Today is another horrible anniversary in US history: the legal lynching of 38 Dakota Sioux. This was ordered by President Abraham Lincoln. The Minnesota Uprising had begun because agents of the federal government refused to honor the treaties and wouldn't give the promised food rations to the people. Some left to find food, and they (and others who had done nothing at all) were brutally punished for it.

Update with breaking news: The trial for these 10 defendants has been postponed until January 31 and Feb. 1 because the prosecution had not turned over evidence to the defense in a timely manner.

[The judge] also deferred ruling on [the prosecutor's] motion to exclude issues of tribal sovereignty, the concerns about the Dakota Access Pipeline and "any other social or political cause." She wrote in her order that the defendants did not have adequate time before trial to respond to the motion, which was filed Dec. 12. [Prosecutor] Erickson could raise objections if such issues arose at trial, she wrote.

**the original post continues below**

The first criminal trials of some water protectors begin today, December 19, in Bismarck. The best coverage has been (again) by Jordan from TYT. He interviewed Kelli Love, one of the people arrested, who lays out the situation clearly and eloquently in the video below. There appear to be numerous civil rights violations and problems with due process, including new charges being added at the last minute (after pleas had already been entered) and motions by the prosecutor to forbid any video evidence and to forbid any mention of environmental damage, treaty rights, or any of the other reasons that the water protectors were where they were, doing what they were doing.

Rule of law? Yeah, right. Feds Admit They Withheld Key Documents from Standing Rock Sioux.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers purposefully withheld key studies that could have helped the tribe evaluate the risks [of the DAPL]. One report modeled damage from potential spills; another weighed the likelihood of spills; a third compared alternative routes and discussed the environmental justice concerns raised by the project. The revelation highlights the federal government’s perception of its limited responsibility to consult with tribes even on matters that could threaten its welfare.

New video of the militarized, fortified blockade of a public highway near Cannonball was published on December 11. The vid below is 39 minutes long, but you should watch at least the first 15 minutes. In addition to the concrete barriers that were dropped onto the bridge several weeks ago, new coils of razor wire have been added, and the razor wire now extends hundreds of yards in both directions perpendicular to the bridge and also up the hill on both sides.

Drone footage (2:20) from December 9 shows construction continuing on the DAPL. It is clear that Energy Transfer Partners is determined to get this thing built, despite court rulings, despite not having a permit to drill, despite the weather.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H29qvq4FB50&feature=youtu.be]

1. Send money. The Oceti Sakowin camp has been really stretched to the limit, first with the influx of veterans and other folks last weekend, and now dealing with the intense weather. Delivery trucks are having a hard time getting through, so donations of money are the best right now.

On December 5, two masked men used their vehicles to block a car with two water protectors inside and then verbally assaulted and threatened them with violence. One of the attackers then chased another man, who was filming the encounter. The two videos below are two different views, one from inside the car, the other from outside the car. Warning: violent language and aggressive threats (each vid is 2-3 mins). I can't seem to embed the FB video, but the first link below is from inside the car.
**Edited: I found a Youtube version of the video from inside the car
https://www.facebook.com/100008607349356/videos/vb.100008607349356/16171...[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kfw6yxZRrs]

For the moment, the Dakota Access Pipeline has legally been delayed, but there are two important things to remember, in my opinion. First, Energy Transfer Partners and its investors have no intention of complying with the Army Corps of Engineers. Second, there are hundreds of pipelines and other extractive industries crisscrossing this country, all of which threaten indigenous lands, clean water, and air quality.

It looks like the Army Corps of Engineers has denied permission to Energy Transfer Partners to drill under Lake Oahe.

I have seen confirmation from Dallas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network, and David Archambault, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux, has issued a statement (I'm looking for the exact text). Text is below i comments in two parts

Oceti Sakowin from the air, December 3