DAPL: Are money and oil more valuable than the basic rights and homes of America’s indigenous people?

A+NoDAPL+protest+in+San+Fransisco.

Flickr\Peg Hunter

A NoDAPL protest in San Fransisco.

Miranda Groux, Crier Staff

On Halloween day, the hash tag #NoDAPL flooded Facebook as millions “checked in” to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Intended as a sign of solidarity, this social media movement drew attention to one of the many injustices indigenous people face today: the threat of the Dakota Access Pipeline. While some students grabbed their moccasin shoes, feathery headdresses, and skimpy Pocahontas outfits for Halloween night, real Native people braced the cold to continue their life-long battle for basic human rights.

The construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline was originally routed through the whitest and richest neighborhoods of Bismarck; that is, until the whitest and richest neighborhoods of Bismarck said, “kindly, no thanks” to pipeline owners at the Energy Transfer Partners. After all, who would want a 30-inch wide pipeline carrying 470,000 to 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day running through their backyard? It’s almost as if a community would have to be taken advantage of in order for this pipeline to be built. And my goodness, we can’t very well start oppressing white men now.

The Energy Transfer Partners had an easy solution to their ethical dilemma: if not the land of the white rich folks, how about the land of indigenous folks from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe? The pipeline will likely run through their sacred burial grounds, violate a few treaties, and destroy vital resources; but these things have been done to indigenous people before. And my goodness, we can’t very well start respecting indigenous people now. (Strange how some lives matter more than others.)

Just as the white and rich of Bismarck, the indigenous people of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said, “kindly, no thanks” to the pipeline owners; however, their voices are easily ignored in our legal system. Permits were approved and construction was set to begin, despite Native voices openly rejected the pipeline, filing an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order on the destruction of sacred sites, and filing multiple lawsuits. Thus began eight months of nonviolent resistance at the Sacred Stone Camp—a camp formed to accommodate indigenous people from around the country and allies who agreed the livelihood of indigenous people is more important than the private profits of big oil companies.

This monumental resistance began in April, yet the majority of the public is only recently hearing about the injustices at Standing Rock. Kind of reminiscent of the whole Native American genocide thing we shy away from every Thanksgiving. The “Trail of Tears” doesn’t exactly go with our narrative of peacefully sharing turkey and smiles around a communal table. Nor do stories about private security forces, attack dogs, invasive surveillance methods, police brutality, assaults on journalism, environmental destruction, and government complacency at Standing Rock. It’s best we just eat our mashed potatoes and name a few things we’re thankful for, you know? There’s no place for “politics” at the dinner table, or human rights (apparently).

It is now December, and after months of silence from government leadership, a CNN headline reads: “Dakota Access Pipeline victory.” It took eight months of dedicated, peaceful resistance in the name of the basic rights of land and water for the US Army Corps of Engineers to “block the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline beneath Lake Oahe”— the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s main water supply. Does this mean we can hang our dream catchers in our rearview mirrors in celebration of indigenous rights? Not quite.

Two American truths ring clear above the cries of victory: the government has rarely upheld promises to Native people, and corporate interests are more important than human lives. Billions of dollars are already invested in this pipeline— including investments from ours truly, president-elect Donald J. Trump. This pipeline will be built. The US Army Corps of Engineers blocked the construction beneath Lake Oahoe, leaving the public with a number of speculations: where will the pipeline be rerouted? Will it still go under the Missouri River, a sacred river to Native people and a water source for millions of Americans? Or is this “block” going to be temporary? Will the Energy Transfer Partners resume construction at their earliest convenience—perhaps, when Trump takes office?

Only time will tell. Despite the “good news,” the Water Protectors will remain at the camps until construction is clearly halted. We must continue to stand in solidarity with Standing Rock and take action however we are able. Saint Anselm students have been working with a variety of offices on campus to encourage our community’s engagement in this crisis.

Our dedication is needed as we continue to educate ourselves about the treatment of indigenous people in this country and the dangers of oil pipelines. Our donations are needed as the Water Protectors prepare for winter. Our voice is needed as we demand those in power permanently halt construction of the pipeline. Our action is needed as we engage in a movement that is larger than Saint Anselm College.

Many of us took the time to “check-in” at Standing Rock, which raised so much awareness in our community for this injustice. We must create plans for ourselves and plans for our community to take this solidarity a step further into action—maybe that starts with reconsidering a culturally insensitive Halloween costume, and it certainly includes relentlessly elevating the voices of Native people as they fight for their rights.

Donation suggestions include winter jackets, gloves, hats, boots, sleeping bags, hand-warmers, and Amazon gift cards. Donation bins are set up in Davison, Campus Ministry, the Meelia Center, the Multicultural Center, JOA, Dominic Hall, and Alumni Streets. Keep an eye out for emails about spaces where students will come together to make phone calls and write letters to those in power. Additionally, do some research to see if your bank is invested in the Dakota Access Pipeline; many people have been moving their money to demand banks divest from the pipeline.