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“The Wiindigo Comes in the Winter”

Rumors threaten Standing Rock and activist unity against the Dakota Access Pipeline

By C.S. Hagen
CANNON BALL – Rumors, like the Wiindigo, are never full. They prey on the weak, devouring their kill, always hungry, gluttonous yet emaciated.

The legendary, cannibalistic being strikes mainly during lonely winters. According to Algonquian lore it stalks the northern forests around the Great Lakes. Like rumors, the Wiindigo is difficult to kill, as its powers rise with every victim it devours.

The rumors surrounding Standing Rock’s fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline are not unlike the Wiindigo legends, Winona Laduke, a long time activist said. Laduke is an economist, and two-time vice presidential candidate for Ralph Nader’s Green Party. She is also the executive director for Honor the Earth, a non-profit advocate for indigenous environmental support.

“The winter of the North Country is unforgiving, and here on my own Round Lake, the Winndigo once came and ate a man and his family,” Laduke said. “That man became the Wiindigo. That is the time now, crazy actions occur. A man on my reservation starves his three horses to death, despite many friends. At the Oceti Sakowin Camp, a woman ties her dementia plagued mother onto a chair, and leaves her, without help. It is a time when we do things we regret.”

No excuses for such strange behaviors, Laduke said, but part of being human is to be weak.

“In the midst of this there is no question that there is chaos, there is no question that some people are infiltrators and some are profiting off the backs of this on the front line. And who is best served by all this? The answer: North Dakota’s energy empire, the Trump Administration, and, of course, Energy Transfer Partners.”

“Not afraid to look” sculpture overlooking Oceti Sakowin by Charles Rencountre (with Charles Rencountre and LaDonna Allard)- photo provided by Winona Laduke

From the beginning of Standing Rock’s fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, much emphasis has been given to remaining peaceful. Those arrested for civil disobedience such as disobeying police orders or trespassing, are forms of free speech, activists say. Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault encouraged civil disobedience from the beginning, and was himself arrested after trespassing on August 12, 2016.

While the majority of activists have been peacefully protesting, even while under constant threat from Morton County’s militarized police force armed with pepper spray, tear gas, rubber bullets, concussion grenades, some have fought back using taunts, razor wire, stones, and fire, according to authorities. Supporters attribute violent actions to agitators and federal infiltrators; the authorities use the violence as propaganda and make more arrests.

“When you are standing up against a billion dollar corporation, this is how they work,” LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard, who owns land the Sacred Stone Camp is on, said in an interview with The Young Turks. “They go into the communities and spread gossip and rumor. That’s what I am worried about. For me I will stand with anybody who stands with the water.”

Since early August, tens of thousands of people from across the world have travelled to Standing Rock, and a total of 696 arrests have been made.

Some of the rumors include monies donated to Standing Rock’s fight. Others have used isolated actions by people inside the camps, such as the case of Kathleen Bennett, who allegedly restrained and abused her 82-year-old mother at Oceti Sakowin, as a reflection on the movement and the tribe as a whole.

“For years, the dearth of infrastructure and poverty of Standing Rock have made it a poster child for what’s messed up in the US,” Laduke said. More than 80 percent of people in Standing Rock live below the poverty level, she said.

“Every year it seems, people freeze to death on Standing Rock, and frankly no one noticed until now.”

As of January 25, 2017, more than 300 GoFundMe accounts raised a total of $8,061,614 for activists and the camps. Suspicions have been raised by Morton County Sheriff’s Department on how the monies have been spent. State and county officials have made threats in the past saying those donating funds are supporting terrorist causes.

Standing Rock issued a statement late December 2016 saying that monies it received have gone toward funding legal fees, camp infrastructure, waste management, and outdoor restrooms.

Standing Rock supporters point to approximately $6 million donated to the tribe that is unaccountable, and are demanding that all expenditures need to be documented and made public so not to tarnish the movement.

“The stench of malfeasance doesn’t smell any better just because it emanates from an ally,” activist Joshua Smith, from Iowa, said. “I do have to say they are still on the forefront of the legal battle challenging DAPL in court. Lateral violence is when two different factions within a given movement criticize the other in a manner which creates division and also provides those opposed to the movement reasoning to criticize us.”

Monies have been used to bail people out, and with nearly 700 arrested, “that’s a lot of cash bail,” Laduke said. “There were drones purchased, each time the police shot down a drone, we purchased another one because someone has to keep an eye from the air.

