Tag: Water is Life

Officials and Activists Declare “Line in the Sand”

Militarized police advance on Highway 1806 blockade; confrontation imminent

By C.S. Hagen
CANNONBALL
– Energy Transfer Partners is attempting to pull Morton County’s legal strings. A statement released by the Texas-based company on Tuesday demanded activists to vacate company-owned lands, or face the consequences.

“Lawless behavior will not be tolerated,” the company stated. “Alternatively and in coordination with local law enforcement and county/state officials all trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and removed from the land.”

In a move many call unlawful and controversial, Dakota Access LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, quietly purchased 6,000 acres of the Cannon Ball Ranch on September 22, claiming it was needed as a buffer zone for their 1,172-mile-long oil pipeline.

Activists' blockade on Highway 1806 Wednesday, October 26 - photo provided by Morton County Sheriff's Department

Activists’ blockade on Highway 1806 Wednesday, October 26 – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department

On Sunday, hundreds of activists moved tipis and tents directly into the pipeline’s pathway, and under their own eminent domain laws reclaimed the land in question that was originally theirs according to the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. Devastating national disasters that came after the 1944 Pick-Sloan Plan for building flood controlling dams along the Missouri River eventually led to a condemnation suit in 1960 that gave the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers title to lands in the immediate area.

The Cannon Ball Ranch was established in 1883, and was inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1999. The 20 parcels of the Cannon Ball Ranch previously owned by David and Kathy Meyer, are lands the Standing Rock Sioux claim are sacred, filled with burial grounds, and also where attack dogs led by DAPL security personnel bit at least half a dozen activists.

Seven archaeologists from the State Historical Society of North Dakota conducted a pedestrian survey of a portion of the area, and determined there were no human burial grounds on the land.

“The inventory recorded ten locations where rodent-to-bovine-sized mammal bone fragments and teeth were present,” Chief Archaeologist Paul Picha said in a September 21 report. “No cultural material was observed in the inspected corridor. No human bone or other evidence of burials was recorded in the inventoried corridor.”

An area map provided by the State Historical Society of North Dakota shows the area in question, somewhere between the Meyer’s former land, now purchased by DAPL, its proximity to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ land, and the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Recently, Hollywood movie stars, including Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, and Shailene Woodley, who plead not guilty on Wednesday to misdemeanor charges in Morton County District Court, have been speaking out against the Peace Garden State’s tactics.

Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, and Shailene Woodley

Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, and Shailene Woodley are all campaigning against big oil.

“This just has to stop,” Ruffalo said in an Indigenous Environmental Network live feed after being turned away by police barricade near Cannonball. “We’re going to win. I just want to say for anyone with money in this pipeline better start pulling that money out now, in another couple of months they’re going to lose their shirts, because we’re going to kick the crap out of this thing. In a peaceful way.” 

“Not only is it an environmental, but it’s a problem in terms of social justice,” Sarandon told activists at a rally in Los Angeles.

Rev. Jesse Jackson

Rev. Jesse Jackson

Reverend Jesse Jackson also traveled to North Dakota Wednesday to show support to the activists. “I am proud to stand with the people of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to say enough is enough,” Jackson said in a press release. “I ask the government to keep its promises, to protect the sacred sites of the tribe and the water that million of Americans count on to survive.” 

“We have the resources, we have the manpower to go down and end this right now. We have that ability,” Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney said. “But what we did today was go down and reach out to the camps.”

Laney, who serves as Morton County Sheriff’s Department operations chief, said he approached the activists at the roadblock, and told them to clear the highway, go back to the Seven Council Fires camps, because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers doesn’t have a problem with them being there. “And then let’s talk.

“They said absolutely they’re not going to leave, they’re going to draw their line in the sand at 1806. They’re going to make their stand there.”

“Our message was simple, remove the illegal road block, move off the private property, and return to the camp on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property,” Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said. “Unfortunately, I am very saddened by the response of the protesters’ spokesperson. He repeatedly told our group they we’re ‘not moving’ and that they would hold their ground at the north encampment which is on private property.” 

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Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney

He said the Morton County Sheriff’s Department is being depicted as the jack-booted thug, looking for confrontation. “But we don’t want a confrontation. We’re trying everything we can to not have to do that. We’re having our hand forced, and at some point rule of law has to be enforced. We have to defend rule of law.”

Kirchmeier has been in contact with tribal leaders, Laney said. The two-month long misconception that Kirchmeier took ceremonial peace pipes for pipe bombs is wrong. Tribal leaders, Laney said, told Kirchmeier that pipe bombs were being made in the camp.

Since early August, nearly 270 people have been arrested, many of whom were stripped, on misdemeanor and felony charges. 

 

 

Stripped, But Still Standing Strong

Dozens of Standing Rock activists undergo debasing treatment; “fake journalists” stir up trouble, and North Dakota politicians pressure Army Corps to speed the pipeline

By C.S. Hagen
CANNONBALL – An ancient, bloodless war fuels the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy. It’s a war of words and aged rhetoric; a war of cultures beckoning back the “good old days” of Manifest Destiny and settlers versus the Indians.

Fear the scalp-taking Indian, North Dakota government appears to be saying; save the peaceful colonial homesteader. Little is ever mentioned by official sources about the Native Americans’ side of the story. Their version is simply not as important when compared to finishing the USD 3.8 billion, 1,172-mile Dakota Access Pipeline.

In 150 years, little has changed, according to activists, on how federal and state governments treat Native Americans. Newspapers spread fear, espoused by the law, handed down by politicians who are financially invested into the Bakken oil fields, whose campaigns this election year do those same companies fund, Chase Iron Eyes, the Democrat Party challenger for state congress, said.

The U.S. Cavalry never went away, they merely changed uniforms. More than 900 law enforcement officials from 17 counties, 12 cities, and from four states using public funds have been involved in protecting Energy Transfer Partner’s private project.

“We’re choking on hate and nobody seems to care,” camp attorney Angela Bibens said.

Law enforcement verses activists on Dakota Plains Oct. 22 - photo provided by Morton County Sheriff's Department

Law enforcement versus activists on Dakota Plains Oct. 22 – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department

The battle for water and land led by the Standing Rock Sioux against DAPL is far from over, and media on both sides of the controversy have woven stories from legends, half-truths, and hearsay. Tempers flare as DAPL nears the Missouri River, and militarized law enforcement show no pity.

In the beginning there were pipe bombs, which turned out to be ceremonial peace pipes. And then law enforcement reported activists carrying guns, yet no one was arrested. DAPL security personnel from Ohio’s Frost Kennels sprayed mace and urged attack dogs into crowds, resulting in at least half a dozen bites, and yet law enforcement insists activists were the danger. Recently, 30 head of cattle were reported missing, and then three days later mysteriously resurrected by a Sioux County rancher. Two other cows have been found shot in Sioux County, one by bullets, one by arrows, and law enforcement and media are trying to link the crime to activists in the area.

saturday-october-23-direct-action-photo-by-rob-wilson-photography

Law enforcement making arrests Saturday, Oct. 22 – photo by Rob Wilson Photography

Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier repeatedly emphasizes the activists near Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation are dangerous. Activists’ criminal records are being made public, yet no effort has been made to check pipeline workers’ past brushes with the law, which should be swamped with outstanding warrants if the state lives up to its man camp reputation.

Arrested on the plains near DAPL - photo provided by Morton County Sheriff's Department

Arrested on the plains near DAPL – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department

Since Saturday morning, 126 more activists were arrested on riot charges along the DAPL pipeline, Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported. Two officers were injured, one by his own pepper spray. In total, 269 people have been charged with misdemeanors and felonies since early August.

