Celebratory fireworks explode above the Oceta Sakowin Camp Sunday.
There was understandable joy in the Oceti Sakowin Camp Sunday after the Army Corps of Engineers announced what will be, at the very least, a long delay in further construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Army said it will conduct an environmental impact statement of alternative routes. For months, Indians of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, representatives of more than 300 other tribes, and their non-Native allies have opposed construction of the North Dakota pipeline by putting their bodies on the line to oppose building it through ancestral Sioux lands and under the Missouri River, which supplies the reservation’s drinking water. Drumming, dancing, fireworks, and lots and lots of smiling took place after the Army’s decision was announced.
It was a far cry from the anxiety so prevalent at the camp and across America among supporters of the thousands of people, including 2,000 veterans who arrived to join the resistance on the ground late last week and over the weekend. The state had threatened to evict the people at the camp today. There were fears that action by the heavily militarized state and county police would cause injuries or worse. Several previous encounters, during which more than 600 people at the site were arrested, have been punctuated by law enforcement’s use of pepper-spray, tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons against unarmed resisters. Jack Healy and Nicholas Fandos report:
Glad tears greet the Army’s announcement.
“The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing,” Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Army’s assistant secretary for civil works, said in a statement. The move could presage a lengthy environmental review that has the potential to block the pipeline’s construction for months or years. [...]
Though the Army’s decision calls for an environmental study of alternative routes, the Trump administration could ultimately decide to allow the original, contested route. Representatives for Mr. Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Trump owns stock in the company building the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, but he has said that his support has nothing to do with his investment.
Their hopes answered
Thus, while Sunday brought a reprieve, the struggle is not over. Nevertheless, even though the future of the pipeline is uncertain, the Army’s decision is a clear victory for the tribe. It had raised objections because the pipeline route goes through ancestral Sioux land, including what the tribe calls an old burial ground, and threatens the reservation’s drinking water supply should a break and leak occur.
Victories, even if tentative, deserve celebrations, and the resisting victors who made it happen deserve to be honored. In the case of the Water Protectors, no list of such individuals and groups can possibly be complete, but here are a few navajo (Neeta Lind) and I believe deserve special mention.
David Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux, who led his people in this fight with resolve, calmness and wisdom.
Wes Mekasi-Horinek, the Ponca in charge of security at the Oceti Sakowin Camp, who was also the official representative for the resisters the Morton County Sheriff’s Office.
Casey Camp-Horinek, a Ponca elder, climate hawk and international activist who has campaigned for the rights of indigenous people on three continents.
Chase Iron Eyes, the Standing Rock Sioux activist who campaigned for North Dakota’s single congressional seat this year, and spoke frequently to the media about opposition to the pipeline.
LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, the Standing Rock Sioux woman who on her property set up Sacred Stone Camp in opposition to the pipeline last April.
The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, which—early on in the resistance at Standing Rock— donated a semi-truck load of firewood to the Oceti Sakowin Camp.
Amy Goodman of Democracy Now for being the first prominent professional journalist on the site who did not back down—because that is not what she ever does—when she was threatened with arrest and jail time for doing her job.
Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC News and The Guardian, both of which provided early significant, balanced coverage of the resistance at Standing Rock long before the other media took notice.
Dallas Goldtooth (Mdewakanton Dakota & Dińe [Navajo]) who heads the Indigenous Environmental Network, provided clear and accurate live narrations at Facebook during police actions at the site and steady citizen journalist reporting at other times.
Jacqueline Keeler (Dakota/Dińe [Navajo]) who kept up a steady barrage of tweets forcefully reminding people of American Indian sovereignty.
Ruth Hopkins (Sisseton/Wahpeton/Mdewakanton/Hunkpapa) a lawyer, one-time tribal judge ,and co-founder of Last Real Indians, provided a relentless stream of reliable updates about the Water Protectors.
The people who engaged in civil disobedience at the site, including the 600 who were arrested, many of whom attested to rough treatment by the police both at the site and in jail.
The 540 clergy from all parts of the nation who stood with the Water Protectors. Some of them were arrested on the capitol grounds in their protest in early November.
The 19 members of the House of Representatives—including Raúl Grijalva, Jared Polis, Louise Slaughter and Barbara Lee—who sent a letter in September asking President Barack Obama to order, among other things, an adequate environmental review. The five members of the Senate—Bernie Sanders, Patrick Leahy, Dianne Feinstein, Ben Cardin, and Ed Markey—who sent their own letter in October on the same topic.
The estimated 2,000 military veterans, Native and not, who decided they needed to go to the site to provide additional numbers.
All who provided medical and legal assistance.
All who contributed money.
Shiyé Bidzííl (Dińe/Lakota) and Myron Dewey (Paiute/Shoshone), the drone operators who captured many of the amazing shots shown in the following video produced by AJ+, a “global news community” focusing on struggles and achievements by people challenging the status quo.
