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.
If anyone has the right to interact with them, they say, it's on the federal, government-to-government level, which does not include the governor of a state. The video link is here (~30 mins).
Tara Houska said:
Enough is enough. We've been pushed around enough.
In the press conference, LaDonna Bravebull Allard (that's her in the meme below) talked about the irony of the governor and the COE referencing the people's "safety," when the only dangers to the people are coming from the militarized cops and mercenaries. The people at Oceti Sakowin are not concerned about the weather; the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota peoples have lived there for a thousand years or more. If the governor or the sheriff was actually concerned about safety, they'd plow the roads (which they announced they were no longer going to do until the camp is evacuated) and remove the blockade so that emergency and other vehicles can get through faster. She said:
We are in our own home. This is my home. I live here.
Reuters on November 29 initially reported that the cops and mercenaries were going to prevent food and other supplies from being delivered to the camps, setting up some kind of medieval siege to starve and freeze the people. Or like the Cuban embargo, one of the ways the US government deals with dissent and resistance. But within a few hours, Reuters walked the story back and said that instead people headed to the camps would be told that they faced arrest and fines up to $1000 for being trespassers or for bringing supplies to the camp. They are the only source that reported any of this, and I'm not sure what to think. Were the governor and sheriff floating a trial balloon to see if people would go along with this or be convinced to evacuate? Or was the whole thing just a pot-stirring false story to frighten people? In any case, right now nothing has changed in terms of access to the camps.
Threats of violence, freezing, and starvation sure are traditional ways that colonizers have treated indigenous folks. Remember, it's still Native American Heritage Month!
One other tidbit: Wes Clark Jr., the main organizer of the veterans' deployment to Standing Rock, sent out a brief (1:30) video about the upcoming action. https://www.facebook.com/VeteransStandForStandingRock/videos/17983690504...
Link to the links: How to Help Standing Rock: Links for Donations, Phone Numbers to Call, Talking Points
Comments
See my comment
in another post(Different Perspective) to learn how to get through to Morton County sheriff op-center.
Thank you for the updates Blazin', it has to be trying on the psyche to keep up and keep posting. Solidarity.
peace
edit to add numbers;
701-667-3330
3331
3332
3333
Try 'em All, you'll get through sometime. These numbers are all extensions of the public number and they continue through 9'
Good Luck!
Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .
Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .
If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march
This is correct:
David Archambault is the Chairman of the Stand Rock Sioux tribe, and is the equivalent to a head of state...on the same level as President Obama.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
thanks for these daily updates
I appreciate your efforts. This weekend a young couple that just returned to Alabama from Standing rock are doing a presentation on the mountain. This movement is reverberating across the country and world.
power to the protectors...
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Meanwhile. . .Where The hell is President Obama?
he wants the pipeline finished, doesn't care abt treaties
Here's his press secretary directly answering the question:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzRqd3Xic9I]
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
I'm surprised he didn't spontaneously combust
how can a person spew such nonsense?
If anyone's read the 1868 treaty you'll notice that there's an important bit in there that reduces the reservation (i.e. land reserved for the Sioux) in order to allow the railroad to be built on land they had previously owned (i.e. the original size of the reservation).
This superceded the treaty of 1851, of course. The message was "get out of the way, we're building a railroad". Now it's "get out of the way, we're building a pipeline".
It's as if President Obama is unaware of American history or is on the side of the baddies. I'll send Johnny $100 if anyone can guess the correct answer.
The correct answer:
Obama is completely aware of American history AND is on the side of the baddies. Tell Johnny "You are welcome." = )
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Obama is a freaking coward
who has never taken a tough stand when it would go against his corporate masters. I do not know how the man sleeps at night.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
It's not cowardly to do what you've been paid to do
You assume he has a conscience about these things. I would have thought his record from Occupy to the war on whistle blowers to his drone assassinations, and on and on and on, would have shown by now that he does not.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Evil speaking for evil.
Which is worse? Who is the greater slave to power? Obama or his press secretary?
A siege IS an act of war.
And a Medieval one at that. Geneva convention specifically bans it.
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule53
Falls under starvation of Civilians, a war crime.
The Tribe should just declare that a state of war, initiated by the United States, exists at this point.
Right now, all that's missing is the declaration.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
I have been following
Your updates but this is my first time responding. It's difficult to put into words the anger that comes up when I read about the brutality going on over there. My Sister came back recently from Standing Rock with a fire in her belly I've never seen before. Non political before this election, she has talked about nothing else since she's been back. She is not only consumed with righteous outrage, but her respect for what the Tribes are doing over there shows in every story she tells and in every "Earth" prayer she recites on behalf of their work.
A question for you: Have you heard anything more about the U.S. Veterans that were scheduled to show up at Standing Rock in solidarity?
Also, for what it's worth, I think that the pricks in charge who assumed the Native Americans would "just give up" once the weather changed, have no concept of the historical grievances that run deep within the tribes and have no clue how formidable an opponent they have created. On the face of it, it may look to them as if this is "just" about the water, but this fight is about so much more.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
I think this might be a catalyst
for a new (in fact, never before seen) progressive movement...that doesn't have any party affiliation, but unites racial, environmental, and economic issues into one cohesive activity.
