On November 20th a group of 400 peaceful protestors gathered just north of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota. As police in riot gear approached the crowd, a demonstrator’s voice cracked in the stinging air. He shouted into the freezing air, “We’re all unarmed. Put your weapons down!”
Police use water cannons against water protectors in subfreezing weather. Dark Sevier
Seconds later, a powerful jet of water blasted the protestors near the Dakota Access Pipeline. Water cannons were among one form of “defense” against unarmed protestors. Others included rubber bullets, tear gas, concussion grenades, and water hoses. Used in the freezing weather, water canons sent over 26 organizers to the hospital where a number of them were treated for hypothermia.
This scene of police violence is a disturbing reminder of uglier times in U.S. history. In the wake of the 2016 election, many of us feel skeptical of the progress of civil rights in this country. Although this pessimism is warranted, the protests at Standing Rock serve as a model of strength.
These protestors refer to themselves as “water protectors” and strategically have set up camp to block the proposed path of the Dakota Access pipeline. The pipeline runs through four states, carrying crude oil from North Dakota to Iowa, and is about 85 percent complete. The remaining portion was to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir along the Missouri River located north east of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
At least that was the route until Sunday, December 4th.
That day the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a government agency responsible for evaluating permit requests for all water crossings, refused to allow further construction. However, this outcome was only made possible by the persistence and strength of the Standing Rock Tribe combined with support from non-native American groups.
Members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe have publicly opposed the Dakota Access pipeline since early April. An online campaign resulted in a petition with over 430,000 signatures, which pleaded for the Army Corps of Engineers to stop construction. This pipeline threatens the Sioux’s ancestral homeland and water resources.
Oil spills and leaks are an inherent risk of any pipeline project. This risk is so great that the Army Corps of Engineers has actually rerouted the pipeline once before. They initially planned for the pipeline to cross the Missouri River 10 miles north of the primarily white populated city of Bismarck. But the Army Corps of Engineers deemed that this route posed a threat to the city’s water supply.
Instead, the Army Corps of Engineers decided that what was risky for Bismarck would be safe for the Sioux. They approved a permit the route the pipeline just a half-mile upstream of the reservation, calling into question whose water supplies and lives are being valued the most by the government. Later that month, the tribe took legal action. They filed an injunction against construction and sued the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Army Corps of Engineers planned to build the pipeline only a half-mile upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Katie Park
The petition didn’t work, nor did the lawsuit. The Army Corps of Engineers did not grant the Standing Rock Sioux the attention that they deserved or the consideration that Bismarck received. Fortunately, when the Army Corps of Engineers dismissed the Sioux’s concerns, people around the nation responded.
Thousands of people from across the country flooded to camp on the edge of the Standing Rock reservation near the Dakota Access Pipeline. Large-scale camp occupation began in August and stretched into the subzero temperatures of November. As weeks of resistance have turned into months, more groups joined into one of the longest-running protests in modern history.
The water protectors are an assemblage of Native Americans, environmentalists, social justice activists, and everyday people. They serve as a model of strength and power of people fighting for social justice. In a New York Times opinion piece, David Treuer of the Ojibwe tribe points out that water protectors are novel in the sense that Native Americans and non-native Americans are working together. Groups in solidarity with Standing Rock include Black Lives Matter, environmental groups, and recently U.S. veterans.
The Army Corps decision came to pull the pipeline’s permit to cross Lake Oahe against all odds. The Standing Rock Sioux were up against one of the most powerful industries in the world. It meant halting construction on a $3.7 billion dollar project that was nearly complete.
In this hard time, it is difficult to feel hopeful. But we must look to Standing Rock as a symbol for social justice protest and alliances. One water protector named Marshal Stone said, “We have no weapons or anything, just our voices.” The water protectors’ unified voices stood strong despite police violence and subzero temperatures. Amazingly, the campfires, chants, and songs at the camp maintained spirits in these harsh conditions. Through peaceful collaboration, water protectors demonstrate the power of unity over greed, violence, and discrimination.
Veterans gather hands and form a human shield around the water protectors. Jessica Rinaldi