Keystone Pipeline leak contained, but largest to date in South Dakota
By C.S. Hagen AMHERST, SOUTH DAKOTA – Four days before TransCanada anticipated obtaining permits for the Keystone XL project, the company’s older pipeline leaked, spilling more than 210,000 gallons of Canadian crude oil into the South Dakota plains.
The spill occurred near the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe Reservation.
“It’s not if pipelines leak, but when they will leak, and we’re experiencing a leak, a pretty substantial amount,” Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Flute said in a public video. “We want to know what was the cause, why it happened, and how much was spilled, and what impact that will have on our environment.”
The leak occurred at 5:30 a.m. Thursday near Amherst, South Dakota, and the Keystone Pipeline was shut down within 30 minutes, Brian Walsh, team leader for the South Dakota Department of Environment & Natural Resources, said. Cleanup crews are at work, and Walsh’s agency is overseeing the cleanup process.
Keystone Pipeline spill in Amherst, SD aerial photograph – provided by TransCanada
“The spill has not reached any surface water, and it is contained,” Walsh said. “It’s not flowing off site. They have mobilized equipment necessary to begin the cleanup activities to the site and we anticipate they will work 24 hours a day to clean up the area.”
The Keystone Pipeline is operated by TransCanada, which manages a 56,900-mile network of pipelines extending from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, according to a press release made available by TransCanada. On the TransCanada Twitter page, company officials posted that they are currently assessing the situation near Amherst.
“Frequent updates are being provided to the affected landowners, community, regulators, and other state and federal agencies to ensure they are aware of our progress,” the press release stated. No mention was made of why the oil leaked.
“In terms of cost of cleanup that falls on TransCanada,” Walsh said. “In terms of penalties, we just don’t know at this time.”
On the Twitter page entitled Keystone Pipeline Sabotage, oil and pipeline proponents began crying foul hours after the spill.
“Wouldn’t put it past the crazy Dems to sabotage the pipeline,” someone named ARI Russian BOT said.
“Just as the approval was pending,” a commentator named Doug said. “Want to bet it was sabotage?”
Cleanup is no small feat, and could take months, perhaps years. All contaminated soil must be removed. If diluted bitumen, which has the consistency of thick tar, reaches water sources such as lakes, ponds, rivers, or aquifers, the cleanup would become nearly impossible, as bitumen, opposed to crude oil, sinks in water.
The Keystone XL Pipeline was first proposed in 2008, but the project received widespread opposition in Canada and the United States, and it ended with President Barrack Obama’s 2015 decision to reject the pipeline’s permits. President Donald Trump breathed new life into the Keystone XL Pipeline after signing a flurry of executive orders four days after ascending to the presidency.
TransCanada was in negotiations with regulators to run the Keystone XL Pipeline, with a capacity of 830,000-barrels-per-day, through Nebraska when the spill occurred.
The spill has many speculating if the company’s expansion permits will be approved, or not. Legally, pipeline safety is not a factor in issuing permits, according to Nebraska law. The state’s law says regulators are not allowed to consider the risks of pipeline accidents when considering permissions for pipeline construction, as the issue is federal, not state.
“In determining whether the pipeline carrier has met its burden, the commission shall not evaluate safety considerations, including the risk or impact of spills or leaks from the major oil pipeline,” Nebraska’s Major Oil Pipeline Siting Act stated.
Pro-pipeline politicians and businessmen continuously state pipelines are the safest method to transport crude oil, but pipeline opponents contest, saying all pipelines will one day leak.
Spills are unavoidable, according to an August 2017 report compiled by the Dakota Resource Council, a nonpartisan watchdog group.
The Dakota Resource Council’s report stated that the oil boom in the Bakken is endangering people’s health, and that the state lacks meaningful standards for detecting and repairing leaks.
“Each day, oil and gas activities across the state spring leaks that spew toxic pollution into the air, like an invisible spill,” the report stated. “The smog that pollution causes to form is endangering the health of communities across North Dakota.”
From 2010 to the present, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration or PHMSA reported a total of 373 spills between three major pipeline companies. After Thursday’s incident, and two leaks from the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2017, that number is 376.
Not including Thursday’s spill, TransCanada and subsidiaries had 13 spills totaling 829 barrels or 34,818 gallons of crude oil
Kinder Morgan and subsidiaries and joint ventures had 213 spills totaling 21,598 barrels or 907,116 gallons of hazardous liquids
Enbridge and its subsidiaries and joint ventures had 147 spills totaling 40,794 barrels or 1,713,348 gallons of hazardous liquids.
The $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline sprung two leaks in March 2017, spilling 84 gallons in Watford City and 20 gallons in Mercer County
“Additionally three other tar sands pipelines, Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain, Enbridge’s Line 3 expansion, and TransCanada’s Energy East, are in various stages of development,” a 2017 Greenpeace report stated. “Construction of one or more of these pipelines could lead to the expansion of the tar sands, with serious consequences for communities and the climate.”
Although environmental activists have been fighting big oil and pipelines for years, the controversy took front pages across the world in 2016 during construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota. Resistance camps grew to become one of the state’s largest communities at one time exceeding 10,000 people. Approximately 854 people were arrested during the months-long opposition outside of Standing Rock, and so far 310 of those arrested have had their cases dismissed of were acquitted, according to the Water Protector Legal Collective, a law firm defending activists facing charges in North Dakota.
More than 120 First Nations and Indigenous tribes on both sides of the northern border have signed a treaty stating their opposition to the tar sands pipelines, trains, and tankers through their territories and lands.
Nearby, on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe Reservation, they’re wanting answers, but said that even though the spill occurred outside of their jurisdiction, TransCanada is being transparent with them.
“There is not an accurate amount of spillage that they can quantify,” Chairman Dave Flute said. “If there is any possible issue that we could have with our water, they will let us know,” Flute said. “Everybody knows there is a spill, we just don’t know how many gallons.”
Already, people from out of state are arriving at the cordoned spill area, Flute said.
“As [former Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman] Dave Archambault had preached, and I supported Archambault, be peaceful,” Flute said. “If you do come up here I do ask that you be mindful, and be respectful. Freedom of speech, you can say what you want to say, but be respectful.”
Flute said pipeline officials reacted quickly, and have shown concern for residents.
The North Dakota Public Service Commission was also contacted for comment on the safety of current pipelines operating in North Dakota, but no response was given by press time.
City leaders, law enforcement, state residents have had enough; Standing Rock and supporters say they’re already home
By C.S. Hagen
BISMARCK – The day before President Obama pardoned the Thanksgiving Turkey, Peace Garden State leaders told Standing Rock and the tribe’s supporters that North Dakota has had enough.
“It’s time for them to go home,” Bismarck Mayor Mike Seminary said to the activists camped outside of Standing Rock. “I thank the visitors for coming, making their message known. It’s loud and clear… It has been profound, and we understand. No more productive messaging can really be done, you’ve said everything that needs to be said…
“It’s now time for them to go home.”
Seminary added that law enforcement involved in the DAPL controversy was doing an “incredible job,” and thanked those that make the city of Bismarck run.
“I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday,” Seminary said. “God bless you.”
Those camped out at Oceti Sakowin are frightened. Many come from across the nation to protect the Missouri River against the USD 3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline. Arrests are mounting, totaling 528 by Wednesday afternoon. Local anger against Standing Rock and its stance against the pipeline is spilling into metropolitan streets as pro-DAPL protesters gather wherever activists go. The capitol building has been repeatedly shut down. Roads have been closed. Alerts follow activists’ movements on resident cell phones.
Activists say they’re being harassed. Law enforcement say they’re experiencing “doxing,” a practice of identifying and releasing police identities to the public.
Law enforcement reported they felt threatened Sunday night, standing behind cement blocks and multiple rolls of razor wire, and were forced to use water cannons and hoses on activists. Supporters of Standing Rock said they were gathered in prayer, that they started no fires except for those made to keep warm.
Anger is rising across the area, fierce and cold as the north winter wind. Despite tribal elders call for peaceful demonstration and civil disobedience, violence is escalating.
Kicked out
Monday night, Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney and Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler called activists Liz George, 26, and Kana Newell, 23, over to their table while they were eating at the Chinese restaurant Rice Bowl, according to George.
After a brief conversation, both Laney and Ziegler ordered the two women out of the restaurant, and threatened to arrest them both for disorderly conduct, according to video footage.
Liz George
George wasn’t worried when she approached the two police chiefs, she said. “We thought we’d say hi, show them that we are peaceful and not the image they have and then leave,” George said. “But they also called out to us on our way out so it would have been rude for me to just ignore and walk out.”
George’s ancestry is from India, and she is from Michigan, and Newell is from Japan. They’re proud women of color, and have become friends at Oceti Sakowin, frequently going on actions together. They both were on the front lines Sunday night when law enforcement turned water cannons on the activists in sub-freezing temperatures.
Newell was hit by the water, and by a percussion grenade, which exploded in the air above her, knocking her to the ground. Both breathed in CS gas, and Newell is still coughing.
“I didn’t think so much about the water, all I thought about was holding up this line,” Newell said. “We had to hold that line to protect the people behind us.” Eventually, the cold numbed her fingers and toes; her hair froze. Friends had to help her change out of her clothes.
Kana Newell
And then she returned to the front line.
The next night, Newell and George traveled into Mandan to eat Chinese food.
“We didn’t go into that restaurant to pick a fight,” Newell said. “We went in to have a meal, and heal and laugh a little bit.”
Laney called out to them as they were leaving, George said, and he was friendly, at first. His tone changed quickly. Two gentlemen at a nearby table were called over to join the conversation, but the two women could not talk above Laney’s voice, George said.
“He was trying to make an example out of us,” George said. “I think the reason we were mistreated was because, yes, we are women of color, but also because of the Water is Life badge. And that made me think, yes, I can take that badge off, but native men and black men cannot ever take theirs off.”