“A lot of people had to be fed.”

Unity

Competing narratives exist now at what remains of the camps at Standing Rock. Archambault has asked activists to leave since shortly after December 4, 2016, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ordered Energy Transfer Partners to halt work on the Dakota Access Pipeline, concurrently ordering an environmental impact statement to be done along parts of the pipeline’s route.

Some say the Standing Rock Tribal Council sold the activists, or water protectors, out. Others say Archambault is looking out for the safety of his tribe. Either way, Archambault’s tone has changed since the warmer, summer months. The fight is no longer at Standing Rock, but in Washington D.C., he says.

“This pipeline is not going to kill our nation, this pipeline is not going to destroy America,” Archambault said recently on The Rock Report. “This one pipeline where people refuse to leave is not going to be detrimental to our nation.”

Water protectors’ job at Standing Rock is done, he said. The tribe has stopped supporting activists camped near the reservation, along the north side of the Cannon Ball River near to the Missouri River where the Dakota Access Pipeline plans to dig under Lake Oahe.

“I’m not asking it to end, I’m saying that the fight is not here.”

On February 2, Archambault posted to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s Facebook page, saying that he had met with Governor Doug Burgum, whose stance against the tribe is much different than his predecessor, Jack Dalrymple.

“There is great contrast to the previous state leaderships, these visits show that he is willing to work for all citizens of North Dakota, including tribal communities. I commend the governor for his efforts and look forward to finding solutions with him.”

“You are a betrayer of your people,” a netizen said said on the tribe’s Facebook page. “Hang your head low. We all know you sold yourself out for money. May the demise of clean water haunt your conscience.”

The fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline is just one of many fights across the nation and Canada, Archambault said. The DAPL controversy became high profile for a simple reason.

“Standing Rock. Water is Life. Taglines. It’s easy. We can have all the water in the world and we’re not creating a better future for our kids. Water is a source of life. It is not life.”

Allard feels betrayed, she said on her Facebook page. She said that she is not a leader, but began her fight against the pipeline because her son, Philip Levon, is buried near the Dakota Access Pipeline.

“It has been a hard night. All I can say is we must pray hard. How do we find that unity again? How do we stand together against the Black Snake? We must stand together. I don’t have the answers. All I have is prayer.”

Allard has been suffering from ill health, and on the day police officers and agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs entered her land at the Sacred Stone Camp, along the south side of Cannon Ball River, she was en route to a hospital with her husband, also in poor health.

News that agents entered her land on February 2, after she denied them entry, surprised her, she said in an interview with The Young Turks. Allard and family own more than 300 acres on the south side of Cannon Ball River, where her Sacred Stone Camp is still set up. She heard rumors that Archambault authorized the federal incursion onto her lands because he said he also is a land owner there.

“At no time did Chairman Archambault own any portion of this land,” Allard said. “What are they talking about, the Archambaults own land here? They do not.” Archambault’s wife, Nicole, is Allard’s cousin, who owns land to graze horses nearby, but not on the Sacred Stone Camp.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe disagreed. “There are two tracts of land: Army Corps of Engineers holds title to one, and the Tribe holds majority ownership of the other. Sacred Stone Camp leaders were made aware of the need for an assessment earlier this week and agreed to a site visit.”

Allard went home and rifled through land leases, of which she personally owns three acres. The rest of the land is owned by family members, and a tribal trust – held in trust by the United States government.

“The Archambaults hold no trust here. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe holds trust here, that does not mean the Archambaults hold land here.” Without warrants, Archambault had no right to authorize the “raid” into Sacred Stone Camp, she said.

“The chairman did not become Trump, and Trump still does not understand his position. I am still trying to figure out how to make peace with this. There should have never been the tribe against the water protectors. We should be standing together in a unified front. What we have is gossip and rumor dividing the people. It’s like when the fur traders were here, and the fur traders again started to gossip and rumor to divide the people. And that is where we are again.”

She sleeps little at night, stays up worrying and praying.

Another rumor circulating around Sacred Stone Camp include a pending threat of forced removal by federal officers.

The fight is growing, Allard said, and it is not only about water or sacred lands any longer. North Dakota politicians have submitted legislation to give state government more control over reservation land and mineral rights, to run over protesters on public roads, to lessen the responsibilities of corporations to report oil spills, and to criminalize ski masks in public places.