“Today’s situation clearly illustrates what we have been saying for weeks,” Kirchmeier said. “That this protest is not peaceful or lawful. This is not about the pipeline. This is not about the protesters. This is about the rule of law.”

From the controversy’s start, Morton County Correctional Facility officers have been strip searching – nearly every activist arrested, no matter the charge. Simple misdemeanors to felonies, all are being treated the same.

“It’s a tactic of trying to break you down, and degrade you, make you feel shamed,” Cody Hall said. Hall is the media spokesman for the Red Warrior Camp, and was arrested in early September, held for three days without bail or bond.

saturday-october-23-direct-action-photo-by-rob-wilson-photography

Miqamwes M’teoulin being treated after police sprayed him twice in the face on October 22 – photo by Rob Wilson Photography

“They have you get naked,” Hall said. “And then he grabbed my genitals and lifted them up, then he said squat, and then he said cough. And then he was looking, when I bent down, he kind of bent down.”

A scare tactic, Hall said. Morton County Correctional Facility reported the strip searches are procedure and in the interest of security.

“The duty correctional officer(s) will conduct a complete visual assessment of prisoners being admitted to insure that the prisoner(s) does not have inadmissible/illegal items on his/her possession before entering a security cell/area of the correctional center,” Morton County Correctional Facility’s guidebook states.

The guidebook continues by stating “admissions procedures will be carried out by correctional staff in a manner which promotes mutual respect rather than one which degrades the prisoner(s) admitted.”

“That’s all I saw it as,” Hall said. “It’s a tactic they were trying to deploy on me, in a way of taking my dignity. You’ll crumble if you don’t have that… dignity.”

Furthermore, an inmate cannot be detained in the holding cell for longer than one hour, although the duty senior correctional officer can make exceptions. Inmates in the holding cell are also allowed to use cell phones, and are closely monitored by duty officers, according to the correctional facility’s guidelines.

Myron Dewey, a filmmaker, was charged with a class-A misdemeanor. Like Hall, he was stripped down, and because he has a ponytail, officers rifled through his hair. He was then put into a visitor’s holding area for three hours, he said. “It was a really small room, barely enough room for one person.”

“Leaving me in that visitor’s area didn’t seem right, they should have put me in the holding cell,” Dewey said. When he went to the courtroom, one of the officers involved in his arrest waited for him in the hallway. “The officer who stole my drone was standing in the hallway,” Dewey said. “And he was trying to look at me like he was some, I don’t know, it was the eye contact. I thought that was kind of odd. He was there to let me see him for a reason.”

Dewey’s drone was “arrested” under civil forfeiture laws after an unnamed DAPL worker filed an intimidation report. When Dewey attempted to clarify questions and gather facts, law enforcement officials refused to listen and forced him from the Morton County Sheriff Department premises.

After being strip-searched, they’re all given the orange jumpsuit.

Activists on the plains marching Oct. 22 - photo by Rob Wilson Photography

Activists on the plains marching Oct. 22 – photo by Rob Wilson Photography

Others who have claimed they too were strip searched include: Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II, a chief of a sovereign state, Dr. Sara Jumping Eagle, a pediatrician, Divergent actress Shailene Woodley, and Dale “Happi” Americanhorse Jr., the first activist to chain his arms to machinery with a sleeping tar dragon.

Bruce Ellison, a long-term criminal defense lawyer and legal team coordinator of the Lawyer’s Guild Mass Defense Committee, said the practice is nonsensical. Ellison and his team are also not allowed direct access to clients and must discuss the dozens of cases through glass windows and telephone conversations, which are being recorded, Bibens said.

“We have a lot of questions about that,” Ellison said. “When there are strip searches for lowest grade misdemeanors on the books in North Dakota – that certainly raises questions. We had one woman who was left naked in her cell overnight for the viewing of male guards.

“This seems unusual.”

Ladonna McLaughlin claims to have been left overnight naked in a cell, according to Bibens. Her family is preparing to sue Morton County.

“Where do we live?” Ladonna Allard, McLaughlin’s mother, said. “Is this the United States? This is a police state.” She was not ready to speak about the upcoming lawsuit, not until it is filed, she said.

“We are preparing litigation to address the violations that have occurred within the Morton County Jail,” Bibens said. She is a Santee-Dakota by birth, is the ground coordinator of the Red Owl Legal Collective, and also works as the camp’s attorney.

Most of the reported 126 people arrested Saturday have been spread to jails across the Peace Garden State, Bibens said. Costs of keeping a prisoner overnight is USD 100 for the Morton County Jail, times that by 269, then multiplied by how many nights, the costs add up.

“Hardly anyone is out,” Bibens said. “Parents are calling me from everywhere because they’re not allowing their 19-year-olds to bail out.” Officials around the Peace Garden State are now requiring cash only for bonds, are instituting special rules, and most activists arrested won’t get an opportunity for release until judges arrive at work Monday morning. “There’s an equal protection due process issue, if you’re related to the camps, then you get treated this way,” Bibens said.

“They’re not in any hurry to process any of our water protectors.”

Additionally, the Red Warrior Camp, the activists’ most secure group, reported law enforcement shot down two drones with shotguns on Saturday. Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported “less-than-lethal ammunition” was used on a drone on Sunday charging a helicopter with a sheriff on board.

The helicopter pilot and passengers were “in fear of their lives” when the “drone came after us,” according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department press release. Two arrows were also fired at the helicopter, according to Kirchmeier.

On Sunday, Dewey reported nearly 700 Native Americans and activists enacted “their sovereign rights” proclaiming eminent domain along Dakota Access Pipeline route, effectively blockading Highway 1806 with hay bales, rocks, and tree stumps, on lands that once belonged to the Sioux under 18th century treaties.  Tipis and tents were erected. A sacred fire was lit. The land, according to Dewey, has been desecrated, and they are returning it back to the natural and spiritual balance.

Barricade across Highway 1806 built by activists on Sunday, Oct. 23 - photo provided by Morton County Sheriff's Department

Barricade across Highway 1806 built by activists on Sunday, Oct. 23 – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department

“All tribes across the country witnessed this historical day, October 23,” Dewey said. “This is a very special moment in Indian law as well, inherent rights have just been exercised. Our inherent rights to clean food, clean drinking water, medicine, clean air, all of those rights have just been practiced.”

The move is called the “Last Stand” by activists before DAPL reaches the Missouri River.

In response, Morton County Sheriff’s Department blocked off Highway 1806 “due to a large group of protesters blocking the north and south bound lanes.” The barricade was dismantled later Sunday afternoon after law enforcement asked activists to take it down. 

“Individuals trespassing on private property can’t claim eminent domain to justify their actions,” Kirchmeier said.

 

“Thirty Minutes of Terror”

Phelim McAleer, who identified himself as an Irish journalist to Morton County emergency personnel, is the director of the film FrackNation, a movie some say is part of the big oil campaign to debunk the harmful affects of fracking. McAleer traveled to the Standing Rock area last week to “get the truth about the story on both sides,” he said.

The first day he and two others received permission from Seven Council Fires Camp, or Big Camp personnel to conduct interviews, McAleer said. He waited until the second day to pull out the big questions.

mcaleer

Phelim McAleer and camp security scuffling over microphone – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department

“I asked them if they were being hypocritical,” McAleer said. “Because they were using automobiles to arrive at camp. And then a gentleman grabbed my microphone and dragged me across the field.”

His self-described “thirty minutes of terror” began.

Video of the incident taken primarily from inside a vehicle shows no violence, and yet McAleer insists that his life and property were threatened.