“If we had not worn that badge we probably would not have been targeted,” Newell said. “It’s a lot to process.”
Neither woman had experienced police intimidation before coming to Standing Rock, they said. Now, it’s difficult to sleep. George jumps whenever she hears a loud noise. She pulls out her cell phone as protocol when police approach.
“It’s an unjust use of power, and the law sort of allows it,” Newell said. “What does disorderly conduct really mean? The police get to decide, and that leaves us powerless.”
Both women are frightened, and they’re not going to wear their Water is Life badges when going into town in the future. On Wednesday, during an action in Bismarck, different police confronted the two women when the vehicle they were riding in failed to properly signal a right turn.
George was sitting in the back seat and took her seat belt off after the car was put in park, she said. Officers then threatened to arrest her for failure to wear a seatbelt, she said.
“They’re basically intimidating us, they’re forcing me to give them my ID, which I didn’t want to give to him,” George said. “I asked them to bring a couple more officers over. We’re surrounded by cops, and they are indiscriminately pulling people over for nothing, and basically fabricating charges.”
North Dakota’s seat belt laws say that all front seat occupants must be buckled up; anyone younger than 18 must be properly restrained no matter where they sit, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, but the law states no requirement for those older than 18 in the backseat.
“They’re using pure intimidation tactics on us,” Newell said. She sat in the backseat of the car with George.
“It’s only against us,” George said. “There are a lot of pro DAPL protesters out here, and none of them are affected by anything. This is the second day in a row that we’ve been harassed and intimidated by police in Bismarck and Mandan. I’m just kind of shaken up; it’s the second time this has happened to us. It’s ridiculous, but it’s almost funny what they’re doing out here. The charges they’re putting against us are humorous because of how false there are.”
“We know our rights,” Newell said.
An officer returned and issued three citations: failure to use proper turn signal, failure to use seatbelts, and failure to have a clean license plate. Fines for the citations totaled USD 60.
Case County Sheriff Paul Laney
Laney is a Cass County hero, according to his police biography. Originally from rural Cass County, near Horace, he served four years in the Marine Corps before becoming a Fargo police officer. He served as a lieutenant and commander of the Red River Valley SWAT Team, and was sworn in as Cass County Sheriff in 2007. He is president of the North Dakota Sheriff’s and Deputies Association, serves on the board of directors for the North Dakota Association of Counties. Laney is decorated, heavily, including the 2011 winner of the “Government Leader of the Year” award and in 2012 the “National Sheriff of the Year” award.
He has also been serving as Morton County Sheriff’s Department operations chief since mid August.
Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler
Ziegler is not from North Dakota, but is also a former Marine who served during the Gulf War. While in the Marine Corps he earned the rank of a corporal, and later became a lieutenant in the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office in Florida He was named Mandan’s police chief in 2015.
Both Laney and Ziegler, their offices, the departments’ public information officers were contacted for comment.
“This is the absolute first I’ve ever heard of this,” Cass County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kim Briggeman said.
“There’s another underlying story here and it goes further than the racism,” Tom Asbridge, a Morton County resident said. “If the two ladies at the Rice Bowl in Mandan were doing something out of line, then that’s a whole different thing, but there is no evidence of that. There is evidence that those two cops were abusive. Don’t you think it would have been much more prudent and wise to make friends of them and try to smile and say ‘hey, what can we do?’ Then it puts the onus on the two ladies. We don’t need to have people on police force acting like jerks.”
Asbridge ran for representative of District 30 this year, but lost, as he feels his viewpoints on issues including DAPL are in the minority in the Peace Garden State. He grew up near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, knows the area well, including Backwater Bridge, which authorities have deemed unsafe.
“Its subhuman, and there’s some profit motive going on, because there’s some other corruption beneath this, and nobody will touch it. It seems to me that if someone would lance this boil… I think there would be an element of goodness here in North Dakota that would just say ‘No, we don’t believe in this, we won’t put up with this kind of treatment by the people who are working for us.’
“But if there’s no story, if there’s no journalism here to report this, it will remain secret.”
Asbridge has been an “advocate for justice” for many years, he said, and he fears for Standing Rock.
“I think there is way more baiting by Morton County to induce bad stuff than one can imagine. Things don’t quite add up.”
Police spraying mace – photo by Liz George
Punishing Standing Rock
Asbridge says he calls Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier’s bluff that Backwater Bridge, the epicenter of much of the recent violence, is unsafe.
Tom Asbridge
“That’s a really great concrete bridge and it’s not very old. You’re not going to hurt that bridge by burning a few tires, some trash and logs on the bridge. They made that up. If it is unsafe why hasn’t the Department of Transportation been there with some people observing them? I would want to cover my proverbial butt; the bridge is not unsafe… I think it contains the natives where they are.”
Kirchmeier disagrees.
“North Dakota Department of Transportation has closed the Backwater Bridge due to damage caused after protesters set numerous fires on the bridge October 27,” Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported. Department of Transportation cannot inspect the bridge until law enforcement knows the area is safe, Kirchmeier said in a press conference.
Additionally, the best way to “punish Standing Rock is to shut down their economy,” Asbridge said. Shutting down Highway 1806 is putting the financial clamp on the tribe’s casino, Prairie Knights. “That’s their big source of revenue, and they’ve accomplished that.”
Once again, Morton County officials disagree. Shutting down Highway 1806, effectively turning Backwater Bridge into a war zone, was to protect against confrontations between activists and DAPL workers, Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported.
“This is some sophisticated people that are maneuvering, and manipulating, there are strings coming from higher up, and I think the governor is being manipulated by those same strings,” Asbridge said.
If someone challenged Governor Jack Dalrymple’s emergency declaration in court, Asbridge believes they would win. “There is no emergency. The linchpin was the use of the emergency, the use of the National Guard, the excessive use of the police, the law enforcement from all over the country. This is a feeding frenzy. This isn’t healthy to have a militarized police force doing this.”
Asbridge calls for federal intervention, because the state is biased.
“Take it out of the hands of the local people who are obviously biased and settle this dispute.”
In the meantime, Standing Rock and supporters have the right to be upset, Asbridge said. When the pipeline’s route was moved north of Bismarck to its current location less than a mile away from Standing Rock Sioux reservation, it was the spark that lit the native fire that has gathered thousands of supporters and more than 400 tribes from around the world.
“This is the eruption of 500 years of abuse, and they’ve finally taken a stand and said this is it. Whether they’re right in everything or not, I’m not sure it is as important. If you check, not one treaty with Standing Rock has ever been kept. Not one. And as a white American, that’s shameful.
“I don’t anticipate that this is not going to come to a very good end. The natives have lost the public sentiment. The media and the police have done such a good job of spreading disinformation, they’re very organized, and they’re good at it. And that’s too bad.”
Activist on the front lines – photo by Liz George
The pipeline
Asbridge stood with attorney Chase Iron Eyes and others in Bismarck in September before elections to make a plea to move the pipeline, and create an oil refinery west of Mandan. Bakken oil, utilizing a public utility – which is what the Dakota Access Pipeline is supposed to be – must benefit the American people, and not line the deep pockets of an out-of-state company and executives.
“We should discuss whether one drop of that oil will be burned in the United States,” Asbridge said. “It’s all for export. If this was about American energy independence, I would be on the side of the pipeline. But it’s not. It actually makes us more dependent on Saudi oil, and causes more bloodshed by Americans to protect Saudi oil. Our sons and daughters are going to war over there, and we’re going to ship that oil to China. That’s bad policy.”
The necessity of the pipeline is a moot point; local railroad companies can ship all the oil coming out of the Bakken, Asbridge said.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is 1,172 miles long, and is supposed to finish before the end of 2016, according to Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren. The drill pad to cross the Missouri River at Lake Oahe is ready; horizontal drilling equipment has been brought in, but the company lacks the easement it needs from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Dakota Access LLC is the subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, which combined with Sunoco Logistics Partners on Monday. Energy Transfer Equity controls both companies, according to media outlet Fortune.
On Wednesday, the North Dakota Industrial Commission called for better monitoring and higher standards of pipelines that cross major bodies of waters after nearly 3 million gallons of brine spilled north of Williston. A newly-introduced Senate bill also states that the legislative management must consider studying technology that may be used on pipelines to detect or prevent leaks.
While the state legislature decides on a bill that may prove too little too late, George and Newell worry that law enforcement may sometime soon use live ammunition against activists.
“We’re scared for our people,” Newell said. She recently obtained a bachelors degree in zoology and marine science. “We don’t know what’s going to happen, this is just us processing all this.”
“I can’t even imagine what it is like to be an indigenous person in this community, regardless to what happens with the pipeline,” George said. “All we’ve heard in camp is the message of peace, and non-violence. It feels like home.”
A ride along with law enforcement clarifies the state’s legal stance, tensions along DAPL’s front lines show no signs of abating
By C.S. Hagen BISMARCK – North Dakota Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson’s police radio crackled to life; Standing Rock activists were caravanning toward Bismarck.
Troopers patrolling alongside the convoy stayed in constant contact over the radio, watching to see if the activists split up.
“We’ve lost the front part of the convoy,” a voice on the police radio said.
A bulletproof vest and a black cudgel were stowed in the cruiser’s back seat. Iverson’s government-issued Glock handgun sat holstered at his waist. During his 13 years with the Highway Patrol, he has drawn the weapon, but has never fired his sidearm in the line of duty.
North Dakota Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson – photo by C.S. Hagen
“We had all sorts of commotion yesterday,” Iverson said. In North Dakota, the No DAPL National Day of Action disrupted commerce on the BNSF railroad for more than three hours. Pro DAPL supporters lined up against anti DAPL activists at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers center; law enforcement prepared for confrontation. Pro DAPL activists named the oil pipeline “Mary.”
“I’m always careful of the word peaceful,” Iverson said, “because a peaceful protest would require the sense of calm. There has been no calm in any of this.”