“I will stand, and I will not back down.”

This summer, Allard plans to start a summer camp for youth to teach history, how to live responsibly, and how to heal.

“I don’t need any people to come and defend me, I need people to come and defend the water. I also need people to support the tribe hoping the tribe makes better decisions, and that the tribe will stand in a unified fashion with the people.

“I must stand because my son stands with me. I have no choice.”

Last Child’s Camp

When attorney Chase Iron Eyes moved with approximately 80 people to a western hill forming Last Child’s Camp, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Morton County condemned the group as rogue. He was arrested along with 76 others, and was released on February 3.

He was charged with a Class C felony, inciting a riot, and his legal team is looking into the validity of the charge. Iron Eyes came out of the Morton County Correctional Facility looking tired; months at the camps and it’s apparent he has lost weight.

“It’s no secret that Morton County, that the North Dakota law enforcement, National Guard, North Dakota media, even the governor of North Dakota, going back to Mr. Dalrymple to Burgum, and the North Dakota legislature, are colluding to villainize, dehumanize, and present the narrative that the water protectors are unlawfully camped in the area north of the Cannon Ball River, and that we are violent, that we are unruly, and indeed they are charging me with inciting a riot. But it’s clear to America, I feel, that Donald Trump is inciting a riot.”

“Last night, a group of campers moved materials onto private land,” the Standing Rock Tribal Council said. “This group’s actions do not represent the tribe nor the original intent of the water protectors.”

The tribe still leads the fight, but their opposition has widened to include water rights, hunting, land rights, treaty rights, not just for Standing Rock, but for all tribes, the council said.

“It is this tribe, the Standing Rock Sioux, whose land is most at risk,” Archambault said. “It is also our court case at risk, but in reality, all our treaty rights are at risk. If we want to be treated as nations then we must behave as such. In the past few weeks at camp, I see no reflection of our earlier unity, and without unity we lose.”

Last Child’s Camp was cleared; its tipis handed over to Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

“We will fight these charges,” Iron Eyes said. “We will hold accountable Morton County and all who have brutally violated our rights. This is an SOS. Vets, warriors, and others who can stand with us in peace and dignity to exercise our inherent, treaty, constitutional, and other birthrights. Come stand with us.”

Veterans, once again, are hearing the call. VeteransRespond, an organizer and advocator of healing to communities impacted by social injustice, is planning to return to Standing Rock.

“VeteransRespond is in the process of organizing a return mission to Standing Rock at the wishes of LaDonna Brave Bull Allard,” the group’s GoFundMe page said. “All funds will go directly towards a rental van to transport Texas and Colorado veterans to Standing Rock to help with cleanup efforts as well as serve as a de-escalation and medical response force if needed.”

VeteransStand also created a second GoFundMe account, and plans to return.

“In the past two weeks the turmoil and uncertainty at Standing Rock has increased significantly,” the group said on its Facebook page. “We have had thousands of volunteers reconfirm their dedication to the cause, and readiness to help. The success of our fundraising campaign will ultimately dictate our overall potential for a boots-on-the-ground presence, but our learnings from the first mission in December have allowed us to create the right infrastructure to move quickly.”

The time of the Wiindigo creates confusion, difficult to keep eyes on the more important issues of Native American treaty rights and stopping the Dakota Access Pipeline, Laduke said.

Signs in the snow outside of the Standing Rock camps – photo by C.S. Hagen

“In the time of the Wiindigo, confusion, and fear prey on us all,” Laduke said. “We forget who are the enemies and who are our friends and families. Let us pray for clear minds. I plan to live through the time of the Wiindigo, and when I look back at the time of Standing Rock, I want to remember the unity, the courage, the outpouring of love for our Mother Earth, our Mni Wiconi, and how we faced the enemy.”

“Staying Ahead of the Game”

December 14, 2016 / CSHagen / 0 Comments

“Please, please, please be confident” in Dakota Access Pipeline, company leader says

By C.S. Hagen
ALL NATIONS CAMP – While Arctic winds and near-record snows pummel the prairies, all is not quiet on the pipeline front.

The camp that drew tens of thousands of supporters from across the world, Oceti Sakowin, or the Seven Council Fires Camp, has been shut down. The sacred fire lit continuously since July has been extinguished, but a new fire has taken its place. The former camp is now known as All Nations Camp, according to attorney Chase Iron Eyes. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault II has asked everyone to leave, but more than a thousand remain, both at All Nations Camp and at the Sacred Stone Camp.