“I was scared, I really was,” McAleer said. He said he has reported news in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and also in Eastern Europe when communism fell. “I’ve been around the block, a journalist for 30 years. It was very scary. There was a sense of lawlessness and anger that led to the unpredictability, feeding off their own energy, getting angrier and angrier. Blowing the horn seemed to excite them, it was escalating and that was the problem. There was no calming voice.

“I could see this getting ridiculously out of control.”

Their vehicle was surrounded. The driver, Magdalena Segieda, another producer of FrackNation, was afraid to put the car in park because the doors would unlock, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department. Segieda called 911, and law enforcement arrived. McAleer, Segieda, and one other were eventually allowed to leave.

“They’re attacking us for asking questions,” McAleer said in the video.

“This is scary,” Segieda said in the video. “We want to leave.”

“It was a threatening and terrifying situation for the three journalists that were down there,” Kirchmeier said during a press conference. The video was taken from a low vantage point, and shows little outside activity.

McAleer retreated to Ireland after the incident, and isn’t pressing charges. He said Morton County Sheriff’s Department will investigate, and the department has already posted pictures of people involved in the incident on their Facebook page, asking for help identifying those involved. McAleer believes the video footage will speak for itself. “All I want to get is the truth of what’s happening, and I found that truth and it’s an ugly truth,” he said.

Camp authorities report that McAleer was read the rules of the area “one by one,” when he checked in. He was caught documenting children without permission from a parent or guardian, documenting the sacred fire that was off limits, and asking offensive questions of community members. When confronted, McAleer said he did not have a press pass, and that he did not need one, and when he pulled away in his vehicle he hit an unnamed activist.

In YouTube videos, McAleer described water contamination victims due to fracking practices are like bank robbers. “Why do you rob banks? Because, that’s where the money is. Why do you sue oil and gas companies? Because, that’s where the money is.”

McAleer, who has been called a “fake journalist” on big oil’s payroll, denied being supported by big oil companies. He is also known as a “professional character assassin,” and has been documented harassing movie stars and homeowners affected by Cabot Oil & Gas drilling in Pennsylvania. In a question and answer session after a showing of FrackNation in Pennsylvania, McAleer reported that the people with poisoned water, toxic enough to light on fire coming out of their taps, were lying.

“You can call it this, you can call it that, and maybe the truth is somewhere in between,” McAleer said. “And I know to use the word liar is a very strong statement, but they are liars. These are not stupid people, although they do a good job at looking like it. But they lied…

“Sorry. Where is the scientific evidence of your water being contaminated? If you don’t have any, how do you know you have any, you don’t know, you’re lying. You’re making it up, you’re scaring people.”

Closer to home, an April 27, 2016 study released by Duke University, funded by the National Science Foundation, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and published in the Environmental Science & Technology magazine shows that accidental wastewater spills from “unconventional oil production in North Dakota have caused widespread water and soil contamination.” More than 9,700 wells have been drilled in the Bakken region of North Dakota in the past decade, which led to more than 3,900 brine spills, primarily from faulty pipes, the report states.

The water studied in some spill sites was unsafe to drink, the study reported.

 

Political Pressure to Finish the Race

Senator John Hoeven R-N.D., met with the US Army Corps of Engineers last week to pressure the Corps to allow the final easement, a three-mile stretch of land leading up to the Missouri River, which would give DAPL the access it needs to send the pipeline under Lake Oahe.

“That means getting the Corps to approve the easement so construction can be complete and life can return to normal for our farmer and ranchers in the region, and for our law enforcement who are working very hard to protect lives and property,” Hoeven said in a press release. “We need to have this situation resolved.”

Last week, the U.S. Corps of Engineers, representatives from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, state archeologists, and DAPL environmental team members coordinated a walk-through of a portion of the pipeline project, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department.

The walk through along the pipeline - photo provided by Morton County Sheriff's Department

The walk through along the pipeline – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department

“Morton County has been making an effort to bring representatives from the tribe, DAPL, and the state historical society for weeks,” Kirchmeier said. “This is very positive to see that all interested parties could together look at the sites in which they have had differing opinions of the historical significance. While there still may be differences, the conversation was positive and allowed all parties to better understand each other.”

Congressman Kevin Cramer R-N.D., participated. “I believe those of us on all sides of the Dakota Access Pipeline issue benefitted from walking together and sharing our expertise, experiences, and expectations,” Cramer said. “I hope this can help us establish a better understanding going forward. And, I am certain that after today the Corps of Engineers will feel confident it has the adequate affirmation to issue the final easement to complete the pipeline construction across the Missouri River at Lake Oahe.”

While Standing Rock Sioux leaders contemplate whether to move the winter camp to their own lands, one aspect of their fight has not changed. Their fight is not only today against DAPL, but it is a growing global resistance to big oil, and in many activists’ opinions, they are winning.

Even if the pipeline crosses the Missouri River.

“As an activist I never cared about voting,” Iron Eyes said in a Facebook post. “I can see now how apathy about the political process allows establishment paid for politicians to stay in power like a revolving door. Big money pays for their campaigns, the politicians pave the way for their benefactors, the people feel disconnected, nobody cares, and we end up with politicians who suppress votes, militarize and embarrass our state…

“This is a great test for us. We need to be committed to peace on all sides.”

“We remain vigilant and organized,” Red Warrior Camp leaders posted on Facebook. “We’ll see you on the prairie.”

“I have the firm belief that we will stop a pipeline that carries 500,000 barrels of oil a day, and is 60 percent complete… we will stop it in its tracks,” Dallas Goldtooth, a campaign organizer of the Indigenous Environmental Network, said in a speech.

Barricade across Highway 1806 built by activists on Sunday, Oct. 23, later torn down at request - photo provided by Morton County Sheriff's Department

Barricade across Highway 1806 built by activists on Sunday, Oct. 23, later torn down at request – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department

 

 

 

North Dakota’s Valley Forge

Activists outside Standing Rock winterize, law enforcement puts more boots on the ground, and state politicians speak their minds

By C.S. Hagen
CANNON BALL – Snow fluttered across tipis and tents last weekend, tip-tapping like panicked field mice across canvas. It was not a gentle fat-flaked snow, rather ice, a bone-chilling wintry taste for the activists camped outside of Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Dried corn cobs, a camp sign with hand written wooden signs hailing from the USA, the Arctic, Paris, and more - photo by C.S. Hagen

Dried corn cobs, a camp sign with hand written wooden signs hailing from the USA, the Arctic, Paris, and more – photo by C.S. Hagen

As the sun crested Facebook Hill, flooding the prairie with much-needed warmth, a dog howled mournfully. An infant cried. Horses snorted the cold night’s air from their nostrils. Slowly, the camp stirred. A drum beat; an elder greeted the day with native song. Younger “water warriors” screeched like crows, and their cries seemingly echoed from both sides of the Cannon Ball River.

The camps have grown smaller. Some activists, like Dale “Happi” Americanhorse Jr., have traveled to Iowa to assist in what Americanhorse says is a losing battle against Dakota Access Pipeline. Other activists simply cannot handle the elements, for inside a thin canvas tent, deep in the night, cold bites the skin, and by day fierce winds and thinning shade can only toughen or shatter activists’ resolve.

For the thousands that do remain encamped and resolute against the Dakota Access Pipeline, the 17 international banks funding the 1,172-mile project, the politicians whom activists say are forcing agendas and filling pocketbooks, and the federal government’s broken treaty promises, they’re preparing for their own Valley Forge.