“They’re trying to slow down, it looks like they’re going down Memorial Highway, they’re eastbound,” the police radio said.
“10-4.”
“Right now the plan is to drive around a little bit, monitor things,” Iverson said. He shifted the cruiser into drive; a couple just chose Bismarck’s Capitol grounds as a good place for a domestic quarrel.
“Obviously, I am biased, but there is overwhelming support for law enforcement,” Iverson said. “That being said, you can support law enforcement and be anti pipeline. I see no problem with that, or why anyone would have a problem with that.”
One male was arrested at the scene of the domestic quarrel, and Iverson turned his attention toward more than 175 activists who were gathering at the Bank of North Dakota, and at North Dakota National Guard Fraine Barracks.
“I could care less about the pipeline,” Iverson said. He’s careful not to lump the activists together, after all, Standing Rock is a neighbor; many in Bismarck have friends and family there. After the controversy dies down, they will all need time to heal and work together again. He also understands the majority of activists at Standing Rock are peaceful, but adds there is a violent group bent on doing whatever it takes to stop the pipeline. His job is to protect everyone: the peaceful, the potentially violent, the civil disobedient, DAPL workers, the area’s citizens, and fellow officers. He prefers helping the asphalt’s stranded change flat tires to the recent front lines in Morton County.
“I truly enjoy working with people and helping people,” Iverson said. “I know that sounds cliché, but I get more of a kick out of driving up on somebody and helping them change their tires. Seeing the smile on their face that I’ve helped them out for the day. That’s something that people overlook at times: we are public servants. That being said, the laws of North Dakota were made by the people. We are charged with enforcing those laws, so it is a representation of the people as a whole.
“We don’t want to make arrests. Quite frankly, it is a pain in the butt and takes a lot of time.”
Although DAPL is nearly finished, Iverson’s instincts tell him the controversy may get worse before it gets better. There is no solid intelligence that predicts the violence will increase more than it has, “but it’s always a possibility. Personally I would say when the time gets closer to boring under the river, the final piece, it would only make sense that those who are committed to civil disobedience and violence will go to more desperate measures.
“Some will do whatever it takes.”
And the North Dakota Highway Patrol, along with other agencies involved, will do whatever they have to do in response, and for as long as it takes, he said. Departments involved are emotionally exhausted. Lines are strained. “This is very taxing on our officers, and from a budget standpoint, it’s costing taxpayers a large amount of money, but it is needed, and it is justified. But we will do whatever it takes to make sure that we are keeping up and providing adequate resources to do what the citizens of North Dakota expect us to do.
“Will it be stressful and taxing? Definitely.”
So far, Morton County Sheriff’s Department has spent more than USD 10 million taxpayer dollars since August. The state is paying for all assisting personnel, according to State Representative Mary Schneider D-N.D.
“But it’s time to figure out something else,” Schneider said. “I don’t know what that is, but the federal government should step in and find a solution to put this back together. It’s not fair to the local tribe and the local ranchers, farmers and taxpayers.”
Iverson has received many emails and telephone calls from people who feel law enforcement response has been brutal and unnecessary. Less than five emails, he said, were from North Dakota residents.
Frustrated
Today, DAPL’s drill pad, surrounded by deep ditches, a 15-foot tall HESCO bastion topped with razor wire, is poised like an army in ambush, less than a quarter mile from the Missouri River. Video footage from media outlet Digital Smoke Signals shows drill equipment has already arrived. Recently, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers temporarily denied Dakota Access Pipeline workers the easement needed to burrow under the Missouri River at Lake Oahe, a declaration called hypocritical by the Morton County Commission Chairman Cody Schulz.
North Dakota Capitol Building – photo by C.S. Hagen
“The scope of the federal government’s inaction is breathtaking,” Schulz said. “They have not only furthered the uncertainty of the situation and prolonged the outcome, but have at the same time refused law enforcement resources requested by the county and state to deal with a situation that is to a very large degree a federal issue. I find it more than a little hypocritical that the USACE and DOJ can stand up in a federal court and argue that all laws, regulations, rules, and policies were followed in their permitting of the project, and after a federal court agrees with them they backtrack and delay the final easement for more study.”
“We believe this is unnecessary and problematic delay that does nothing but continue to prolong the difficulty that we have as a state and as counties dealing with this great challenge,” North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple said. “Increases our costs and increases the risks of something happening that everybody will regret, and it is a mistake on behalf of the Corps.
“But as long as the federal government continues to allow protesters to camp on federal land near Cannonball without a permit, in other words to be there without permission, and as long as they fail to make a decision on the easement we believe this situation will continue. We have no choice…”
During a press conference, Dalrymple evaded a direct question if his office has contacted the U.S. Federal Marshal’s Office for assistance, but added that under normal circumstances the task of cleaning out the camps outside of Standing Rock would be a job for the U.S. Federal Marshals to lead. He said he has asked for federal assistance, but none has been forthcoming.
Dalrymple is frustrated “on every level,” he said. “The primary level where the frustration comes is simply the inaction on the part of the government, first the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We have come to believe that it is not really just the Corps itself, but the Department of Interior, Department of Justice, they have co signed letters to us that this should be delayed.”
Nearly two weeks ago, Dakota Access Pipeline’s parent company, Energy Transfer Partners, said through its CEO Kelcy Warren it will begin digging under the river within 14 days.
If DAPL begins horizontal drilling, Iverson will make sure the work is shut down immediately and violators arrested, he said.
“We are not in DAPL’s corner,” Iverson said. “We absolutely would not allow something unlawful to continue. If that can provide a peace of mind to protesters out there, I am on record right now saying that will not be happening, so without the proper permits and easements, we would not allow that to happen.”
“We’ll keep an eye on them… found one of the security guys here and he’s broadcasting the message over his walkie-talkie…” the police radio interrupted. “They seem to be willing, at least open to assemble where we’re directing them to. I do see a bunch of guys with large knives on their belts, other than that just a lot of flags again.”
Despite Iverson’s instincts citing possible escalation of violence in the near future, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office began returning home on Thursday, November 17, in time for the upcoming winter storm, Cass County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kim Briggeman said. Morton County officials said Cass County Sheriff’s troopers were home on Friday, but Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney did not return telephone calls for comment.
“All these DAPL days are running together,” Briggeman said. “But there was a time of need and our agency stood up just as many agencies did in North Dakota.” Briggeman would not comment on activities in Morton County, but did say Cass County Highway Patrol troopers responded again on August 15, and the department’s sheriff, who has been serving as Morton County’s operations chief since August was expected to return before the weekend. Additional troopers responded to a “code red” call from Morton County on the No DAPL National Day of Action, Briggeman said.
On the front lines
Iverson flipped through notes taken on the No DAPL National Day of Action. License plate numbers and states were penned neatly on a legal pad. Only one vehicle was from North Dakota, the rest came from California, Utah, and elsewhere.
“It shows you the out-of-state influence that is coming into the state of North Dakota,” Iverson said. “If there was that much support from citizens of North Dakota, I think we would be seeing a lot more vehicles from North Dakota out there.”
Activists on front lines facing off with law enforcement from four states – photo by C.S. Hagen
He’s been on the front lines. Recalled the day law enforcement evacuated the northern “Treaty Camp” on lands taken over by indigenous eminent domain declarations.
“As much as I would love to be the tough guy, it’s a fearful situation,” Iverson said. “It’s a surreal moment, where we are on the front line and are face to face with people who are trying everything they can to escalate the situation, such as lighting cars on fire, throwing logs, rocks, and sticks, and feces at officers. It’s a very surreal moment and we need to keep our composure.”
North Dakota has never seen nor handled such mass violence before, he said. The DAPL controversy is a historical event, and the eyes of the world are upon the Peace Garden State. The United Nations, President Obama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have petitioned Energy Transfer Partners to voluntarily halt pipeline construction, but the company plows ahead, destroying burial grounds and sacred sites, according to a September 2016 lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and filed by former Standing Rock historic preservation officer Tim Mentz Sr.
Not once have law enforcement outnumbered the activists, Iverson said. Their nametags are now hidden because officers were targeted. Some received death threats; others were followed home.
“Early when this was going on, we had numerous officers being followed home, they had death threats because they were able to follow the officers home and gather information from the officers because they knew their names. This is something that is very concerning and we have zero time for that. Our families are all involved in this.” The practice of releasing police officers’ names is known as “doxing,” and is used by groups such as Anonymous, according to the Morton County Sheriff’s Department.
Now, Iverson always doubles back at night, watching for following cars. He rarely takes the same route twice.
“Could somebody say I’m fear mongering? Maybe. But where there are active threats out there, and the fact that some have been followed home…?” Iverson stopped to answer a call on the police radio.
“It’s an intimidation factor. My family and law enforcement families should not have to deal with that.”
Although those at Oceti Sakowin say they are unarmed, Iverson said they’ve found guns and ballistic armor.
“They’ve said all along they have no weapons. I would say to the person who says that to me: ‘can you vouch for everyone out here?’ It’s a bold faced lie.”
Iverson has also investigated social media, looking for additional threats. He’s found pictures of people posing with weapons threatening to come to Cannonball to “kill a pig,” he said.
“How do we not take that seriously? That’s the other part on being on the front line, knowing there could be a lone wolf in the group that may have a weapon, such as a gun, and would want to do harm to law enforcement. There are people who would love nothing more than to kill a law enforcement officer.
“In fact, it happened on Thursday, October 27, when a lady tried to fire on law enforcement. Knowing this is out there and we’re walking into that, that’s a stressful situation to be in.”
Red Fawn Fallis, 37, was charged with attempted murder after allegedly firing three shots at law enforcement officers during the clearing of the northern Treaty Camp, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department.
“Some would argue those are empty threats,” Iverson said. “I would argue, that those people are angry at the situation, and we all know that law enforcement has been killed, and nobody wants that happen.”
