Standing Rock #NODAPL

 A SLAPP to the Face

Standing Rock #NODAPL: Stopping Fossil Fuel Development 

The Sioux’s concerns for their water and sacred grounds were ignored by the corporate interests involved. Yet millions of people around the world heard them loud and clear: stopping fossil fuel development is a global priority. We have no time left for the insatiable greed of the fossil fuel industry. And as they paint humanity into a corner, we have no room left for denial of the dire situation we’re all facing.

In May 2014, ETP (Energy Transfer Partners) decided to build the Dakota Access Pipeline, to transfer oil from the Bakken shale oil fields in North Dakota down to Illinois. The original planned route had the pipeline crossing underneath the Missouri River near Bismarck. It was rejected by the USACE (the United States Army Corps of Engineers) because it ran too close to municipal waters. With blatant disregard for the Treaty of Fort Laramie, it was rerouted a half mile from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. 

Pipelines Threaten Rivers

Continued fossil fuel development this late in the game is backwards thinking period, but it shows the relentless self-serving interests of Big Oil. Their false claims of improvements to public safety and that we can achieve “energy independence” by building more and more pipelines are laughable at best. Less than six months after the DAPL was operational, the Keystone Pipeline leaked more than 400,000 gallons (not 210,000 gallons) of oil in South Dakota.

If we remember all the other rivers (Kalamazoo River, Yellowstone River, etc.) devastated by faulty pipelines, wanting to vigorously protect the Missouri River makes perfect sense. Big Oil epitomizes the dark side of capitalism. Regardless of how many times they painfully sully our environment, they manage to thrive as they wield formidable control of our political system. Rigging the game in their favor, they receive billions of dollars in subsidies and reap billions of dollars in profit. They inflict horrendous damage on our environment (yet remain unscathed for their crimes).

Message Amplified 

The protests near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation drew attention from around the world. A few hundred water protectors quickly turned into thousands. Camps (Sacred Stone and Oceti Sakowin) were created to accommodate them. Many woke people immediately recognized the situation for what it was: another case of corporations and the government disrespecting indigenous people (and their treaty rights) for the sake of profit. The massive resistance generated by the Dakota access pipeline protesters gave ETP a serious headache. They retaliated by launching a campaign to intimidate the protestors (and future ones).

ETP did many reprehensible things during Standing Rock #NoDAPL. Having a law firm file a bogus racketeering complaint against BankTrack (*a divestment group), Greenpeace, and Earth First for $300 million with information gathered by TigerSwan, a private security firm they hired, was un-American in its design to suppress free speech/dissent. It’s a SLAPP (a strategic lawsuit against public participation) which uses expensive litigation to suppress free speech. The ultimate point isn‘t to win the suit. It’s to intimidate potential dissenters who might dare object to their reckless (and hellishly unethical) business practices. 

Thankfully we have this thing called the First Amendment and many states are passing anti-SLAPP legislation to help “slap” these corporate pigs back into reality.

Buying Their Own Army

Protecting their interests, ETP supplied police with various equipment and $15 million for “law enforcement expenses,” in effect buying their own militarized police force. Many reports abound of the police using unwarranted force on protestors. This included tear gas, rubber bullets, attack dogs, water and sound cannons, etc. Jumping into the fray, over 2,000 veterans came to Standing Rock to act as a “human shield” between the water protectors and the police. It was a beautiful act of respect and peace, a moment of graceful compassion not soon to be forgotten.

The pipeline might have been finished, but the inspiration generated by the Standing Rock movement will be felt for years to come. More than ever we are aware of the inherent dangers of unnecessary pipelines. Despite all the intimidation tactics employed, people have become galvanized to stopping fossil fuel development in their communities. 

Standing together counts.

                                                                                                       - Much Love, T. Stickle/2018