The event, organized by the Native American Research and Training Center and eight other campus Native American groups, was aimed at showing solidarity with protestors at Standing Rock, North Dakota, in their efforts to halt construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Advertisement
The announcement came the same day as a planned “day of action” in cities around the USA and in other countries, including the Toronto demonstration.
Inside the camp, Strong, 26, said at least 1,000 people were camping out in tents and teepees, with hundreds more coming and going every day.
Participants donated money and goods, and raised awareness of the raise funds and awareness about the controversial North Dakota Access Pipeline and the Standing Rock Sioux Stone Camp, which is opposing its development.
Tribal members contend they were not adequately consulted during the review process, although Dalrymple and Fedorchak said the tribe did not respond to requests for input.
That’s why on September 8, North Dakota’s Morton County issued an arrest warrant for Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman on the charge of trespassing – a move meant to chill reporting.
If the pipeline is built, the tribe said it will cut through ancestral lands, including sacred areas and ancient burial sites.
In the court filing, the Standing Rock Sioux argued that the pipeline would damage or destroy sites of historic, cultural and religious significance. It’s been called the largest gathering of Native Americans in a century, and the first time all seven bands of Sioux have come together in since Gen. George Custer’s ill-fated 1876 expedition at the Battle of Little Big Horn, Edwards and others say.
Contact North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple at (701) 328-2200 and let him know that you support the peaceful water protectors at Standing Rock.
The significance of water was also behind the 30-mile canoe trip down the Missouri and Cannonball rivers, the latter of which runs through the camp.
The pipeline is a joint venture between energy companies Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Enbridge Energy Partners LP, and Energy Transfer Partners.
Advertisement
“We’ve got to keep the fossil fuels in the ground”, DeMott said.