Red Fawn Fallis mug shot – Morton County Sheriff’s Department
With the recent rise in fake news posted often on Facebook, Iverson said that the rumors law enforcement sent aircraft to demoralize the activists, that officers have urinated on native belongings, that the departments involved are racists, are untrue.
“I understand I may not be able to convince everyone, but nothing could be farther from the truth. We probably have law enforcement who do not agree with the pipeline, but we, as law enforcement take an oath of office, and we take that seriously.”
Has law enforcement response been perfect?
“Nobody is coming out of this smelling like roses,” Iverson said. The relationship between Highway Patrol and Standing Rock historically has been good, he said, and after this controversy passes, he hopes it will improve.
The militarization of law enforcement is partly to intimidate, in the hopes that people will back down quickly from any situation. The use of Bearcats however, is for their own safety. He recalled the night at Backwater Bridge when Molotov Cocktails were thrown at the police line. His cruiser would have taken heavy damage, and put his life in jeopardy, he said.
“Do we need to be conscious of the aggressiveness of our look? Yes. But at the same time we need to have the resources available to us to keep us safe.”
At every event, law enforcement has repeatedly petitioned the activists to disperse before resorting to less-than-lethal weapons, Iverson said. Tear gas, Tasers, pepper spray, and rubber bullets are used at an officer’s discretion for crowd dispersal, and only after all attempts have been made to clear an area.
“But we get beat up on both sides,” Iverson said. Law enforcement is a primarily a reacting force during standoffs. “We’re always behind the eight ball.” Some people have condemned law enforcement actions for not arresting sooner, he said.
Activists and friends of Red Fawn Fallis say she is innocent – photo by C.S. Hagen
Bismarck Police Chief Dan Donlin agreed. “Bismarck, Mandan, we’re not used to this. There’s the ‘arrest them all’ advice that we get, and then there’s you’re being way too oppressive and too heavy handed because these people are being prayerful and peaceful. But we also know masked in that area… is violence and potential for violence. Law enforcement is caught in the middle.”
“They want you to draw blood,” Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo said during a Standing Rock meeting on Friday. “They want to be able to crush you with their weaponry with their tanks with their armor with their might with their force, you’ve seen it, I’ve seen it. They want you to draw first blood so they can crush you. They lose when you remain peaceful.”
Police have seen peaceful rallies and violent rallies, but most rallies contain a mix of both peaceful and violent agitators, Donlin said. He also warned those supporting police, and those who are pro DAPL, to abide by the laws.
Throughout the Peace Garden State, there is large support for law enforcement, and Iverson feels that the citizens in the area are “sick and tired of violent acts and unlawfulness.” If the activists were all white, Iverson said there would be no difference in law enforcement reaction.
“It wouldn’t be any different,” he said. “To think we would do anything to demoralize my friends, neighbors, and family, is incorrect. Law enforcement is made up of the people, from all walks of life.”
Anthony Rogers-Wright, the police and organizing director for Environmental Action, stated racism is at North Dakota’s core and the DAPL controversy combined with Trump’s recent election, is bringing the hatred “out of the woodwork.
“This is not just about an environmental issue, this at its core is racism,” Rogers-Wright said. “This pipeline was slated to go through a majority white community, they rejected it and said basically said send it to the Native American area, let that be the sacrifice.”
Local negative reaction is worsening now that native peoples are standing up for themselves, he said. Hatred has been given a license. Incidents such as the one involving a local DAPL worker who nearly ran over activists and fired a sidearm six times in the air last week, will increase. “It’s emboldening them to basically point guns at native people at native women, and yell things out of their cars.
“This is an environmental issue, but starts on a platform of racism.”
Police sprayed mace and pepper spray intermittently at activists in Cantapeta Creek – photo by C.S. Hagen
The fine line
Standing Rock and the tribe’s supporters have the Constitutional right to protest, but Iverson recommends everyone to stay at Oceti Sakowin, or the Seven Council Fires camp to make their voices heard.
To protest peacefully is legal; civil disobedience carries consequences, Iverson said.
“Once that line is crossed, you are doing more harm than good,” he said.
In August when Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault II pushed his way through a police crowd and when horses charged the police line, forcing retreat, and in late October when buffalo were herded towards police flanks, the protest is no longer deemed peaceful, Iverson said.
Activists argue that Archambault’s actions were heroic, that the sudden appearances of wild horses, gold eagles, and buffalos, even winter’s slow arrival, are nature’s responses to an invasion of greed. A curse lies on those who dig up sacred grounds, Mentz said during a hearing at Standing Rock, and it is a curse coming from the earth, from disturbed spirits who will rise with vengeance to drive DAPL workers mad.
Civil disobedience is typically a conscious decision made by an activist, protester, or water protector to affect change. While law enforcement arrests those who break the laws, the civil disobedient are defying what they consider laws already broken by Energy Transfer Partners.
Author and long-time environmental attorney, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., visited Standing Rock this week and condemned Energy Transfer Partners saying their actions were illegal.
“The arrogance to break the law and then the ability to get away with it,” Kennedy said to a group of people outside of Oceti Sakowin. “Not only that but when people stand up peacefully to ask the law be enforced, instead of aligning itself with the law abiding citizens of our country, the power of this state, and other states are aligning themselves with the law-breaking entity.
“I know that what they’re [Energy Transfer Partners] doing is illegal. They’re trying to build this pipeline fast, so they don’t have their day in court.” A reporter asked Kennedy what was the point of protesting any longer now that the pipeline is almost finished.
“I told the reporter if you have people robbing a bank and they came in the bank with their guns blazing, and they tied up people and they started emptying the cash register, and the police then came, do you think the police would say, ‘well, they’ve gotten this far we ought to just let them take the money.’
“What’s the difference? What they’re doing is a crime, an environmental crime, and there are real victims.”
The fast tracked pipeline is an old trick approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a loophole in environmental assessment laws. “This company took this little loophole and tried to draw it around a 1,200-mile pipeline. It’s called segmentation, it’s an old strategy, a device of chicanery.” By segmenting the pipeline route into small sections for approvals nullifies the need for a full environmental impact assessment along the entire route. A full assessment would certainly be denied, Kennedy said.
The pipeline will produce the same amount of carbon as 29 coal burning factories, he said.
“They use a flim-flam to break the law, and now when peaceful protesters say they want to see a cost benefit analysis, the company says no we’re not going to do that. This pipeline is not going to benefit the American people, it will benefit a few billionaires like Donald Trump, and it’s going to make them richer by impoverishing the rest.”
Another argument made by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is that the pipeline is on lands that belonged to them under the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie. Their eminent domain declaration at the northern Treaty Camp was on lands that belonged to the tribe until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took the land away after devastating floods incurred by the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program from 1944. More than 200,000 acres of Indian land was flooded because of the project, effectively impoverishing many within Standing Rock tribe whose old homes are at the bottom of Lake Oahe, where the Dakota Access Pipeline plans to run.
Iverson understands the validity of Standing Rock’s claims to their homeland, but such issues are for the courts, not for the police, he said. Trespassing will always be trespassing, he said.
Criteria for conducting a legal protest include obtaining a legal license. If a protest becomes disorderly, marches on private property, or disrupts a city’s function, the protest then becomes unlawful. No protests on private property are legal, Iverson said, unless, of course, permission is granted by the owner.
Staying at the main camp Oceti Sakowin is not good enough for many of the activists involved with Standing Rock. Every day DAPL construction is halted is considered a victory, and every time activists are able to reach DAPL equipment, construction workers must stop, Iverson said.
“I understand that at times they are able to halt or stop construction,” Iverson said. “So in a sense, they have been successful. But, just because you believe in something so strongly, that doesn’t give you the right to engage in illegal activities. We as a society cannot accept that.
“My recommendation is to remain peaceful and prayerful and to conduct those activities within the areas they have been allowed to camp in. They’ll claim they won’t be able to have their voice heard from there, but that’s not true. There are many, many media who go down there on a daily basis.”
The Dakota Access Pipeline controversy remains in limbo; both sides say there is a front line, and both sides believe their fight is right. Activism against the pipeline will continue; law enforcement will keep making arrests. All sides involved are not willing to capitulate, even on the eve of another Dakota winter as the “black snake” slithers toward the Missouri River.
Oceti Sakowin or the Seven Council Fires camp – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department
Recent Events
Thursday: An additional eight people were arrested after 130 activists marched on Bismarck’s Wells Fargo main office. Six activists made their way into the William Guy Federal Building as well, locked arms, and refused to leave, Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported.
Thursday: Activists released the name of a Bismarck police officer, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department, and the North Dakota Legislative Management voted 10 – 3 to forego formal events, including a State of the Tribes address, due to security reasons surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline, according to North Dakota Legislative Management.
Thursday: Internationally, on November 17, Norway’s largest bank, DNB, sold its assets in the Dakota Access Pipeline, according to Greenpeace Norway. Its decision came after the bank received 120,000 signatures urging the bank and other financial institutions to pull finances from the project.
Friday: More than 130 felony charges against activists dismissed by Morton County courts.
Friday: Morton County Sheriff’s Department condemned Oceti Sakowin, saying that activists’ attempts at winterizing break federal guidelines. “Inhabitants are fortifying their encampment by constructing temporary and permanent structures without a permit,” Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said. The North Dakota Department of Health activated a low power radio transmitter that operates at 1620 AM, which will be transmitting public health, safety, and other information near to Oceti Sakowin.
A total of 486 people have been arrested in connection with the DAPL controversy since early August, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department. A total of 1,287 officers from 25 counties in North Dakota, 20 cities, and nine states, which include Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, have assisted Morton County during the DAPL controversy, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department.
Law enforcement marches toward activist’s line, quarter mile from main camp; Sioux tribal chairmans speak out against DAPL and Energy Transfer Partners
By C.S. Hagen CANNON BALL – The battle for Backwater Bridge erupted hours after law enforcement cleared “Treaty Camp,” arresting 142 people and pushing activists back two miles making room for Dakota Access Pipeline construction. Two Dakota Access trucks and one vehicle were set on fire near the bridge; an electronic billboard sat charred between them making the road impassable.