Across Cannonball River at the Sacred Stone Camp, owner of the land LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard said she plans to stay.

LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard and her husband Miles Allard

“We want the world to know that we at sacred stone are still standing,” Allard said. “We will still be here, we still have our sacred fire, it is still burning, and we want the world to know that we stand in prayer… we stand with Chase Iron Eyes and the new All Nations Camp, and we will be here until the black snake is dead.”

She calls for help to survive the bitter Dakota winter ahead. Firewood is needed, as are plumbers, electricians, welders, and carpenters to make Sacred Stone Camp a more permanent community, she said.

“The camp is strong,” Iron Eyes said. “One fire has been put out, a new fire has been relit. No more glory here, only hard work.”

There is no one chief, Iron Eyes said, everyone is working during daylight hours to help each other survive the winter.

Chase Iron Eyes

“Some people have left camp because of the deadly weather,” Iron Eyes said. “More have arrived… I can’t abandon those in need. Some of you won’t leave, and the world is blessed with your courage. It’s our job to help you stay warm, lodged and fed. Trump takes office in 41 days. DAPL will die if we keep the fight and shift the battlefield…”

Oil spills and a second “black snake”

Approximately 200 miles from Standing Rock, another pipeline leak on December 5 sent 4,200 barrels of oil into the Billings County Ash Coulee Creek, which drains into the Little Missouri River, and then into the Missouri River, the North Dakota Department of Health reported. Belle Fourche Pipeline Company manages the pipeline, and it has had a total of 14 leaks in their history in North Dakota.

The sacred fire at Oceti Sakowin before it was extinguished – photo by C.S. Hagen

“Any time we have oil released into water we view that as significant, we’re taking it seriously,” Spill Investigation Program Manager Bill Seuss said. The cold weather has its drawbacks and benefits, he said. Ice slows mobility, but has also trapped much of the oil on top of the creek. “The freezing river slows things down,” Seuss said.

While Standing Rock restructures, activists shut down a meeting held by Enbridge, Inc. at the Doubletree in Bemidji, Minnesota. Bemidji Police Department arrived and threatened nearly 150 people present to leave. Enbridge personnel expected a questions and answer session, but activists suspect they changed their “game plan” after too many activists arrived and started asking questions.

Oil spill at Ash Coulee Creek – photo provided by ND Department of Health

“It was not a forum, it was standing room only, like a buffet,” Winona Laduke, a longtime environmentalist, economist, and two-time vice presidential candidate for Ralph Nader’s Green Party, said. She is also the executive director for Honor the Earth, a non-profit advocate for indigenous environmental support.

“They whited out the Sandpiper and put in Line 3,” Laduke said. “They’re in the process of doing their environmental impact statement, and the public utilities is doing the statement and they don’t have the capacity for it.”

Laduke asked questions directly to Enbridge personnel. She was ignored, and they walked out, she said. “They thought there would be a few county commissioners and a few white guys, and they wouldn’t answer any questions. A lot of people wanted to know about North Dakota.

“If you’re going to bring tanks here into northern Minnesota,” Laduke said during the meeting. She was met with silence. “You’re going to bring tanks? That’s what we want to know.”

A police officer told her it was time to go. Friends grabbed her arms in support, making it clear they were not going anywhere, Laduke said. Activists yelled at police they should go apply to Morton County.

“As soon as Winona Laduke started asking questions a police officer came in and said she needed to leave for no reason at all,” activist Thomas Barrett. “Because of that, people started getting upset because they’re targeting Winona Laduke. She’s one of the women who has ignited the fire that is in us now, the fire to care for Mother Earth. We demanded to know something and the majority of the Enbridge walked out, because we started asking questions they don’t want to answer,” Barrett said.

Barrett planned to ask questions about abandoned pipelines, still leaking.

The Enbridge pipeline, formerly known as the Sandpiper was routed to cut through Chippewa and Ojibwe treaty territory.

“Now Enbridge is turning its focus on the proposed Line 3 project, which would carry tar sands oil from Alberta to Superior Wisconsin, some of the best lakes and wild rice beds of Northern Minnesota, and the heart of Ojibwe treaty territory,” Laduke said.

