The Army Corps of Engineers recently sent a letter sent to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s leader stating that the water protectors shut down one of their camps, by December 5th. Due to the increased violence between protectors and law enforcement (which is not the water protectors fault) and the increasingly harsh winter conditions, the Corps has decided to close its land to those who have been there since early April. This action will shut down the Oceti Sakowin camp, one of the three camps located near the construction site.
The protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline, which began in April, are now the largest American Indian protest in modern history.
Army Corps’ district commander, Col. John Henderson, asked Archambault to tell members of his tribe and their supporters, to move from the property north of the Cannonball River. Henderson wrote: “I am asking you, as a Tribal leader, to encourage members … to immediately and peacefully move to the free speech zone south of the Cannonball River or to a more sustainable location for the winter.” (What does he suppose the tribes did BEFORE there were “more sustainable” winter locations?)
The letter was sent after a protectors arm was nearly blown off by a concussion grenade, thrown by local law enforcement; that night the police also sprayed protectors with a fire hose in near-freezing conditions.
The “free speech zone” the Army Corps is proposing is a little more than 41 acres and is located south of the Cannonball River.
The land will be closed to the general public and anyone who enters it will be considered trespassing and could face prosecution under federal, state and local laws.
From the article:
“Mr. Archambault said in a statement that the tribe was “deeply disappointed” by the decision.
“It is both unfortunate and disrespectful that this announcement comes the day after this country celebrates Thanksgiving — a historic exchange between Native Americans and the first immigrants from Europe,” he said. “Although the news is saddening, it is not all surprising given the last 500 years of mistreatment of our people.”
Thousands have flocked to North Dakota to aid the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, because of the fear about what a broken or leaked pipeline could do to their water source, the Missouri River, and how it might desecrate the tribe’s sacred sites. However, Energy Transfer Partners, in their absolute genius, reportedly said they have taken measures to prevent leaks (check out this story, this one, this one, even this one– that say otherwise) AND that there is no archaeological significance to the area. (The audacity of that last claim takes the cake, quite frankly.)
Source: New York Times