“It was a very active and tense evening as law enforcement worked through the evening to clear protesters from the north camp,” Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported in a press release.
Front line activists at Backwater Bridge – photo by C.S. Hagen
The conflict lasted all night Thursday and by mid-morning Friday tensions were high, activists reported. They were tired, hungry, frustrated, and feeling trapped as DAPL construction crews hurriedly plowed the earth toward the three-mile easement. Between the activists and the DAPL construction crews, at least 10 Humvees, two bearcats, and hundreds of police formed a roadblock.
Activists preparing for armed police – photos by C.S. Hagen
“You’re on treaty land,” an activist said to the law enforcement line.
“You are not peaceful,” an officer said through a megaphone. “Look behind you at the DAPL truck.”
“You are not peaceful,” activists said back.
The conversation, yelled back and forth, became taunts.
“Why do you hide behind your bandanas?” the officer asked.
“Because of the pepper spray you use on us,” an activist said. “You aren’t tough. You are disobeying natural law.”
Smudging ceremony at the front line – photo by C.S. Hagen
Smudging ceremonies began. Activists moved particleboard shields into a line north of the bridge. Law enforcement used DAPL workers to begin stringing razor wire across their cement barricade, but stopped, citing the situation was becoming dangerous.
“Drop your guns and come here and fight like men,” an activist said.
Law enforcement said they saw weapons; activists said it was an agitator. One white person was seen sitting in the back of a pickup truck holding a broken toy gun with batteries before the vehicle sped south.
“You must move south,” the officer said. “Everyone, you must understand your decision, if you continue to move forward we will be forced to move you back. Does everyone understand that?”
Law enforcement closing in – photo by C.S. Hagen
The activists whooped in response, and moved the line forward three steps. Hundreds of law enforcement took formation and began marching downward toward the bridge. Snipers protruding from Humvee tops pointed weapons at the activists. The officer on the megaphone issued a final warning.
And then, a Standing Rock elder, white hair, dressed in a running suit, pipe in hand, stepped between the activists and the police. His sudden appearance quieted both sides.
Elder Miles Allard of Standing Rock approaches police line to negotiate – photo by C.S. Hagen
“We went to ceremony, the medicine people told us, the spirits told us the only way we can win this thing is through prayer and non-violence,” the elder, Miles Allard, owner of the Camp of the Sacred Stone land, said. “We have to be respectful to these people.”
“They need to be respectful to us,” an activist said.
Miles Allard, 25-year-long resident of Standing Rock – photo by C.S. Hagen
“That’s true,” Allard said. “Listen, one heart, one mind, one spirit, is what they told us. You’re doing your job by standing here, be non-violent please. The spirits told us we will not win if we do this with violence. The violence comes from them; we have to be able to be brave enough and strong enough in prayer to resist that.
“I talk to you because I love you all, I love this water, that’s what we’re here for, the Mni Wiconi. We stand in solidarity. But we cannot create violence, if we do we’re going to lose.”
An eagle flew overhead and the activists cheered. Police beckoned Allard to their line to parley. He negotiated a deal where both sides could back away, personal property from the Treaty Camp returned to activists, and the county could clear the highway. Treaty Camp was built on land tribal council members reclaimed under their own eminent domain declaration, and on private land formerly owned by Cannon Ball Ranch and sold to Dakota Access LLC on September 23, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department.
Backwater Bridge – photos by C.S. Hagen
Although the activists were still effectively trapped at Backwater Bridge as they could not proceed to the DAPL construction pathway two miles north, Allard said the deal did not deter their determination to stop the “black snake.”
Activists shouting back at law enforcement on top of burned out DAPL truck – photo by C.S. Hagen
“It has no effect at all, we’re just opening up the highway, our determination, our drive, our prayers to save our river, our Missouri River,” Allard said. “I told them we will never back down from that because that’s life and death to us. Our water is very important to us, we cannot live, nothing can live, without water, let alone those that are in the water, the animals that go there, the insects, the land if it gets polluted. My major concern was nobody needed to get hurt here.
“I’ve never before stepped up, because I always pray in the background. That’s my job. I was concerned when I heard what was going on… so I came up here to talk to the people and that’s what I did.”
The decision disappointed some within the activist’s crowd, who had spent the night running, defending themselves and other activists. According to some who were present, activists at times counted coup with law enforcement. Counting coup is a winning prestige tradition against an enemy where the most prestigious acts included touching an enemy warrior with the hand and escaping unharmed.
Activists calling for prayer form human chain to prevent others from marching on law enforcement – photo by C.S. Hagen
One DAPL security employee armed with an automatic AR-15 was surrounded by activists and then arrested by the Bureau of Indian Affairs after he attempted to drive into the main camp, Dallas Goldtooth said. Goldtooth is a campaign organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network.
He said he was pepper sprayed on Thursday. Tribal leaders from across the United States were arrested, he said. “They were rounded up and arrested. It was really, really chaotic… Dakota Access is still trying to move ahead with construction.”
Noah Morris, a front line medic, said more than 50 people were treated for pepper spray injuries on Thursday. Twelve people suffered blunt-force injuries from nightsticks and percussion grenades, and another activist had a Taser barb imbedded in his cheek.
Law enforcement also targeted medics on Thursday, Morris said.
Medics waiting at front line – by C.S. Hagen
“They arrested two of our medics, forcibly removed myself and my partner by hitting us from the back of our medical vehicle, and the driver was pulled out while the car was still in drive and arrested. So any reports of restraint on behalf of law enforcement from medics’ perspective were completely false and those folks came as instigators, those folks are the problem, they caused the problem.”
Law enforcement also used “stingballs,” he said, projectiles the size of tennis balls used mostly in prison uprisings, packed with hard rubber pellets. When detonated the projectiles release a “large bang” and send pellets in 360 degrees, hitting and stinging anyone nearby. “They were using their whole arsenal of “less-than-lethal” weapons, Morris said.
One woman fired multiple shots at police officers, and two officers received minor injuries after being hit by logs and debris, Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported. At least nine vehicles plus construction equipment were torched, sixty activists’ vehicles were impounded, and seven activists used sleeping dragons to attach themselves to DAPL equipment. Most activists arrested were charged with conspiracy to endanger by fire/explosion, engaging in a riot, and maintaining a public nuisance. Those arrested for using sleeping dragons were arrested for reckless endangerment. Since August 10, 411 people have been arrested with charges related to resisting the Dakota Access Pipeline, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department.
Activist woman being arrested – photo provided by Steve Gross
The arrests included one elder was taken while praying in a sweat lodge, Harold Frazier, chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe said. He met with President Obama this week and said he “was a little disappointed” with the results.
“There are no weapons on our side,” Goldtooth said. “The only things we had were our bodies and prayer. At a moment that police were pushing us south, a herd of bison came running over the hills, stampeding, and everyone was ‘wooh,’ letting it out.” Several hundred bison stampeded behind the police line, creating panic, and spurred on by activists on horseback. Police helicopters swooped low, scaring the buffalo away, and the horsemen escaped, Goldtooth said.
The DAPL worker, activists name as Kyle Thompson, just before his arrest – photo provided by Steve Gross
The armed DAPL security employee was in his vehicle driving toward main camp when activists smashed his car off the road and tracked him into a nearby pond within sight of the main camp. The Bureau of Indian Affairs arrived and arrested the DAPL worker. The incident is under investigation by the Morton County Sheriff’s Department.
“This is just another part of 500 years of colonization and aggression that is predicated upon our oppression,” Goldtooth said. “The question I have to ask… is what’s it going to take for you to take accountability for your law enforcement officers? We’ve seen the lengths they’re willing to go support and back up a multi-billion dollar oil company in the face of peaceful protesters and protectors. We ask for prayers, we ask for thoughts, we ask for guided action from each and every one of you to help us stop this pipeline.”
“We request individuals here to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline to remain at the Seven Councils Fire Camp if they wish to continue lawful and peaceful activities,” Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said in a press release. “We thank also the Standing Rock tribal members and members of the Seven Council Fires Camp for assisting with de-escalating the situation at the Backwater Bridge.”
The north camp, or the Treaty Camp, was turned over to the Morton County Sheriff’s Department.
“There were things that were wrong,” Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault II said.
“It seems that Energy Transfer Partners is getting protection. We’re standing up for water, and not just for us, we’re standing up for water for everybody. We have the state officials supporting oil protection, we have elected state officials accepting contributions from oil companies. We have police who are militarized… we have unions who are trying to say we’re trying to take jobs away from them.
“Look at Trump who has direct interest in Dakota Access. This is a powerful conglomerate. And what do we have? Who are we? All we have is support, all we have is unity, all we have is our prayers. And it’s strong. We still have a chance. Everyone can still benefit, and everyone can still be happy. It can be done, and everyone will be happy.”
Pipeline route and razor wire off Highway 6 – photo by C.S. Hagen
Energy Transfer Partners, the parent company of Dakota Access LLC run by oil tycoon Kelcy Warren, is being sued for illegally using dogs that attacked people, and for buying land [Cannon Ball Ranch] they should not have, Archambault said. Archambault also said that the individual arrested by the Bureau of Indian Affairs was an infiltrator, sent by Energy Transfer Partners, and that they have proof he was an employee of Energy Transfer Partners. “These agitators are put there for a reason, to make us look like villains… He had an assault rifle, and he fired it. We are not villains. This is the type of company everyone is protecting. What is driving this company is money and greed.”
Frazier added that he will be seeking charges of attempted murder against the infiltrator as there is video of the individual pointing a weapon at activists. Additionally, when asked for information about the individual he was told he would have to follow regular information protocol.