“As Enbridge kicks off a renewed public relations campaign for Line 3, they owe us all an explanation of how this project is any different from Dakota Access. And they need to account for the hundreds of injuries…”

Lieutenant Governor Drew Wrigley said before Fargo’s City Commissioners and Mayor Tim Mahoney last week that no injuries at Standing Rock had been validated.

“So, what’s up Enbridge?” Laduke said. “Are you going to bring those tanks to Ojibwe territory now? And, when are you going to repair the damage you have caused us?”

“We have to stay ahead of the game,” Barrett said during Tuesday’s meeting. “We have to get our legal ready. We have to support our frontrunners. This is where we mobilize. This is where we continue the fight. Standing Rock is not over, this is now Standing Rock right here.”

“Enbridge’s Line 3 Opening Party in Bemidji did not go well,” Laduke said. “We want to know why Enbridge let all those people get hurt out there in North Dakota when we asked them to stop the violence… They were one-third owners of the Dakota Excess Pipeline and they could have said something. This is not Morton County… that ain’t gonna fly here.”

“This isn’t North Dakota, this is Minnesota where the government might care a little bit about our concerns,” Barrett said to the crowd. News of an Enbridge meeting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Clearwater was announced to the activists present.

DAPL drill pad – photo provided by Digital Smoke Signals

Energy Transfer Partners meeting secretly taped

A secret recording of a corporate Energy Transfer Partners meeting led by President and COO Matthew Ramsey was given anonymously to Shaun King, the senior justice writer for the New York Daily News, who made the audio public, and he states the recording is authentic. A person at the end of the speech thanks the main speaker, naming him Matt.

“We have been in quite a fight here on DAPL…” Ramsey said in the recording. “Make no mistake about it, the pipeline is going through and it’s going through exactly where…” The audio is interrupted.

“We have not stopped for one second on construction of this pipeline, unless we were ordered to stop by court, which we were then ordered to stop twice but ultimately both of those courts that did order us to stop went and looked at the facts, which are very hard to come by in this process.”

The Dakota Access Pipeline has been built on both sides of Lake Oahe up to the point where Energy Transfer Partners, the parent company of the Dakota Access Pipeline, lacks approximately 1,100 feet from the federal government, and about 4,000 feet planned to go under the Missouri River at Lake Oahe.

“The politics of this thing has been unbelievable,” Ramsey said. “Never in my lifetime…” The audio is interrupted. “I think I would be having an argument with regulators where we’ve done nothing except play by the rules. We always, always play by the rules. It was evidenced that when we came under attack here, there was never anything, not one thing that came out…” audio is interrupted again. “It was a confirmation that we did it by the book.

“But I gotta tell you one thing in this room, election night changed everything,” Ramsey said. “We’re now going through a transition where we will have a new President of the United States. And he gets it. We fully expect as soon as he is inaugurated his team is going to move to get the final approvals done and DAPL will cross the lake.”

A 65-day drilling schedule remains to complete the 1,172-mile pipeline, depending on the weather.

“People in North Dakota… people are tired of this. The tide has turned, and people are understanding what a great project this will be for the state of North Dakota, and that came right out of the governor’s mouthpiece that he’s very much in favor of this thing, so, I think we’re off and running on DAPL.”

The pipeline plans to move up to 570,000 of sweet crude Bakken oil through a public utility. Much of the oil will be exported, according to analysts, and will not benefit American consumers. North Dakota politicians including Senator Heidi Heitkamp D-N.D., helped lead efforts to legalize increased exports of liquefied gas and crude oil in 2015.

“I know everyone in this room has had to deal with protesters, and everyone in this room has had to read on social media the misinformation that’s out there,” Ramsey said. “It’s not fair. We feel like keeping our head down and doing what we do best, which is put this pipeline in the ground is the best thing we can do. We’ve never stopped doing that.”

Ramsey attacked live video feeds on social media websites such as Facebook as rumor mills. Earlier this week Governor Jack Dalrymple blamed Energy Transfer Partners for not standing up for themselves and defending their positions.

“Why don’t we just immediately answer back every time something is stated wrong about the company and what we’re doing?” Ramsey said. “You have to understand, and I didn’t understand this until I got kinda deep into it, this is not really about water and this is not about… it’s about environmental activism, and it’s nothing more than that. These are people who are pushing the all-fossil fuels in the ground at every angle. Make no mistake, this is an event that they’re using to raise lots and lots of money. If they can create a cause and if they can create a lot of publicity, which they’ve clearly done here, it’s an avenue for that to raise money, not only to fight us on this project, but to fight all the projects.