“We are fighting three battles right now,” a Facebook post published by the Red Warrior Camp stated. “We are protecting the sacred from the Dakota Access Pipeline, we are defending ourselves from the fascist state armed to harm, and we are reinforcing our camp to face the harsh weather that is arriving.”

Big Camp, outside of Cannon Ball - photo by C.S. Hagen

Big Camp, outside of Cannon Ball – photo by C.S. Hagen

On Sunday, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. dissolved a second emergency motion for an injunction filed by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to halt the pipeline project. For weeks, Dakota Access LLP, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, had been ordered to halt all work on the pipeline within 20 miles on either side of Lake Oahe along the Missouri River.

“But ours is not the final word,” U.S. Court of Appeals documents stated. “A necessary easement still awaits government approval – a decision Corps’ counsel predicts is likely weeks away; meanwhile Intervenor DAPL has rights of access to the limited portion of pipeline corridor not yet cleared – where the Tribe alleges additional historic sites are at risk.”

Despite the court ruling, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers refused to give its permission for Dakota Access Pipeline to build on Corps lands bordering or under Lake Oahe, and once again recommended that DAPL “voluntarily pause all construction activity” on private lands, according to a press release made available by the U.S. Department of Justice.

DAPL, or the Dakota Access Pipeline, is now legally authorized to continue its project into parts of the no work zone.

Tipis and Mongolian-styled yurts are replacing flimsy North Face tents. Some activists are building wind-breaking fences around their designated spots. Wood stoves are providing warmth in a handful of larger military-styled tents. Massive trees have been brought in for log cabins, hay bales for windbreakers. More activists have moved to the nearby Cannon Ball River, a tributary of the Missouri River, for its wooded banks offer some shelter.

Those that do remain are not surrendering.

On October 8, more than 20 riders from Winona LaDuke’s Honor the Earth organization, and from the Wounded Knee Memorial Riders, the Dakota 38, the Big Foot riders, among others, set off on a four-day horse ride from Standing Rock to Tioga against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Winona LaDuke preparing to begin the four-day horse ride against the flow of the pipeline - photo by C.S. Hagen

Winona LaDuke preparing to begin the four-day horse ride against the flow of the pipeline – photo by C.S. Hagen

“This is our moment,” LaDuke said on the Honor the Earth website. In addition to being a longtime environmentalist LaDuke was also two-time vice presidential candidate for Ralph Nader’s Green Party. “Tribes and First Nations are standing up and standing together to demand an end to the desecration of our lands and the poisoning of our sacred waters.”

Minutes after the riders disappeared into the Dakota prairies an Aztec group performed ritual dances drawing nearly everyone to the Sacred Circle. Native Americans and supporters from around the country, including Fargo residents Cindy Gomez-Schempp of the People’s Press Project 88.1 FM radio, and Barry Nelson, of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, showed their enthusiasm for the ritual dancers, swirling in their emerald and citron feathers from the tropical quetzal and troupial. Air turned sweet with burning copal, or pine tree sap, southern native equivalent to sweetgrass, as the dancers pounded the earth, many in bare feet.

Riders set off through main entrance to Big Camp - photo by C.S. Hagen

Riders set off through main entrance to Big Camp – photo by C.S. Hagen

“I come here because I need to bear witness to what is happening,” Nelson said. Many national news agencies reporting of the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy are wrong, Nelson said, and the efforts of the Native Americans and others against big oil is “historically incredible,” he said.

Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, said he is troubled by the recent court’s decision, but civil disobedience at Standing Rock will not diminish.

“We will continue to support the tribe’s efforts to hold the US federal government accountable for rubber stamping this dirty oil project… This fight is far from over.”

Myron Dewey – from Facebook profile

Although law enforcement and DAPL security are watching and documenting camp activity, activists have digital scouts of their own. Myron Dewey, a filmmaker and drone operator, fought back by documenting pipeline activity with a drone, until the machine was confiscated by Morton County Sheriff’s Department after an unnamed DAPL worker filed an intimidation report. When Dewey attempted to clarify questions and gather facts, law enforcement officials refused to listen and forced him from the Morton County Sheriff Department premises.

Some officers have hidden their nametags, Dewey said, and the officer who “arrested” his drone only offered his badge number on the report. No warrant was issued for his arrest, because in order to do so the DAPL worker would have to be named, Dewey said.

“When our public officials no longer can become identified, they are no longer the public officials,” Dewey said.

Dewey documented DAPL activity with video, photographs, and GPS coordinates 24 miles and then on October 8 – a day before the U.S. District Court of Appeals decision – 16 miles from the Missouri River. Once past the 20-mile marker, Dakota Access LLP work on the pipeline became illegal.

DAPL private security personnel were mysteriously gone on Monday, which was Indigenous People’s Day, formerly known as Columbus Day. “It’s now police policing the pipeline, and they’re there, everywhere, all along the pipeline. This is where the tax dollars are going. You’re seeing militarization of a police force that is not trained in militarization. That’s today.

“It’s really sad. It’s women and children, they’re Native Americans, and people from all over the world.” Much of the assistance is coming from Bismarck, Dewey said, but those who are helping are afraid to give their names for fear of repercussions when they return home.

Dewey offered his views on why he and thousands of others will continue.

“We have a Dakota Access Pipeline entity that has lost its connection, its spirit, to the earth,” Dewey said. “Our goal is to help Dakota Access Pipeline, and all the workers and private security, and also the officers that are protecting that pipeline to get connected to the earth. And then you will understand why we are fighting to protect the water in a good way in prayer.”

Divergent actress Shailene Woodley's mug shot at Morton County Jail - photo provided by Morton County Sheriff's Department

Divergent actress Shailene Woodley’s mug shot at Morton County Jail – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department

On Indigenous People’s Day, Divergent series movie star Shailene Woodley was arrested along with 26 others by sheriff deputies. A deputy grabbed her jacket as she was walking with her mother toward their vehicle to return to Big Camp, and arrested her for criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor. Woodley asked officers why she was singled out for arrest.

“You were identified,” the arresting officer said.

“Alright, I’m being arrested.” Woodley smiled into the camera. Her mother was filming as the officer shackled her daughter’s wrists.  

“So everybody knows, we were going to our vehicle, which they had all surrounded, and were waiting for me with giant guns and giant truck behind them, just so they could arrest me.” Woodley said. Law enforcement then led her away in handcuffs.

Woodley posted a USD 500 bond, and could face up to three months in prison and USD 3,000 in fines, according to Morton County Sheriff Department spokesman Rob Keller. Her court date is set for October 24. A total of 27 people were arrested Monday after approximately 300 people protested at two construction sites along the Dakota Access Pipeline.

“All 27 were arrested on the same charges, engaging in a riot and criminal trespass,” Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney, who currently serves as Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier’s operations chief in Morton County, said. “She [Woodley] was one of 27, she was no different than the others.” Laney said he hopes the activists return home now that their message has been heard across America and the U.S. Court of Appeals has denied Standing Rock’s petition for a second time.

Armored police vehicles outside of St. Anthony, ND - online sources

Armored police vehicles outside of St. Anthony, ND – online sources

More Boots on the Ground

As Dakota Access LLP’s pipeline nears its finish in Iowa, and is reportedly 68 percent completed across the country, the project is still behind schedule in North Dakota.

Since early August a total of 123 activists have been arrested on misdemeanor and felony charges including criminal trespass, reckless endangerment, and terrorizing law enforcement. Governor Jack Dalrymple declared an emergency state in August, has brought in the National Guard, has asked President Obama for further financial assistance, and has approved out-of-state support from the National Sheriffs’ Association.

“We have basically tapped the resources to a level that we’ve never seen here in North Dakota for one particular incident,” Kirchmeier said in a press conference.