But, one step at a time. Most of the vets that signed up (over 2000) will be leaving Friday, getting to Standing Rock on Saturday, being briefed, oriented, and prayed over on the 4th, and then will spend the 5-7th on the line, as a buffer to the Indians who have been at this for months.
And then will head home with that fire in their bellies.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
I am glad to hear the vets
Are going there. My Sister said she met people from across the country who left with the same respect as she did. The ties to the land are profoundly felt when you are in the camp.
She also mentioned that the organization among the tribe members to help with the distribution of donated goods is a socialist wet dream. From diapers to tents, they are giving out supplies where there is need and want.
But my Sister was most taken with the prayer circles. Camp life revolves around them. She is not religious but she came away from it with such an awe in its purity. They pray for the earth. To the North. To the South. To the East. To the West. She said it was beautiful to behold. There is such a distinct contrast of good and evil represented there it's difficult to walk away from it without a fire in your belly.
May it be so...
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Democracy Now has reported that Tulsi Gabbard
will be joining the vets at Standing Rock. I sure wish there were ore people in government with a backbone like hers.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
I know this is not popular any more
But I'd like to point out that Jill and Ajuma went there and got arrested back in August.
That said, the First Nations have been fighting for their survival for over 500 years. We should be cautious about hijacking their struggle to help solve our problems with a political system less than half that age.
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
The main difference is that Gabbard IS in a position of
power that the Green leaders have not obtained yet. In addition, she has more to lose by sticking her neck out. I did not say anything about fixing our political system on the backs of the water protesters.
The Native Americans have welcomed those who have come to join them and have said that they will welcome the vets. From what I have seen, there is no intention from the vast majority of those going to Standing Rock to "hijack" the movement or change it into something else (there will always be someone with ulterior motives in any group though). I think most respect what Native Americans are doing and hope to learn from them as well as show solidarity.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
There are 535 Representatives and Senators in Congress
And only one has the guts to go to Standing Rock, so far. That's pretty disgusting.
Beware the bullshit factories.
Yup, and I am going to go out on a very thin limb and
state that she will remain the only one. Sanders is talking about it which is still more than the others are doing, but he is in a rather precarious position right now in regard to what he wants to get done. Also at 75, I cannot say I blame him for not going there given the climate (both weather and other).
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) went in September
I'm not in his district, but I'm proud he's from Arizona, and I almost always support what he does.
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
thx for reading, Zoebear
I, too, have trouble talking about anything else right now. Some people may be sick of hearing about it -- but I'm not stopping until the indigenous resistance stops.
And I agree with Bisbonian's hopeful thought that this may be a new catalyst for change.
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
Thanks you so much
For being the voice of Standing Rock here. We need this. We're you, like my Sister, a visitor to the camp?
P.s. Love the quote.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
no, I haven't been there
I'm not suited for cold weather, so I'm doing what I can from here in Tucson.
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
Understand
I have a financial situation that won't allow me to go, although I would like to. How did you become involved?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
I truly appreciate these updates, blazinAZ
This should be headline news every day. No, I'm not going to get tired of it. This is what is important, and important to know about.
thx for reading, Granma /eom
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
I normally leave the blogs and the news
alone in the evening and on weekends, have to distress from it as my anger rises. But I've been checking this site lately during both my taboo times just to see what's going on. Can't help myself, and although I no longer watch any TV news, I know they wouldn't talk about it anyway.
Thanks for keeping us so well informed, and for the links to donate. I'll donate as much as I can while I've still got a job and some extra money. I am so angry at Obama for not lifting a finger and I too wonder how he sleeps at night. My own little fantasy is one of his daughters calling him out on it one day, doubt that happens but I can hope.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
thx, lizzy,
for reading and for donating. I understand about not wanting to read at certain times to avoid getting angry. It's important that we take care of ourselves, since the struggle is a long one.
Pls. feel free to share any of the blogs or links wherever . . .
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
Power to the True Women's Movement . . .
While clinton appealed to a fake feminism . . .
These True Heros are the ones who are ACTUALLY ACTING IN RECOGNITION OF PROTECTING OUR MOTHER EARTH WHO GIVES US OUR LIFE . . .
May the GREAT SPIRIT OF LOVE Which Protects the MOTHER and HER PROTECTORS BE EVER PRESENT ON THEIR BEHALF . . .
MAY JUSTICE PREVAIL . . .
POWER TO THE FIRST NATIONS
And So It Is
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety” ~Benjamin Franklin
With each day
the movement grows and the resolve of those on the front lines strengthens.
Our treatment of the indigenous people who were here long before the rest of us is shameful. Standing Rock is about the environment which our first nations always respected, and it is also about the sanctity of treaties and the recognition of validity of our first nations people to their ancestral lands. With each passing day, my anger at our corrupt government grows. President Obama has the power to stop the siege that is being waged upon the water protectors of Standing Rock and yet he and his surrogates deliver meaningless platitudes that effectively try to cast guilt upon the injured party, the indigenous people of Standing Rock.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
The Berlin Airlift
Plans should be made now along with a call to Doctors Without Borders.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass