Story by Refresh News • Yesterday
Lindsay Nance is outside the courthouse in Morton County, North Dakota filming live on Facebook, „The trial has been postponed until January.“ She’s there to support accused activists. The 28-^year-old shoots freelance documentaries. She has been living at the Standing Rock Reservation protest camp since October of this year. 15,000 people are demonstrating against the construction of the pipeline with their mere presence. It is almost 2,000 kilometers long and is intended to transport oil from North Dakota to Illinois. The oil will be extracted beforehand using the controversial fracking method. Construction is almost complete, except for this last stretch.
The two reasons for the protest: According to the planned construction plan, the pipeline would run through an area that has belonged by treaty to the Sioux tribe „Lakota People“ living there since 1851. The fact that the land is sacred and that there are cemeteries there has also not been taken into account in the planning. In addition, it is to pass under a lake that serves as a water reservoir for the Missouri River – the Time reported. That is why the protesters call themselves „Water Protectors“. That the pipeline will eventually leak and pollute the water is to be expected. Just 150 miles from the camp, according to Washington Post spilled around 666,000 liters of oil on December 13.
Veterans ask for forgiveness
About a week earlier, the responsible U.S. Army agency halted construction and ordered a new environmental assessment. The protesters celebrated, but saw this only as a stage victory. Another part of the Army showed solidarity with the protests. A group of veterans formed a human chain around the camp and later asked at a solemn ceremony in tears, publicly asking forgiveness for all the military’s crimes against Native Americans. Some of them reportedly felt for the first time as if they were serving and defending their country, Lindsay reports. Also, for the first time in modern history, hundreds of other tribes came together to support the protests, he said. They answered the call of The Standing Rock Youth Council and came to the camp.
A place to pray
„It’s a place of prayer more than anything else,“ Lindsay says, describing the atmosphere. She originally came to the camp to film a music festival that activists were organizing on site. Then she went back to her apartment only once to pack – and hasn’t left the camp since. „There are sweat lodges here, sacred fires, lots of conversations and prayers with the older Lakota People – all of it shook me to the core.“ She could never have prepared for the spiritual experience. In addition, Lindsay would also have learned about an American history that she had not known before: „I met older people who were forced to go to boarding schools. There, they had no contact with their family, weren’t allowed to speak their language, and weren’t allowed to live their traditions.“ This is how the American government worked against Native American culture.
BayernLB supports the pipeline
Despite the small successes and broad support, the outcome is uncertain. Not least because Donald Trump is among the investors in the $3.8 billion bank, along with many global banks. „There’s a lot of work to be done,“ Lindsay says. Among the work, to pull his money out of the investing banks. Some banks have already withdrawn their investment – but partly incomplete and more for PR purposes, the activist warns. The Bavarian state bank BayernLB is also among the investors and wants to „closely monitor the situation“, as Deutschlandfunk reports. Hopefully, she also observed the 20th of November attentively.
Rubber bullets and water cannons at freezing temperatures
On the night about a month ago, the situation between the protesters and the police escalated. Lindsay describes it as one of the worst nights of her life. Tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray were used, according to Lindsay. Despite sub-zero temperatures, water cannons were used for six hours. „Many were covered in ice and returned to their unheated tents to sleep.“ Long Range Acoustic Devices, acoustic devices used as megaphones and to emit unpleasant loud sounds, did the rest. One woman was hit in the face by a rubber bullet without warning. The nearest hospital refused to treat her swollen and bleeding eye due to lack of health insurance. Meanwhile, she is staying in a hotel not far from Trump Tower. There she is preparing for surgery on her blinded eye. At Gofundme you can support them financially. „We experience oppression and police violence here like in a war zone,“ comments Lindsay.
One-sided reporting
Lindsay herself regularly reports on the events on her Facebook page. „This is very important because the mainstream media distorts facts,“ she says. In addition, she says, the Morton County Sheriff’s Department has been issuing false press releases. Another reporting controversy involved Ed Ou. The Canadian photojournalist was denied entry into the U.S. after he stated at the airport that he wanted to cover the Standing Rock Reservation. Ed has won awards and has traveled to many crisis areas as a reporter. Despite this, police officers forced him to hand over his smartphone. The fact that he had a duty of confidentiality to his informants, which was thus no longer guaranteed, did not convince the police officers, as the BBC wrote.
The first negotiations
The first hearings on detained water protectors will take place in January. According to Lindsay, the mass arrest of protesters also constitutes a violation of the right of assembly. The outcome of these first negotiations then serves as a precedent for the other 500.
Image source: Renegade Medai
No comments:
Post a Comment