“I’m sorry I have to be here today,” Wyoming’s Laramie County Sheriff Danny Glick and president of the 15-state Western Sheriffs’ Association, said in a press conference. “But my message is simple and direct. I’m here to pledge the support of the nation’s sheriffs to the people of Morton County and North Dakota.”

Kirchmeier believes the collaboration is a win, and 40 deputies from Wisconsin began taking 21-day shifts to assist Morton County law enforcement, but on Wednesday, the 10 from Dane County returned home, according to the Dane County Sheriff’s Office.

“Throughout the week, Sheriff [Dave] Mahoney has engaged in conversations with a wide cross-section of our community, all of whom felt strongly that our deputies should not be involved in the events taking place in North Dakota,” a press release from the Dane County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Kirchmeier also plans to engage in a more proactive stance against anyone who breaks the law. So far, the North Dakota National Guard is still acting in a limited capacity, primarily working the roadblock on Highway 1806.

“Protesters have disdained the rule of law, and that has resulted in a heightened level of fear and concerns among the residents,” Kirchmeier said. “These fears are real.”

Aztec dancers - photo by C.S. Hagen

Aztec dancers – photo by C.S. Hagen

Laney said Monday’s protest was anything but peaceful. “While some would like to say this was a protest, this was not a protest – this was a riot. When you have that many people engage in that kind of behavior, inciting others to break the law, cheering others on as they do break the law, refusing to leave when they are asked to leave, that’s not a protest… Today, 27 arrests were made – not because we wanted that to happen, because those people on scene chose for that to happen.”

Recently, local residents have become the victims of terrorizing threats, intimidation, and criminal trespass, Kirchmeier said. Even Morton County’s new residents, those encamped outside of Cannon Ball, were victims recently when Bryce Ironhawk, from South Dakota, allegedly ploughed into Big Camp in a stolen Chevy Camaro late on October 6, knocking over flagpoles and partially destroying a tipi, Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported. Ironhawk’s blood-alcohol level was more than double the legal limit, and he was charged with driving under the influence and aggravated reckless driving.

Camp spokespeople said Ironhawk was not an activist living in the camp. Posted at Big Camp’s entrance are the rules: no weapons, no drugs, no alcohol.

“How many days are going to go by before someone gets hurt?” Dewey said. Native Americans and activists are targeted by police on the roads; law enforcement without proper identification are driving through camp, acting like predators, taking pictures of children in the makeshift school on camp premises, he said. DAPL security are dressing like activists and infiltrating the camp. “We’re being targeted now, and this is something that is not okay anymore. We are asking for the power of protection and prayer coming from all the four directions.”

Reports have been made to police about strange people and occurrences, including reports made by those attacked by dogs on September 3, Dewey said, but nothing is being done about their reports. “They did not do their job in protecting the people that were bit. I find that’s a violation of their protocols and what they’re supposed to do. They sat at the bottom of that hill.”

On October 4, nearly 20 activists appeared at Morton County Courthouse to plead not guilty at their arraignments. All requested court-appointed attorneys, some of whom met with camp attorney Angela Bibens and others behind closed doors.

Morton County State’s Attorney Brian Grosinger appeared on behalf of the state, and frequently seemed confused during the proceedings, at one point offering District Court Judge Bruce Haskell an apology. Grosinger asked for a higher bond against Mason Redwing, who turned himself in after being charged with reckless endangerment, criminal trespass, and terrorizing law enforcement after he allegedly charged armed law enforcement on horseback on September 28.

If proven guilty Redwing could face five years imprisonment and or a USD 10,000 fine.

Dale "Happi" Americanhorse Jr. walking alone into the Morton County Courthouse - photo by C.S. Hagen

Dale “Happi” Americanhorse Jr. walking alone into the Morton County Courthouse – photo by C.S. Hagen

“We’re prosecuting crimes,” Grosinger said after the first round or cases were arraigned. Too early, he said, to say if the state will be seeking maximum penalties against the dozens of activists arrested.

Americanhorse, who was represented by Steven Balaban, a Bismarck attorney, will begin court proceedings on December 23. He is charged with one felony and three misdemeanors stemming from August 31.

“We as water protectors are not intimidated by the trumped up charges they throw at us,” Americanhorse said. “We are not backing down and will continue to do exactly what we do. Protect.”

“The state is using excessive force normally used in war overseas on unarmed Indigenous People to protect DAPL,” a Red Warrior Camp press release reported. “This is tantamount to an act of war on the Indigenous People…”

 

To Be or Not To Be – a Governor

Dalrymple is currently serving his final term as the governor of North Dakota. Three men are vying to take his place.

Representative Marvin E. Nelson, D-N.D., from Rolla, said he fears the Dakota Access controversy will end in violence.

Representative Marvin E. Nelson - online sources

Representative Marvin E. Nelson – online sources

“First of all, clearly the process did not work properly at the state level,” Nelson said. “I would point to what happened that the pipeline did not get sited in the right place. As governor, we have a company engaged in legal activity and it’s trying to move ahead, and then there are protestors. It would be my responsibility to protect them… that is the thing as governor – you have to do what you are responsible to do.

“Everyone wants to roll the clock back… but you can’t always go back.”

Nelson expects DAPL is preparing for a quick build to Lake Oahe, protected by beefed-up police presence. The situation has become polarized between absolute support and absolute opposition. “I look too at the protestors and what they’re saying, and I really do fear that there will be violence here. It’s just frustrating. It’s what happens with ultimate positions.”

The governor is more of a spectator, charged with protecting human life, and outside of offering pardons to activists and DAPL workers charged with crimes, the governor has little authority in these situations.

“The company is going to shove it through there,” Nelson said. “The big question is whether the government will allow an easement. It is still possible the tribe will win. Their strongest case is on their water rights. It’s involving their water – and it doesn’t seem there was an engagement with the tribes pertaining to their water rights.”

Nelson added that the U.S. Corps of Engineers rarely investigates beyond river crossings, and that national building permits are not adequate; a full environmental impact study should be conducted.

“Really, the relationship between our tribes and our state could become better and more active,” Nelson said. “We do need to work together more.”

Marty Riske, the Libertarian candidate for North Dakota governor, said it is a very dangerous time for North Dakota.

Marty Riske - online sources

Marty Riske – online sources

“I know what I would have done, hindsight being twenty-twenty,” Riske said. “I would have brought a table to the site and invited the chiefs of the Native American tribes, the chiefs of the oil companies, and the governor himself. I would have been down there at a long table and a decision tree, and each of us would have espoused what we want, and the things that remained in the tree, the differences that weren’t being met, would have to be brought closer together to get everyone to agree.”

Now that the controversy is polarized, however, and low commodity prices are threatening North Dakotan prosperity, pension funds for teachers and state employees are sliding into arrears due to slipping oil prices, a pipeline is what the state needs, Riske said. Used correctly shipping oil via pipelines is half the cost of transportation by rail or truck. Energy Transfer Partners also has obtained the proper authority to complete the pipeline, the Public Service Commission did their work correctly, Riske said, but President Obama came up from behind and threw the project into chaos.

“If I were governor, I would say, ‘Obama, we are removing all our law enforcement by this date and we ask you to replace them all, or take over the bills, and then you work this deal out. Come here and get this deal done.’”

Oil and natural gas are necessities for North Dakota, and for the nation, Riske said, and although he plans to begin using solar panels on his own property, the technology for alternative energy is not ready to take over the fossil fuel industry.

“I know damn well you don’t want oil to go away,” Riske said. “This notion that we can end fossil fuels is uniformed.”

