missouri River. Indigenous bodies are the last line of defense. On
Thursday, as we protested in Hennepin County, police and National Guard
troops violently attacked the peaceful protectors at Standing Rock.
Thane Maxwell of Honor the Earth reported: “It is really a war zone
here. We are peacefully facing down a full arsenal of military weaponry.
Journalists and medics are being targeted. We believe 142 people were
arrested—almost all charged with felonies. We can’t say for sure because
the ‘authorities’ are withholding information. They were taken to four
different jails in four different counties. When bail was finally
announced it was set at $1500 each. Do the math.” [I did the math,
that’s $213,000 in bail money].
He continued: “Over the last months, we have seen an amazing escalation
in the tactics being used against us. Now they are torturing people.
Nearly everyone arrested was strip searched, they were subjected to
severe heat and cold, some were kept naked in dog kennels, pain
compliance positions were employed, water boarding was reported.”
One of those taken to the Morton County Jail, Yosh, reported to us about
the treatment he received: “On the long ride to the jail we were
shackled with our outdoor winter gear on. The heat was on full blast. We
arrived at the jail and were not booked in / no citations were issued.
They do this so we cannot bond out. They took all our clothes and gave
us orange jumpsuits—no socks, no blankets, no pillows. The ventilation
system was on and it was cold. They crammed 35-45 of us into cells
designed to hold no more than 15 people. Then they turned off the
ventilation system, and the smell was very bad (prior to our arrest we
had walked eight miles in warm gear, plus on the bus we were all
sweating badly).
“They also used a type of psychological torture. They asked if any of us
wanted to be moved to another jail (three hours away); people didn’t
want to do that. Then they asked who wants to be bailed out. I raised my
hand right away because I had family there waiting to bail me out. They
seemed to be processing me but they took me out to get on a bus. I
protested that I was supposed to be getting bailed out. So they brought
me back inside. They waited for my family to leave and allowed enough
time for them to return to the camp before they gave me my phone call.
They know there is no cell service at the camp. They waited to give me
my phone call until they knew I would not reach anyone. That is just
what they do.”
We also learned in our briefing that the helicopters that continuously
fly over the camp withdrew last night just before a major prairie fire
started. The constant law enforcement presence was nowhere to be seen
and the prairie right near the camp was allowed to burn and burn. There
is no question as to whom law enforcement in this situation “serves and
protects.”
Obviously, anyone who is able is encouraged to go to Standing Rock. They
need people willing to risk arrest (and possible torture) to join the
front lines, but they also need a lot of people in the camp. We are told
to come “but don’t come as a tourist”—respect the leadership in the
camp, be prepared to work in the kitchens, chopping wood, and unloading
and sorting supplies. There is a lot to do to keep the camp running.
People are living there, and that takes work.
But if you can’t come to the camp, don’t think there is nothing you can
do. They have spent more than $300,000 on bail so far. So the legal
defense funds are in need of constant replenishing.
People are encouraged to call and protest at their local Army Corps of
Engineers. The Army Corps of Engineers does not have the authority to
permit this pipeline. This is Sovereign land. Treaties need to be
respected. Call the White House (202-456-1111). There were 31,000 calls
last week. Obama can stop this. Put the people and the planet before profit!
Photo of Minneapolis rally by Karen Schraufnagel / Socialist Action.
Karen Schraufnagel is Socialist Action’s candidate for U.S. vice
president in 2016.
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October 31, 2016 in Environment, Indigenous Rights, Minneapolis, Vote
Socialist Action. Tags: Dakota, Native Americans, oil, pipelines,
Standing Rock
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