The U.S. Department of Justice has been to Standing Rock, and will assist in negotiation, according to Archambault. “But no matter how much we come together the company continues to construct… and everyone is protecting them. So they want us to sit down and talk while this company continues construction, and that’s difficult.
“This is not about protectors, not about state law enforcement, it’s about this company. It’s a bad company. Nobody should be protecting this company. We all should be focused on what we can do to protect water, and if we don’t do that, life is no more.”
Helicopter pushing stampeding bison away from police line – photo provided by Standing Rock
Activists at Backwater Bridge – photo by C.S. Hagen
The continuing story in the 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 BIG CAMP, ND – Centuries before the discovery of oil, a hungry bear lumbered into a forest and began gorging on all the huckleberries it could find, according to ancient Native American legends. The forest animals took notice, and held council, for without huckleberries a vital part of the forest would surely be lost.
After reaching a decision the forest animals timidly approached the bear and warned it to stop before the damage was irreparable; a price had to be paid. The bear needed to give something back for the carnage it created.
“But all I have is my fur and my claws,” the bear said.
“You must give up your eyesight,” the animals said.
The bear agreed, and to this day the tender, versatile fruit has an eye on every berry, and bears have never regained the eyesight they once had.
Told late at night in Big Camp, short hikes from the Camp of the Sacred Stone and Red Warriors Camp outside of Cannon Ball, the legend is the difference between life and death to the largest gathering of Native American tribes in 140 years. Not since the Battle of the Greasy Grass or Custer’s Last Stand, have the Great Sioux Nation’s Seven Council Fires, or the Oceti Sakowin, been united.
Activist wielding a rifle used during the Battle of the Greasy Grass (Custer’s Last Stand). When asked to give up the weapon, the activist did without question. – photo by C.S. Hagen
In addition, more than 200 tribes, 100 social groups and associations, at times exceeding 5,000 people of all nationalities, are not only protecting water, now they’re protecting land. Smaller camps have been established along rural roads; scouts are tirelessly on the lookout for Dakota Access activity.
On September 3, activists say Dakota Access Pipeline orchestrated a “sneak attack” that desecrated two miles of Native American burial grounds. Allegedly, an Ohio-based dog breeding and training company, known by netizens as Frost Kennels, attempted to ward off the protesters – men, women, and children – with mace and trained attack dogs. Mercenaries, activists called them. Altercations ensued, Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported, but activists say only after security personnel allegedly pushed attack dogs into the crowds. At least six activists, including a young woman bit on the breast and one child who broke out in a rash after being hit in the face with mace, sought medical help, activists said.
Activists forced security personnel to retreat after the attacks ensued. Frost Kennels admitted their personnel were at the Dakota Access Pipeline area on Facebook.
“They provoked everything that happened,” Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II said. “We are not violent, but when you have companies provoking, it is hard to keep going. It’s time to stop infringing on indigenous rights.”
Law enforcement watched from a nearby hill, activists said.
“They didn’t try to deescalate either side,” Dale “Happi” Americanhorse Jr. said. “What happened on Saturday, it was hateful.”
The day after the altercation, Standing Rock Sioux tribe asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to grant a temporary restraining order against Dakota Access, which was partially granted by U.S. Judge James Boasberg. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, on whose land the altercation took place, did not oppose the issuance of the restraining order.
“This is a peace and prayer camp, we’re not here to start World War III,” Greg Cournoyer Jr., a councilman for the Yankton Sioux tribe said. The Yankton Sioux Tribe filed a lawsuit in federal court on September 8, according to Native News. With Cournoyer stood a fifth generation descendant of Colonel George Armstrong Custer, Whitney Custer, who has Cheyenne blood. From Kansas, she could not stay at the camp long as sixth generation Custers waited for her at home.
Whitney Custer, fifth generation descendant of Colonel George Custer – photo by C.S. Hagen
Although 140 years ago the Sioux soundly defeated and killed her cavalier ancestor, Custer felt nothing but acceptance from the Native Americans at Big Camp.
“I have been welcomed with happiness,” Custer said. “They’ve treated me like family, I feel very welcome.”
As soon as she stopped speaking, a mosquito-like buzz filled the air. Everyone looked up and pointed toward a circling drone. Sightings of helicopters and airplanes are commonplace, but activists now face the U.S. military. In preparation for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decision on an injunction filed by Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to stop work along the pipeline, Governor Jack Dalrymple called in the North Dakota National Guard. Boasberg’s long-awaited decision on Friday favored the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the company was legally allowed to continue work.
“It is now clear and obvious the fight needs to be moved from Morton County to a courtroom in Washington, D.C.,” Morton County Commissioner Cody Schulz said.
US Presidential Candidate Dr. Jill Stein spray painting “I approve this message” on Dakota Access equipment – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department
Near Cannon Ball, however, local and state law enforcement officials have had their hands full, arresting 68 activists since the protests began, and have issued warrants for presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein, and her running mate, Ajamu Baraka.
On Friday, Stein posted on her Twitter account, “Why is an arrest warrant out for me and @ajamubaraka, instead of Big Oil and the state of North Dakota?”
To ease some of law enforcement’s pressures along Highway 1806, on September 8 Dalrymple called in the military to act in a limited capacity, bolstering traffic checks and assisting law enforcement. The road is now open to the public, Archambault said, but the military presence did not disturb nor dismay him.
The day of the attack dogs, activists defending themselves – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department
“The National Guard is not going to come here to the camps,” Archambault said. “The governor is trying to alleviate some of the pressures on local law enforcement.”
“Our mission is, and in this situation is the right approach, is to have guardsmen in support of law enforcement, and let law enforcement deals with those who break the law,” Major General Alan Dohrmann of the North Dakota National Guard said during a press conference.
Not long after the news of Standing Rock’s failed petition for an injunction against Dakota Access, President Obama’s Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surprised both sides by issuing a statement that they no longer allowed Dakota Access to work on the U.S. Corps of Engineers’ lands, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.
“Important issues raised by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other tribal nations and their members regarding the Dakota Access pipeline specifically, and pipeline-related decision-making generally, remain. Therefore, the Department of the Army, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior will take the following steps.”
No authorization will be given to Dakota Access on land bordering or under Lake Oahe, a distance of 20 miles in all directions, until determinations can be made whether reconsiderations of previous decisions should be made.
“Construction on the pipeline on Army Corps land bordering or under Lake Oahe will not go forward at this time.”
Additionally, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe has “highlighted the need for a serious discussion on whether there should be nationwide reform with respect to considering tribes’ views on these types of infrastructure projects.” All tribes were invited for government-to-government consultations this upcoming fall, according to the U.S. Department of Justice news release.
“It is now incumbent on all of us to develop a path forward that serves the broadest public interest,” the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stated.
Congressman Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., called the Obama Administration’s move unfair and confusing and that the issue “deserved peaceful resolution that honors rights of lawful commerce,” in his weekly message. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said the move was painful and disappointing, and offered “no light at the end of the tunnel for North Dakotans.”
In response to the alleged dog attacks, the State of North Dakota Private Investigation and Security Board has also began investigating complaints made against the private security company involved, its use of attack dogs, and if the company was authorized to work in North Dakota, counsel for the State of North Dakota Private Investigation and Security Board Monte Rogneby said.
Fargo City Commissioner John Strand spent the day after the dog attacks at Big Camp, he said, and attended ritual services performed by Native Americans there. He traveled to the area for personal reasons, and in the capacity of a Native American Commissioner, of which he has been a member for nearly three years.
“I think there have been mistakes made on both sides,” Strand said. “And that’s not necessarily surprising. On the state side we’ve done some things that have exacerbated the situation.”
Strand understands the skepticism many Native Americans have toward state and federal governments, he said.
“Don’t live in the past, or we will jaundice our views, but if we do look at the past, we need to look all the way back. Let’s meet each other, eye to eye, every chance we can. Let’s understand each other every chance we can.”
Spending time at the camps was an experience Strand will never forget, and he encouraged anyone interested to travel to Cannon Ball area to learn about what is happening.
Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II – photo by C.S. Hagen
Colorful tents, horses, vehicles, and people spanned the plains behind Archambault as he addressed media representatives from national news agencies and talk shows. Flags from more than 180 tribes snapped briskly under the prairie wind. Volunteers chopped firewood, manned kitchens. Loudspeakers announced the arrival of a new tribe supporting the cause. Along the Missouri River’s banks, canoes filled with Native Americans from Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, and elsewhere docked.
Thousands, fists raised, cheered.
“There is a spirit awakening,” Archambault said.
The spirits of eagles, which have been seen flying over the camp, or the buffalo, which roam nearby, and even the spirit of thunder bringing rain on September 7, dampening the ground and halting pipeline construction workers, Angela Bibens, the camp volunteer attorney said.
“What they did, is a crime scene,” Bibens said. “Genocidal violence. They knew what they were doing, it was a sneak attack, and this is a profound expression of sovereignty here.”
Activist Joanne Spotted Bear giving a speech – photo by C.S. Hagen
Sovereignty. The legal battles that have gone nearly unnoticed by many for hundreds of years, Archambault said. Too many times federal agencies have violated the U.S. Constitution, Article VI, activist Seven Thunders from Cheyenne River said. The U.S. Constitution article states all treaties made under the authority of the United States are the supreme law of the land, which would include the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 giving indigenous peoples permanent rights to defined territories. The altercation took place on the U.S. Corps of Engineers land, taken from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in the 1940s during dam construction projects.
The “black snake,” as activists call the Dakota Access Pipeline, its Wall Street and government investors, its oil drillers, and pipe layers, have taken too much from the earth, and are not heeding the warnings to give something back, Archambault said.
“Energy Transfer, who has zero human rights policies, made the decision to dig up sacred land,” Achambault said. “But if the judge rules in our favor, it’s ok. If the judge rules in their favor, it’s not the end.” He plans, through the tribe’s law firm Earthjustice, an environmental law organization, to appeal the decision.
Morton Count Sheriff’s Department sees the weeks’ events, including the altercation led by attack dogs, as a serious danger.