North Dakota has to get Bakken oil to market, or North Dakota will “suffer greatly,” Riske said.

“By doing what we’re doing, we’re putting the shivers into the whole pipeline program in North Dakota.”

Doug Burgum - online sources

Doug Burgum

Doug Burgum, the Republican candidate for governor of North Dakota, said free speech and the right to protest need to be respected, but that law and order must be maintained on federal lands.

“One of things that makes our country so special is the right of free speech and the right to peacefully protest,” Burgum said. “The state should continue to request that the federal government uphold their responsibility for maintaining peace and order on federal land. Going forward, we need to remember that disagreement can exist alongside mutual respect, listening, and dialogue as we work together towards a peaceful, constructive resolution.”

The signpost at Standing Rock Camp - photo by C.S. Hagen

The signpost at Standing Rock Camp – photo by C.S. Hagen

Gray Eminence: Power Behind Dakota Access

The fourth story in the continuing fight spearheaded by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against Big Oil to save water and sacred indigenous lands in North Dakota

By C.S. Hagen
FARGO, ND – The true power behind the Dakota Access Pipeline extends beyond the private sector and into state leadership. This gray eminence – or power behind the proverbial throne – rivals the story books both ancient and modern, truth and fiction.

Such as China’s Empress Dowager Cixi who was the iron will behind Qing Dynasty’s last emperor, Puyi, or Dick Cheney, dubbed the “intellectual godfather” of President George W. Bush’s administration. In North Dakota, politicians have been bought, unilaterally across the state by big oil and gas lobbyists, according to statesmen and analysts. Some have invested heavily into Bakken oil interests declaring profits for the good of North Dakota’s infrastructure.

“We are where we are… and having difficulties today because only one side has been able to really participate in the decision making in North Dakota that’s totally dominated by the oil industry,” Don Morrison, executive director of the Dakota Resource Council, said. “So what’s happened is our elected officials – every single one of them – is supported by the oil industry.”

The USD 3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline project has drawn thousands of activists together to an encampment outside of Cannon Ball, ND, in what is known as the largest gathering of Native Americans in 140 years, since the Battle of the Greasy Grass, where Colonel George Armstrong Custer made his infamous “last stand.”

It isn’t the first time North Dakota has leapt into the oil race, with the best intentions, but the state is now blindly following big oil’s agenda and supporting it with every law possible, Chase Iron Eyes, a lawyer and the Democratic challenger for the US House or Representatives for North Dakota, said. Iron Eyes has no support from the oil and gas sector in his 2016 race against Congressman Kevin Cramer R-N.D.

“It is a conflict of interest,” Iron Eyes said. “As a lawyer, I would get in trouble for that. In this case the client is the people of North Dakota, and it is obvious what has happened in the last 10 years. Our politicians do not do what is best for the people.”

Ten years ago, most people in North Dakota supported responsible growth in the Bakken Formation. Today, however, an unhealthy environment of either you are either for oil, or against oil, with no room in-between, has emerged, Morrison said.

“The power of the oil industry in so many ways sets the agenda of North Dakota. It’s what they do,” Morrison said. “They dominate. They’ don’t listen to anyone else’s opinion. Why? Because North Dakota elected officials have decided that’s the future of North Dakota, and that they don’t want to fight the oil industry.

“Every time questions are raised about this, people are accused that they want the oil industry to go away. And it’s been designed by the politicians to do the bidding of the oil industry.”

Iron Eyes wants responsible growth in the state, but on North Dakota’s terms. As a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, founder of the Last Real Indians website, and an activist who challenged white supremacists’ attempt to take over the town of Leith, North Dakota in 2013, Iron Eyes said today’s oil conundrum is the fallout from politically-motivated personal interests and big oil pressure from behind the scenes.

chase-iron-eyes-marching-with-activists-at-ndsu

Chase Iron Eyes marching with activists at NDSU – photo by C.S. Hagen

On Friday, Iron Eyes arrived in Fargo to march with advocates of Standing Rock at North Dakota State University. Approximately 40 students and supporters attended the march. Prayers were said. Every participant was smudged with sweetgrass. Before marching, Iron Eyes recalled the day in 2010 when he saw – for the first time – big oil lobbyists in Bismarck’s YMCA.

“I thought, oh no, big oil is moving in,” Iron Eyes said. “I didn’t think too much of it at the time, but now I know it was the conglomerate that began pulling our state in this direction. I’m running for Congress out of necessity. I take a look around and I see that our government is broken, and I feel responsible to do my part to try and fix this on behalf of North Dakota.”

The Dakota Access Pipeline will also have a negative effect on the railway and trucking industries, Iron Eyes said. Iron Eyes has received numerous emails from labor unions and shipping industries asking him questions. “I don’t know how deep the rabbit hole goes, but it’s all about who gets the money, who gets the authority to transport.”

Not everyone believes big oil’s agenda is pulling North Dakota’s strings, rather that state and big oil interests are aligned. Bismarck Mayor Mike Seminary said that although the possibility of conflicts of interests exists, he doesn’t believe it to be true among North Dakota’s current politicians.

“I think it is par for the course across the board,” Seminary said. “I don’t think that’s a conflict of interest. It always bothers me when people go there. I would never ever, ever question whatever motive they have for making investments. They’re trying to get a return. For the better part of eight years that was one of the best places to get money if you wanted a return.”

Recently, the “Commission,” or North Dakota Industrial Commission, Oil and Gas Division, a government agency established in 1919 to manage certain utilities, currently comprised of Governor Jack Dalrymple, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, and Agricultural Commissioner Doug Goehring, pushed big oil agenda by attempting to ban the public sector from testifying, or having any input at Commission meetings. Only “interested parties,” which would have included project owners and landowners would have been allowed to testify, if the suggestion had been ratified.

Open processes are difficult, Senator Erin Oban said at the April 11, 2016 hearing about new rules for state oil regulation, but they are necessary.

“It would have been easier, I suppose, to limit that process and to only allow a select few to testify,” Oban said. “But my job as a public servant is not to make things easier for me, it’s to make it open and accessible to the public.”

President of the labor advocacy group North Dakota AFL-CIO, Waylon Hedegaard, attended the same meeting, and said big oil has cozied up to North Dakota politicians, effecting legislation, and twisting policy to their collective wills.

“I believe everything we do has to be done to the best of our abilities,” Hedegaard said. “Our government has to regulate to the highest degree, achieve the highest quality, we have to hire the most skilled craftsmen, the most skilled people, and our government has not regulated the oil field nearly to the extent it should have.”

The lack or regulation concerning oil drilling, fracking, waste disposal, and crude transportation has created the perception that all construction in the Bakken region is about bad players putting poor pipes into the ground, Hedegaard said. Hedegaard also asked the Commission to strike the amendment from the proposed rules.

“The essence of democracy is that everyone who thinks they are a stakeholder in something comes together vocally, or gets their opinion out there, and then argues over it and we come to a compromise,” Hedegaard said. “It is not democracy when there’s another group of people limiting who has interest in a certain thing. Democracy is a messy thing.”

Activists on the Missouri River near Cannon Ball, ND - photo by C.S. Hagen

Activists on the Missouri River near Cannon Ball, ND – photo by C.S. Hagen

Rocks, according to retired correctional officer Eric Thompson, are the only disinterested party to big oil interests.

“If a party drinks water, oil and gas developers could take a minute to make them an interested party,” Thompson said at the hearing. “If a party breathes air, oil and gas developers could take a minute because air is a requirement for life.”