“So we’ll continue to fight for this thing, but please, please, please be confident in this company. We’re gonna get this through in short order.”

Route 6 – photo provided by Digital Smoke Signals

Police in Riot Gear Welcome Native Winter Gifts

December 3, 2016 / CSHagen / 0 Comments

“They seemed pretty caught off guard”

By C.S. Hagen
MANDAN – Sheriff’s deputies in riot gear welcomed gifts donated by Oceti Sakowin and International Indigenous Youth Council Friday when the No DAPL activists delivered boxes filled from the department’s winter donation list.

Transparent tote boxes filled with batteries, granola bars, thick socks, trail mix, and hand warmers, were brought to Morton County Sheriff’s Department by Native Americans, including three veterans involved in Iraq Veterans Against the War. Before bringing the gifts inside the department, activists, known as water protectors, spoke and prayed on the public sidewalk.

Thomas Lopez speaks before activists give winter gifts to Morton County Sheriff's Department - photo by Chad Nodland

Activists speaking before bringing winter gifts to Morton County Sheriff’s Department – photo by Chad Nodland

Leonard Crow Dog led the activists in prayers, which were also on the sheriff department’s wish list – at the top.

Morton County Sheriff’s Department – photo by Corey Carson Elevate Studios

“What we’re doing here is offering them this water of life, to show the Morton County Sheriff’s Office, to show the people who believe that we’re here to hurt them that we’re actually here fighting for your rights to clean water, for your rights to clean air,” member of the International Indigenous Youth Council Thomas Lopez said.

“Thank you to the members of the International Indigenous Youth Council who stopped by with gifts and supplies and snacks for our employees,” Morton County Sheriff’s Department said on its Facebook page, which is now running again. “Your kindness and support is very much appreciated.”

Activists who brought the supplies hoped for a reciprocation of compassion and respect, LZ Amsterdam said.

Activists cheer after speeches are given – photo by Chad Nodland

“They seemed pretty caught off guard,” Amsterdam said. “They wouldn’t let us inside, even though they have asked the public to bring supplies to them. We showed compassion and humanity today and they had the opportunity to do the same, which they did not.”

Morton County Sheriff’s Department welcoming committee – photo by Corey Carson Elevate Sutdios

The gifts were brought two days before the expected arrival of more than 2,500 veterans coming from around the United States and with Veterans for Standing Rock. The veterans en route have promised to show solidarity with Standing Rock, and to surround them in a human shield during any actions that may take place.

“We hold no hatred in our hearts,” Lopez said. “We don’t want to see you hurt. You are our brothers and sisters and we will treat you as such.”

Morton County Sheriff’s Department winter donation list

Ocet Sakowin on November 28- photo by Leland B Benoist

State Drops Attempted Murder Charge Against No DAPL Activist

November 29, 2016 / CSHagen / 0 Comments

Federal prosecutors pick up first DAPL-related case with new charge; governor orders emergency evacuation of Oceti Sakowin

By C.S. Hagen
BISMARCK – State charges were dropped against Red Fawn Fallis Monday, but felony charges were filed against the No DAPL activist in federal court.

“This is the first DAPL-related case we’ve had in federal court,” Head Federal Public Defender for North and South Dakota Neil Fulton said.

The state dropped the attempted murder charge against Fallis, according to Morton County Clerk of Court. Instead, she will be tried for possession of a firearm as a convicted felon in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, according to Fulton. Fallis faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment if proven guilty.

Chris Bellmore, of the Federal Public Defender’s Office, was assigned to Fallis’ case.

Red Fawn Fallis – online sources

Fallis, 47, still faces misdemeanor charges in Morton County, which include disorderly conduct, criminal trespass, and maintaining a public nuisance, according to Morton County Clerk of Court. She is being held by U.S. Marshals, and under no bond at this time, Fulton said.

Friends, family, and supporters maintain the Denver woman’s innocence, and her name has become a rallying cry during many protests inside Bismarck and Mandan. Signs demanding her release are stretched out along the fence surrounding Oceti Sakowin, or the Seven Council Fires camp.