“A group of protesters launched a march from their camp located on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land to where construction was taking place on the Dakota Access Pipeline, on private property,” the Morton County Sheriff’s Department stated in a news release. “They stampeded into the construction area with horses, dogs, and vehicles.”
Four security personnel were assaulted; one was take to a Bismarck hospital. Two security K-9s were also treated for injuries.
“This was more like a riot than a protest,” Morton County Sheriff Kyle L. Kirchmeier said in a press release.
“There is a legal analysis that we are squatting,” Bibens said. “But when we are forcibly removed from our lands it’s like cutting off our own umbilical chords.”
“The state is trying to get us to stoop to their level,” Cody Two Bears, a Standing Rock councilman said. “And if we do that, then we are no better than they are.”
Ronald and Eric Day from Washington hailing departing canoes along the Missouri River – photo by C.S. Hagen
Dakota Access LLC has removed equipment from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land, officials said, but not far enough away to satisfy activists. On Tuesday morning, approximately 50 law enforcement officers from Morton County Sheriff’s Department, the North Dakota Highway Patrol, and other law enforcement agencies, arrested 22 activists north of I-94 at exit 20 near Mandan, according to the Morton County Sheriff’s Department press release. Twenty activists were charged with criminal trespass and two were found bound to equipment, charged with disorderly conduct, and hindering law enforcement, according to the press release.
Eight more activists were arrested Wednesday, two men were charged with reckless endangerment, a felony, and could face up to give years and or a USD 10,000 fine, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department.
South of 1-94 near Mandan where 22 activists were arrested Tuesday, September 13, 2016 – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department
“Drunk Indian is Dead”
Americanhorse, known by friends as Happi, doesn’t see himself as the local hero he has become in online headlines and print media. He’s well spoken, peaceful in presence, commanding a quiet authority with his six-foot tall, 250-pound frame. Like many his age, he doesn’t know his native language, but intends to learn.
On August 31, the 26-year-old Sicangu-Oglala Lakota warrior pushed aside his fears, and leapt onto an excavator, forcing the driver to shut down the engine – in accordance with OSHA regulations. Fortunately for Americanhorse, the driver walked away, saying he got paid whether he worked or not. Wrapping his arms around a part of the machinery, he chained himself with a plastic pipe smothered in tar. For six hours, law enforcement tried hacksaws, crane lifts, pondered how to disassemble the machinery before he was freed.
And then he was arrested.
Dale “Happi” Americanhorse Jr. wearing the same clothes and bandana he wore after chaining himself to Dakota Access machinery. Photo taken at Shane Balkowitsch Studio while he was posing for a wet plate. – photo by C.S. Hagen
Most netizens applauded his bravery. A few made comments to cut off his arms, or use a bone saw.
To Americanhorse, the pending court date is a small price to pay to protect water and land. “My main focus is this fight, and it’s all over the continent, in fact it’s all over the world,” he said. “When we’re done with this fight, and we’re going to win this fight, I am going to go look for allies that came here who have their own problems and I want to be able to sit there with them and fight those fights, whatever it is they’re fighting just in solidarity for them doing the same with me.”
Americanhorse while chained to a Dakota Access excavator – online sources
Not in seven generations have Native Americans come together in such strength, he said. Old grudges have been cast aside. Daily, tribal leaders stretching from one coast of North America to the other stand to speak before the hundreds, sometimes thousands gathered. One of the most historical moments was when the Crow tribe, one of the Sioux’s oldest enemies, arrived at camp in a show of support.
Historically, the US government has tried to eradicate Native American culture, Carina Miller, a councilwoman from the Warm Springs Tribe in Oregon, said. She heeded the call to rise at 5 a.m.
“Get up. They’re back,” someone in the darkness called out. “Get up. They’re back.”
She jumped into her “pony,” a 2010 Chevy Cobalt, with friends and drove to the site, but company workers could not proceed; the ground was too wet.
Miller grew up on a reservation, the local school district did not allow her to learn her own language, and she feels the government tried to erase her and her tribe.
Activists after taking control of excavation equipment – photo provided by Morton County Sheriff’s Department
“They pit us against each other, breaking treaties, trying to wipe us out,” Miller said. “People need to understand history.” Today, her tribe fights Nestle over water bottling rights on Native American land in Oregon, she said. The gathering of so many indigenous nations has brought her hope for her homeland.
“It’s a really strong and powerful presence,” Americanhorse said. “It feels like it is going to be a lot easier for us to work together. If we can establish a way we can work together here, then in the future when another issue comes up, something threatening another indigenous tribe, we can get together.”
The road to becomming involved in the fight to protect water and sacred lands wasn’t easy, but in the end, the decision to give up his old life was. All roads pointed to Sacred Stone Camp. As a child in the public school system in Colorado, Americanhorse was shunned both by white people and other indigenous tribes, like the Utes and the Navajo, he said. He learned to shy away from outsider help, grew up with violence and chaos. Drank on the weekends.
In town, he has to constantly stay on the lookout for out-of-town pickup trucks. Where there are work trucks, man camps cannot be far away in western North Dakota. Where there are man camps, there are the cartels. And where there are cartels, sex trafficking, methamphetamine dealers, not to mention frustrated men with too much money, are in abundance.
“They prey on the indigenous women,” he said. “It’s not talked about, because they’re up here in North Dakota where everyone is supposed to be making all this money, but nobody really cares.”
He said indigenous towns such as Cannon Ball, have monstrous problems with teenage suicide, methamphetamine use, and a desperation that can be known only to the downtrodden.
“It’s weird when it comes to race,” he said. “The race issue for me was a pretty big thing. I thought all white people were racists.”
Americanhorse’s mother was the one who offered a helping hand, slyly roping him into fighting pipelines, he said. She introduced him to horses, and then to the KXL pipeline fight.
“At first I didn’t want to be there, I didn’t want to help. But that was the first step, going to the pipeline and to that fight was my first step in the right direction.”
But after the KXL pipeline project was defeated, he returned home. Went back to his normal jobs, sometimes as an assistant manager at Dominoes, at other times a casino in Colorado.
“I was walking in a world and a reality where I was worried about a certain image of me. I didn’t really think of where things came from or how they were made, and I didn’t think of the environment that much.”
His second step, he said, came when he watched a Sundance – a Native American spiritual ceremony where participants pierce their flesh with roped hooks tied to a tree. They perform ritual dances around the tree until the hooks fall out.
“You cannot bring negative thoughts to a Sundance,” he said. The experience changed his thoughts on his lifestyle, and led him to horses.
“My mother roped me in again,” he said. “I kept meeting people active against pipelines.”
She introduced him to a horse whisperer, not far from the Sacred Stone Camp. There, he learned how to approach a horse, how to groom them, how to saddle a horse, and how to ride. He now owns a two-year-old Blue Roan named Guardian, part Dakota, part Choctaw. It was after learning about horses that he decided to become involved in his second pipeline fight, the Dakota Access Pipeline. What was supposed to be a short visit has become a struggle he will not leave until it is finished.
At first, no more than fifteen people lived at the Sacred Stone Camp. With only USD 3,000 in support, they watched the excavators push aside what was once their tribe’s soil. “We couldn’t do anything at first,” he said. “We didn’t have the numbers.”
Americanhorse simulating oil in his hands at Shane Balkowitsch Studio in Bismarck – photo by C.S. Hagen
Sometimes Americanhorse went for two days without sleep. Camp life is hard, especially as their numbers grew quickly through the popularity of social media. Daily, he and others ensure activists have shelter, warmth, food, proper tents, firewood, and clean water. A school for children has been setup, a library as well. Medical crews are on constant standby to help the elderly or the sick. The Dakota prairie is mostly barren of vegetables and trees, so he gathers driftwood for fuel, and depends on donations to survive.
Smaller camps along the so-called front lines have been setup. Before sunrise, September 8, activists wearing bandanas over their faces returned from scouting maneuvers along the pipeline’s planned route. Some activists burned braided sweetgrass and waved the smoke over themselves before missions; for the company was watching them, just as they were watching the company, activists said.
They’re organized, committed, and prepared to be arrested.
Rope stretched across the highway was used to slow traffic. Any fence knocked down was quickly rebuilt. Trash was collected in buckets. Porta-potties, food, and much needed coffee were brought from Big Camp to keep the front-liners as refreshed as possible. During the quieter times, some along the front line nap, or read books. Others warm themselves around a fire sipping hot drinks and discussing recent events. Any time a two-way radio growled to life, they become instantly alert, listening for action.
Despite the hardships of camp life, or perhaps more appropriately because of it, Americanhorse found his calling.
“Being out here made me want to be more involved in this life. I want to bring our culture back to the people, our ways of life in modern day.”
Squash drying by Winona Kasto – photo by C.S. Hagen
He has also learned that not all white people are racists. In addition to the thousands of Native Americans, others from all walks of life have begun committing their time, money, and for some, their personal freedoms to protect water, and now indigenous land. “It has been through fighting pipelines that I learned to be more open minded to everything.”
Like all Native Americans, Americanhorse understands oil is important to modern society. He knows that oil also must go from point A to point B, to be refined, and then shipped across the globe. But Bakken crude will never travel under the Missouri River, where Dakota Access plans the pipe to run. More monies and research needs to be poured into alternative forms of research pertaining to solar and wind powers, he said, instead of bolstering a dangerous addiction to fossil fuels with a pipeline that will one day leak.
“You cannot ignore this many nations coming together,” Americanhorse said. “You can’t see that and challenge it. This billion-dollar industry has never seen anything like this before.” Losing this fight, for Americanhorse, is not an option.
“There are more people involved in this fight than you know, and this pipeline is affecting a lot of people.”
Some of the activists are weekend warriors. Some are drifters, traveling by car, by bus, by hitching rides. Others like Richard Fisher, half African American and half Native American, gave up his 19-dollar-an-hour job in Sisseton, South Dakota to volunteer in the camp’s kitchen.