During recent legislative processes, oil companies have frequently opposed changes, and continue to do so stating the “crackdown” is too expensive and that the timing is bad – oil price decline has caused steep inactivity in drilling in North Dakota. No oil companies stepped forward to oppose the “interested party” amendment, according to Commission records.

North Dakota, the second-biggest oil producing state in the USA, and among the ten largest oil patches in the world, has historically been lackadaisical about instating stricter regulations. A spirit of leniency toward oil companies has been fostered in North Dakota, analysts said. Criticism over lowering fines for oil and saltwater spills has mounted. In January 2016 the Commission agreed to scrutinize the issues, but behind close doors.

Some of the state’s top politicians are chairmen or members of regulating agencies governing big oil and Native American interests. Additionally, big oil supports the political campaigns for Dalrymple, Senator John Hoeven, Senator Heidi Heitkamp, and Cramer, making their voice, according to some, tainted.

Kevin Cramer

Kevin Cramer

Congressman Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where some of the largest legislative battles regarding oil regulation are started. Cramer is also a member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Energy and Commerce), and a member of the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, and has served on the North Dakota Indian Affairs Committee. Cramer’s largest campaign contributor is the oil and gas sector with a total of USD 138,500, Xcel Energy contributed USD 12,000, and Tesoro Corp. contributed USD 11,000.

John Hoeven

John Hoeven

Senator John Hoeven, R-N.D., is on the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and also a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Hoeven is a member of the Subcommittee on Energy, the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining, and the Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy. Hoeven’s largest campaign contributor is the oil and gas sector with a total of USD 327,963, including Continental Resources, Inc. and its CEO, Harold Hamm, who collectively donated USD 18,200. ExxonMobil contributed USD 10,000, and Whiting Petroleum Corporation contributed USD 2,750. Energy Transfer Partners donated USD 5,000 to Hoeven’s 2016 campaign. Hoeven has invested in 68 different oil-producing wells in North Dakota listed under the 2012-company Mainstream Investors, LLC, according to the United States Senate financial disclosure form.

Jack Dalrymple

Jack Dalrymple

Governor Jack Dalrymple, R-N.D., a long-time advocate of oil interests, chairman of the Commission, and is also the chairman of the Commission and the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission. The top supporter for Dalrymple’s most recent campaign is the oil and gas sector with USD 467,290 in donations, and Hamm personally donated USD 20,000, while Hess Corporation’s CEO John Hess gave USD 25,000. Dalrymple has stated he will not run for a second term.

Heidi Heitkamp

Heidi Heitkamp

Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a ranking member of the Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, and a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. The tenth-ranking supporter for Heitkamp’s campaign is the energy and natural resource sector, according to Vote Smart, and the oil and gas sector is the third largest contributor to Heitkamp’s 2016 campaign with a total of USD 258,379, according to Open Secrets. Hess Corp donated USD 19,600, BP contributed USD 17,750, Continental Resources, Inc. donated USD 17,500, American Petroleum Institute donated USD 13,250, and Xcel Energy donated USD 13,000.

Chase Iron Eyes

Chase Iron Eyes

Chase Iron Eyes, D-N.D. has raised USD 82,127 in 2016, running as the challenger for District 1 as a Democrat. Iron Eyes has no support from oil and gas or energy and natural resources sectors, and his largest contributing sector is casinos and gambling. Ho-Chunk Nation is top supporter with a donation of USD 5,400.

Kelley Warren

Kelcy Warren

Kelcy Warren, the main force behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, founder of Energy Transfer Partners, is worth USD 7.3 billion, according to Bloomberg, Dakota Access Pipeline quietly purchased 6,000 acres last week of private ranch land near to Camp of the Sacred Stone – the historic Cannon Ball Ranch, which begs questions on how the purchase was made possible. Energy Transfer Partners donated USD 304,200 in 2016 and USD 581,300 in 2014 to political campaigns.

Harold Hamm

Harold Hamm

Harold Hamm, Bakken fracking mogul, and Continental Resources, Inc. CEO, long time financial supporter of North Dakota’s politicians, and worth approximately USD 13.8 billion, according to Forbes. Hamm is currently the campaign energy advisor to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and is a candidate for energy secretary of the United States if Trump is elected in 2016.

  • Top national recipients of support from Continental Resources, Inc. 2016
    • 3rd Place: Heidi Heitkamp – USD 11,300
    • 4th Place: Donald Trump – USD 10,928
    • 5th Place: John Hoeven – USD 10,200
    • 14th Place: Kevin Cramer – USD 5,000
    • In 2014, Continental Resources donated USD 6,200 to Heidi Heitkamp, and USD 3,500 to Kevin Cramer
  • Top national recipients of support from Hess Corp. 2016
    • 2nd Place: John Hoeven – USD 20,800
    • 8th Place: Kevin Cramer – USD 10,000
    • 19th Place: Heidi Heitkamp – USD 3,500
    • In 2014, Hess Corp donated USD 15,600 to Heidi Heitkamp and USD 2,600 to Kevin Cramer
  • Top national recipients of support from BP 2016
    • 5th Place: Heidi Heitkamp – USD 15,700
    • 100th Place: John Hoeven – USD 1,000
    • In 2014, BP donated USD 2,000 to both Heidi Heitkamp and John Hoeven
  • Top national recipients of support from Energy Transfer Partners 2016
    • 6th Place: John Hoeven – USD 5,000
    • In 2014, Energy Transfer Partners donated USD 1,500 to both Kevin Cramer and Heidi Heitkamp

– financial statements made available by Vote Smart and OpenSecrets Center for Responsive Politics – statistics do not reflect Dark Money groups, or educational or membership building donations.

Every day, 1,027,131 barrels of oil are produced in North Dakota, and a total of 1,662,917 thousand cubic feet of natural gasses are produced from 13,248 wells, according to the North Dakota Industrial Commission, Department of Mineral Resources.

Since January 2016, more than 100,900 gallons of crude oil, waste oil, bio solids, natural gas, and brine were spilled in North Dakota and surrounding areas, according to the North Dakota Department of Health records. Approximately 50,000 gallons of slaked lime solids slid into the Missouri River in June causing unknown impacts, according to the North Dakota Department of Health.

Few companies involved in the spills have been fined. In January, the Commission reviewed six outstanding spill cases with fines totaling USD 600,000, according to the Bismarck Tribune. Additionally, past spills are still being cleaned up around the state, such as the Tesoro Corp. spill of 2013, the XTO Energy, and the Oasis Petroleum Inc. spills of 2014 and 2015, according to Bill Suess, Spill Investigation Program manager of North Dakota Department of Health.

Spills occur on a daily basis, Suess said, the cleanup is costly, and companies are rarely fined.

“Not every one gets fined,” Suess said. “Usually we hold off as long as we can on the fines because it is a motivator to get them cleaning it up.”

The North Dakota Industrial Commission’s policy on levying fines for damaging spills is unclear, and is usually negotiated then settled for a fraction of the initial fine. In 2015 and 2016 the Commission proposed a total of USD 4,525,000 in penalties, collecting USD 125,976, and suspending for one year a total of USD 461,250. No violations were reportedly committed, according to the Commission.

“Although generally reported otherwise, fines are never forgiven,” the Commission’s Public Information Officer Alison Ritter said. Every fine is a legal process, and if a company contests a fine the case will be taken to court. “Fines are suspended for a period of time, usually a year, to encourage changed behavior from a company.”

Wild West: Cowboys vs. Indians

Racism against Native Americans in North Dakota, is prevalent across the state. Nearly every activist who stands to speak in Big Camp’s Sacred Circle mentions racism, oppression, and genocide, in one form or another.

