Standing Rock

Standing Rock: Rumor Control, Supportive Actions, Obama Confirms Our Low Expectations

Obama's press secretary said yesterday that the president will not do anything to help the water protectors. He wants the pipeline project completed. I'm not surprised, but I am disgusted. Video is less than a minute.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzRqd3Xic9I]

Obama's second red line in the sand

With war fever again ramping up, cheered on by the military-industrial complex (MIC), I cannot help but remember spineless Barack Obama (he's undergone a total spinectomy) and his red line in Syrian sand. When push came to shove, the predictable happened, Obummer crumbled. Since then he has been shown great respect around the world.

Standing Rock: Response to Threatened Eviction

Last Monday night, representatives of several different groups associated with the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline responded to the ND governor's eviction notice. Without exception, all of the indigenous leaders affirmed that no representative of ND has any jurisdiction to evict them. They are not going anywhere. They cannot be trespassing, since they are on their own land, a sovereign nation. There were statements from LaDonna Bravebull Allard of the Standing Rock Sioux nation, Kandi Mossett from the Indigenous Environmental Network, Tara Houska from Honor the Earth, and a member of the legal team that filed the class action suit against Morton County, and two people, a woman and a man whose names I didn't catch, spoke about treaty law, Supreme Court precedents, and other legal stuff.

Standing Rock: Class Action Suit and Other News

The Civil Liberties Defense Center, on the behalf of the water protectors, has filed a class action suit seeking an emergency restraining order against the cops and mercenaries.

The request [asks for] an order prohibiting Defendant law enforcement agencies from using excessive force in responding to the pipeline protests and prayer ceremonies and asks specifically for a prohibition on the use of SIM, explosive grenades, chemical agents, and water cannons or hoses, as means of crowd dispersal. The civil rights complaint seeks justice against the constitutional violations perpetuated against the mostly Native American water protectors, including claims of retaliation and police brutality by law enforcement, as well suing the Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, and City of Mandan Chief of Police Jason Ziegler for maintaining policies, customs, and practices that led to grave violations of Plaintiffs’ rights secured by the U.S. Constitution. This Court must decide whether the poorly trained defendant law enforcement agencies used SIM, freezing water, chemical agents, and explosive grenades to harm the Water Protectors and chill or deter them from their lawful exercise of the rights to free speech, association, and religion in violation of the First Amendment.

How to Help Standing Rock: Action Items, Donation Links

**edited December 2, 2016, to correct the link to donate directly to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and to update for the December days of action**
**updated December 3 with new links for Oceti Sakowin camp and donations**
**updated December 7 with Defund DAPL link and step-by-step instructions**

Since I seem to be blogging almost daily on the situation in North Dakota, I thought I'd create a one-stop essay with all the donation links, phone numbers of people to put pressure on, where to send supplies, etc. If you have other suggestions, please put them in the comments and I'll update. Please do what you can, and feel free to repost this anywhere.

Standing Rock, November 25

Today, at a mall in Bismarck, approximately 15-20 water protectors were arrested for "standing in a circle" at the mall (= trespassing, according to cops). Kandi Mossett of the Indigenous Environmental Network provides this firsthand look at the arrests (approx. 30 mins but there's a lot of repetition). The cops and one white guy she interviewed are hostile, and she maintains her composure throughout.
https://www.facebook.com/ienearth/videos/10154168674560642/

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