Richard Fisher, a volunteer cook from South Dakota preparing evening meal – photo by C.S. Hagen
“I was born for this,” Fisher said. He stirred a cauldron of chili for the camp’s evening meal. “My dad was a Black Panther and my mother was with AIM.”
One of the camp’s head chefs and a traditional cook, Winona Kasto, is in charge of feeding any hungry mouth that comes her way. “It’s never ending, but it’s not tiring,” she said. “I came here because of the need to feed the people.” Usually, Kasto cooks wojapi, or a berry pudding, prepares dried squash, dried corn, stews, traditional native food, and in her spare time, if she can find any, holds classes for the youth to learn old indigenous recipes.
Americanhorse has given up his old way of life as well and returned to one much older. When there are no more pipelines or other issues to fight, he plans to raise horses, help his mother on her ranch where she owns breeds whose bloodlines can be traced to Sitting Bull’s herd.
Everywhere in the camp people are smiling, introducing themselves. Children play cops and robbers, volleyball, basketball to pass the calmer moments. Native American drummers sing traditional songs from all corners. At night, dozens gather around the fire at the Sacred Circle to pray and dance, a tradition that was once banned inside the United States.
Cooks at Big Camp, Winona Kasto, traditional cook, at right – photo by C.S. Hagen
“The drunk Indian is dead,” Americanhorse said. “There are a lot more people going in the cultural ways. I see the healing. I look forward to seeing other cultures come up and bring their structures up, and that way witness other cultural presences from every other nation.”
Americanhorse’s story is endemic among many Native Americans gathered outside of Cannon Ball. Far too many appear to come from troubled childhoods, addictions, and are searching for identity. Like confessions, their stories are told nightly around the Sacred Fire. They are returning to their roots and ancestral traditions, and discovering for the first time a peace they’ve never known before, while at the same time learning to accept all cultures.
One canoe rower spoke to a crowd of onlookers before pulling into the Missouri River.
“When you pull an oar you dig deep. It hurts, but it is supposed to.” The repetitive movement, not unlike meditation and prayer, helped him heal from a troubled childhood, he said.
“This is a very historical event, foretold by our elders that the Seventh Generation would rise up,” Layha Spoonhunter, an eastern Shoshone said. “We are seeing that here, and in many ways, we’ve already won. We’re going to win with the prayers and the songs that have been offered here, that is our strength and that will take us to victory.”
Oil Profiteers
Seventeen worldwide banks and financial institutions are backing Energy Transfer Partners, the parent company of Dakota Access LLP, according to the Food and Water Watch. The banks include: Citibank, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo, Credit Suisse, DNB Capital, Royal Bank of Canada, US Bank, BNP Paribus, Royal Bank of Scotland, TD Securities, ABN AMRO, Philadelphia’s DNB First Bank, ICBC London, SMBC Nico Securities, and Societe Generale, and they’ve extended a USD 3.75 billion credit line. More than thirty other banks are provided general financing for Sunoco Logistics Partners LP and Energy Transfer Partners.
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe flag with ever-present helicopter in distance – photo by C.S. Hagen
Dakota Access LLC is a joint venture between Phillips 66 and Energy Transfer Partners LP, and recently Sunoco Logistics Partners LP, Enbridge, and Marathon Oil purchased up to 37 percent stake in the pipeline.
“I think it is important to see the forces behind this particular pipeline as the same forces behind numerous other pipelines across the country, both to support fracking for tight oil as well as fracking for shell gas all toward maximizing production of oil and gas, when the science is clear we need to maximize what we keep in the ground,” Hugh MacMillan, a senior researcher for Food and Water Watch said.
“If you ask Morgan Stanley, they said a year ago that the oil producers are getting into ‘prison shape,’ and without irony,” MacMillan said the company reported in 2015. “So, you know, this is a long-term, these are long-term investments from the banks. They fully expect the United States to maximize its production of oil and gas through widespread fracking.”
Investors do not only include banks. Politicians are also involved.
Senator John Hoeven, R-N.D., a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, has invested in companies involved in the Bakken oil patch, including Energy Transfer Partners and the San Antonio-based independent petroleum refining company Valero Energy Corporation, both for up to USD 250,000, and not less than USD 100,001, according to the United States Senate. Hoeven has also invested up to USD 100,000 in Kinder Morgan Inc., an energy infrastructure company, and up to USD 1,000 in Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan. Additionally, investments of up to USD 250,000 were made with Union Pacific Corp., a crude rail transporter, and up to USD 250,000 in CSX Corp, which is a North Dakota crude rail carrier, according to the U.S. Senate. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been invested by Hoeven into oil wells owned by Whiting Petroleum Corporation and ExxonMobil, and both companies have donated to Hoeven’s 2016 senate campaign, according to Open Secrets.org, Center for Responsive Politics.
Hoeven, who was known for his support of TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, and supports building the Dakota Access Pipeline, also has personally 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. Continental Resources, Inc., the company which is ran by its CEO, Harold Hamm, a campaign energy adviser to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, owns 17 of the wells.
Additionally, in 2016, Continental Resources, Inc. contributed USD 10,200 to Hoeven’s campaign, and since 2010 Hamm with his former wife Sue contributed USD 8,000 to Hoeven, according to Oil Change International’s Dirty Energy Money database. ExxonMobil contributed USD 10,000, and Whiting Petroleum Corporation has contributed USD 2,750 to Hoeven’s 2016 senate campaign.
“It is certainly a confluence of interests,” MacMillan said. “They would argue it is not a conflict of interest because it’s all in the public interest. He’s obviously up there talking about what a wonderful thing all this fracking is in North Dakota. Has an attitude of ‘get off my back, we’re doing a good job,’ but when coupled with investing in these wells, it doesn’t look so good.”
Hoeven said he sold his shares in Energy Transfer in 2015, but owns other shares in other energy companies. He does not see his investments as a conflict of interest and has “always been a strong supporter of energy development in our state and across the country.
“We need to build infrastructure to move energy safely and efficiently and modern pipelines continue to be the safest way to move oil and gas around the country,” Hoeven said.
North Dakota’s “wild west” oil boom kept the state afloat during recent economic downturns, but the real national and state costs are only beginning to show, researchers report.
Native American activist, or water protector, during rally – photo by C.S. Hagen
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.
High levels of ammonium, selenium, lead, and salts have been found in the soil; streams have been polluted by wastewater, which contain contaminants, according to the study. Soil along spill sites has also been contaminated with radium, a radioactive element.
“Many smaller spills have also occurred on tribal lands, and as far as we know, no one is monitoring them,” Avner Vengosh, a researcher and a professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences at Duke University said. “People who live on the reservations are being left to wonder how it might affect their land, water, health and way of life.”
The spills are primarily coming from pipelines in the Bakken area, he said. The spill areas have not affected reservoirs for human drinking water, but some are close. Everyone shudders when news of an oil spill breaks headlines; brine spills are far more frightening, he said.
“Nature cannot heal from inorganic brine spills,” Vengosh said. “The contaminants are going to stay. You can dilute and over time this will help, but the actual concentration will remain.”
In other words, areas where the brine spills have occurred in the Bakken region must be completely removed and disposed of. Radiation, which could spread by wild animals, is another concern that is difficult to control.
“And the more wells you drill, the more spill you have,” Vengosh said.
In 2014, one of North Dakota’s largest spills sent approximately one million gallons of brine into Bear Den Bay on the Fort Berthold Reservation, a quarter mile upstream from a drinking water intake on Lake Sakakawea, according to the report.
More recently in 2015, CSX Corp train carrying hazardous materials derailed in Kentucky, and in 2014 a CSX Corp train hauling North Dakota crude derailed, bursting into flames in West Virginia, spilling more than 800 barrels into the James River.
Transporting crude oil by rail or by truck is in decline, analysts say, primarily due to costs. Pipelines are cheaper. Since 2010, however, more than 3,300 incidents of crude oil and liquefied natural gas leaks or ruptures have occurred in pipelines within the United States, according to the Center for Effective Government. The incidents have killed 80 people, injured 389, and have created $2.8 billion in damages, not to mention the lingering effect on humans, and the release of toxic chemicals into soil, waterways, and air. Nearly one third of the spills since 2010 came from pipelines carrying crude oil, as the Dakota Access Pipeline plans to carry.
Researchers say more money and attention needs to focus on alternative energy sources, and not bolstering old methods for burning fossil fuels.
“The solutions are there, not just for producing renewable energy, but for conservation and efficiency,” MacMillan said. “It’s just a matter of building it out. We don’t have the commitments from state and federal governments or private sectors to sink the money to make that happen.”
Native American canoe rowing toward Camp of the Sacred Rock on Missouri River – photo by C.S. Hagen
The main force behind the Dakota Access Pipeline is the founder of Energy Transfer Partners, Kelcy Warren, worth USD 7.3 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Warren’s fortunes have come from transporting crude oil others pull from underground, according to Bloomberg. His mansion, a 23,000-square-foot home on 10 acres of land in north Dallas features 13 bathrooms, a chip-and-putt green, a pole-vault pit, a four-lane bowling alley, and a 200-seat theater. On his ranch near Austin, he raises giraffes, javelinas, and Asian oxen. He also ranches in eastern Texas and southwest Colorado, has a house on Lake Tahoe, and an island off the coast of Honduras.
“To be where we are today, it’s like a dream,” Warren said in the May 18, 2015 Bloomberg article. “I swear to God, I almost think we did it without anybody noticing.”
The Dakota Access Pipeline began in May 2016, and if finished will snake through the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois, where it will join up with a second 774-mile pipeline to Nederland, Texas. More than 570,000 barrels of Bakken crude oil will pass through the pipeline per day if it is finished third quarter 2016, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The upside-down flag symbolizes distress, yet some activists are calling for the flag to be turned upright. – photo by C.S. Hagen