North Dakota Highway Patrol logo

North Dakota State Highway Patrol logo

From the logo emblazoned on State Highway Patrol vehicles – Sitting Bull’s killer Marcellus Red Tomahawk – who was from Cannon Ball area, to whistleblowers in 2012 condemning federal and state authorities of allowing native children to be placed in homes with sexual predators, to the recent use of attack dogs against activists, to blatant disregard and ignorance for native cultures, to big companies armed with eminent domain laws whose only concern is profit, to North Dakota politicians, namely Cramer during a 2013 meeting with Abused Women Services, who verbally attacked and threatened Native Americans.

The list goes on. The State Highway Patrol’s emblem is a constant reminder of oppression, many activists said. From the beginning of the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not include Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in meaningful discussions, the lawsuit filed by Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stated. Native archeologists have been ignored, activists said. Petitions for consultation as a sovereign nation went unanswered, according to court documents. Morton County law enforcement is working under standard operating procedures, without regard to native practices or culture, officials said. And now, Dakota Access Pipeline quietly purchased 6,000 acres of private ranch land near to Camp of the Sacred Stone – the historic Cannon Ball Ranch. A blow to Standing Rock Sioux some say is below the belt.

Buffalo drinking from pond near the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline - by C.S. Hagen

Buffalo drinking from pond near Cannon Ball Ranch – photo by C.S. Hagen

Twenty parcels of the Cannon Ball Ranch, established 1883 and inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1999, was sold to Dakota Access Pipeline by David and Kathy Meyer on September 22, for an undisclosed sum. The area lies west of Highway 1806 where the Standing Rock Sioux claim burial grounds and other sacred sites were disturbed on September 3, the day of the attack dogs and pepper spray that injured at least eight people, according to camp attorney Angela Bibens.

“The signs are there, as far as the fear politics,” Iron Eyes said. “Just being unwilling to back down from that posture. It revives the old prejudices that exist, that we’re trying to evolve from. We’ve been living side by side for 120 years, and now it gives the Indian the reason they need to demonize white people. The white people are at our door again, and trying to make us beg again. They’re trying to turn us into beggars.”

One other questionable fact raised Seminary’s eyebrows when he first heard news the pipeline’s route was moved from north of Bismarck’s water wells to its current location, a spear’s throw from Standing Rock Sioux Tribe reservation land. He knew trouble was coming.

“And here is the first thing I said to myself, ‘Really. Really? You were concerned about Bismarck’s water source? You just made your job a lot harder.’ That was my first impression, and that probably didn’t win me any supporters on the deal.”

“It feels a lot like racism,” Iron Eyes said. “We’re all evolving from some form of say, I don’t want to use this word, oppression, but that is what it is.”

Seminary agreed with Iron Eyes that systemic racism is a contributing factor to today’s controversy over the Dakota Access Pipeline. This racism, dating back hundreds of years, emboldens the “wasi’chu,” or the white man to exclude natives in important talks with a historically ‘take what we want’ mentality. Ignorance on how to approach tribes like the Standing Rock Sioux as sovereign nations under binding treaties with the United States government, has been in play since the planning stages of Dakota Access Pipeline, activists and legal documents stated.

“But nobody talks about that stuff in North Dakota,” Iron Eyes said. “The governor created the emergency, he declared it, and he called in the National Guard, and now he is crawling to Obama, asking him to foot the bill for this emergency.

“There is no emergency to speak of that merits his kind of response.”

“We have some racial tension in this,” Seminary said. “We have some racial tension in the country. For whatever reason it is worse now than it has been for some time. I don’t care what someone looks like, I don’t care about ethnicity, we are all on God’s planet and we’re supposed to do as much as we can for each other while we are here.”

Looking back, Iron Eyes wondered if the entire Dakota Access Pipeline situation couldn’t have gone much differently if only all parties involved sat down to discuss with mutual respect. In the words of Sioux chief and holy man Sitting Bull, “Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.”

Seminary wants to help open dialogue between all parties, and traveled to Cannon Ball area to discuss racism problems last weekend.

“It just seems like we have let the civility escape the discussion. If in fact, we’re dealing with a sovereign nation, which we are, I don’t know that this standard operating procedure for how the state or its agency conducts business, is necessarily what you want to hang your hat on.

“It is a sovereign nation. Maybe, just maybe another step should have been added to the process,” Seminary said.

Activists singing alongside the Missouri River near Cannon Ball, ND - photo by C.S. Hagen

Activists singing alongside the Missouri River near Cannon Ball, ND – photo by C.S. Hagen

No Light at Pipeline’s End

On the day Dalrymple declared a state of emergency, Iron Eyes approached the governor, petitioning for an opportunity to gather all interested parties to talk about rerouting the pipeline.

“They’re not interested in anything other than what they announced as their plan, and they’re unwilling to back down from that posture,” Iron Eyes said. “Everyone is doubling down.”

From the governor, to Morton County law enforcement, to Dakota Access LLC, no one appears willing to consult with the Standing Rock Sioux and come to a compromise.

“As non partisan leaders, we are not against progress,” Iron Eyes said. The smear campaign coming from North Dakota’s extreme right, coupled with Dakota Access LLC’s refusal to discuss the issues, threatens any kind of peace.

Energy Transfer Partners’ response came in the form of an in-house memo from its CEO, Warren, who vowed to his employees to complete the 1,172-mile pipeline on time. The pipeline, if built, will “safely move American oil to American markets,” Warren stated. “It will reduce our dependence on oil from unstable regions of the world and drive down the cost of petroleum products for American industry and consumers.”

“How long can we continue with this economic reality?” Iron Eyes said. “We can continue it a lot longer if we are smart about this. We have a shelf life, we are at a tipping point as a global consumer and we have to figure out how to survive this. We can’t treat the earth as if fresh water will always be available. As if deforestation and climate change aren’t real issues. Right now it doesn’t seem to be happening, but this thing changes every day. There are going to be pipelines built here, we’re slow to evolve, so let’s do it in a way that’s smart for our state, and our people. We can do that if we avoid the Missouri River.”

If a reroute is not on the table, then there will be no “lawful resolution,” Iron Eyes said. Civil disobedience will continue.

Around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday 200 activists marched on to a Dakota Access Pipeline construction site off of Highway 6, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department. Thirty private security personnel at the scene, most left by the time protesters arrived. Three remained behind, and one security personnel was assaulted, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department.

“When law enforcement arrived, they witnessed protesters carrying the security guard for approximately 100 yards,” Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said. “The guard was treated for minor injuries.”

Activists departed once law enforcement arrived, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department, but officers reported seeing knives and one activist with a pistol. On Tuesday, five more activists were arrested near St. Anthony along Highway 6, according to sheriff’s department spokesmen, and on Wednesday, 21 more protesters were arrested by officers assigned to the Dakota Access Pipeline, raising the total amount of people arrested to 95. Law enforcement brandished automatic weapons, shotguns, and drove up in an armored riot-control vehicle with sound cannons, amidst activists chanting “We have no weapons.”  More arrests are pending after deputies review video and photographs taken at the scene.

“Our officers are trained to respond to the threats they perceive and to take appropriate action,” Kirchmeier said. “A charging horse combined with totality of the situation presented an imminent threat to the officer.”

“It’s a real pickle,” Seminary said. “I’m not qualified to give anything other than my opinion. Whatever the decision is I pray it is a peaceful result. I think there are some real significant decisions ahead. It’s just such a mess right now. I don’t know how, but we’ve got to go back to the drawing board.”

Activists take over Dakota Access Pipeline work area - photo provided by Morton County Sheriff's Department

Activists take over Dakota Access Pipeline work area – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department

 

 

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