Some supporters online stated her case should be moved out of state. Many called her “their hero,” while others declared they would wear red in support of Fallis.

Fallis allegedly fired three shots at law enforcement officers after they tackled her while she resisted arrest, according to affidavits released by the South Central Judicial Court.

Pennington County Sheriff’s Department deputies Rusty and Thad Schmit stated in an affidavit they saw a female, later identified as Fallis, acting disorderly, and when she walked away from the group the two deputies approached her and “took Red Fawn Fallis to the ground.”

During the struggle, deputies gave no indication as to where the handgun came from. Fallis did not have the gun in her hand when she was tackled, and the officers involved believe that Fallis was able to retrieve the gun when one of the deputies stopped pulling on her left arm, according to the affidavit.

Activists and freinds of Red Fawn Fallis say she is innocent – photo by C.S. Hagen

Two gunshots were fired quickly, one bullet striking the ground close to a deputy’s knee, according to the affidavit. One of the deputies saw the handgun in her left hand and struggled with her over the gun, according to the affidavit. A third shot was fired, and the weapon was retrieved after assistance from other officers.

According to the affidavit, Fallis said she “was trying to pull the gun out of her pocket and the deputies jumped her and the gun went off.” During transport, she also allegedly said law enforcement was lucky she didn’t shoot them all, according to the affidavit.

Morton County Sheriff’s Department reported on October 27 that the northern Treaty Camp was emptied because activists refused to leave after repeated requests. A total of 561 people have been arrested since early August. Morton County Sheriff’s Department has spent in excess of USD 10 million, and approximately 1,300 officers have assisted from 25 North Dakota counties, 20 cities, and nine states.

Snow at Oceti Sakowin – photo by Leland B Benoist

The day after Thanksgiving, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a 10-day warning to Standing Rock tribal leaders to evacuate Oceti Sakowin, which is currently on federal lands. Eight days remain before those remaining on federal lands may be subject to arrest.

Despite repeated requests by state leaders, including Governor Jack Dalrymple, Congressman Kevin Cramer R-N.D., senators John Hoeven R-N.D., and Heidi Heitkamp R-N.D., the Army Corps has relaxed its stance saying that it has no plans to use force to evacuate Army Corps lands, including activist and DAPL employees, after December 5. The Dakota Access Pipeline runs along Army Corps lands its entire length in North Dakota, according to Julie Fedorchak, the public service commissioner.

Dalrymple is “frustrated at every level,” he said at a press conference, and on Monday issued an emergency “mandatory evacuation” order to safeguard against harsh winter conditions of all persons residing on Army Corps lands.

“These persons are ordered to leave the evacuation area immediately, and are further ordered not to return to the evacuation area,” Dalrymple said. “The definition of the evacuation area shall remain in effect even if the United States Army Corps of Engineers redefines or removes these prohibited areas.

“All persons in the evacuation area shall take all their possessions with them upon their evacuation. Any action or inaction taken by any party which encourages persons to enter, reenter, or remain in the evacuation area will be subject to penalties as defined in law.”

Dalrymple further added his office has the executive power to issue the warning on Army Corps lands in order to avert a possible disaster, and that anyone who chooses to disregard the order will stay at their own risk.

“I direct state agencies, emergency service officials, and nongovernmental organizations to reduce threats to public safety by not guaranteeing the provision of emergency and other governmental and nongovernmental services in the evacuation area, unless otherwise approved by a case by case basis by the Morton County Sheriff or Superintendent of the Highway Patrol.

“The general public is hereby notified that emergency services probably will not be available under current winter conditions.”

Cecily Fong, of the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, said no law enforcement or National Guard will be used to enforce the governor’s order. DAPL employees are not subject to the order, according to Fong, as they are not camping in the elements.

Standing Rock and supporters have stated they’re not going anywhere. The land in question falls under the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie and was taken away by the Army Corps after it was condemned due to the devastating effects of the Pick-Sloan legislation.

“The Army Corps of Engineers is seeking a peaceful and orderly transition to a safer location, and has no plans for forcible removal,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District Commander John W. Henderson said in press release. “But those who choose to stay do so at their own risk as emergency, fire, medical, and law enforcement response cannot be adequately provided in these areas.”

Additionally, more than 1,500 veterans with Veterans for Standing Rock are planning to arrive at Oceti Sakowin on December 4, according to the Veterans for Standing Rock’s Facebook page.