Blackhawk wrote:I'm not doing all of the research again, but it wasn't at all black and white. Some points I recall:
From what I read, the seizure was in 1948, and was related to the construction of a dam. That initial seizure took away most of Standing Rock's viable farmland, and left the reservation one of the poorest in the nation.
The Army Corps of Engineers conducted a cursory survey of the impacts before permits were issued. The archaeology angle isn't cut and dry, with experts both for an against it being protected. The environmental issues are even murkier, with a bunch of federal agencies (including the EPA, the Department of the Interior, and a Presidential advisory board on historical preservation) recommending a more thorough investigation of the impact of the pipeline before approval.
The Army Corps of Engineers chose to ignore all of those recommendations and use a smarmy technicality to approve the permits anyway (instead of permitting a large project, they approved it as a bunch of adjacent small construction projects, bypassing the restrictions it should have been subject to), which is what started the problem. Some more points:
~The whole thing started when an independent survey found burial sites in the path of the pipeline. They informed the right people and tried to get a more thorough examination, but the company quickly bulldozed the sites anyway. Were they legitimate? Who knows at this point.
~The pipeline was originally supposed to be north of Bismark, but it was moved because it represented a threat to Bismark's water supply.
~It is only a half mile from the reservation on lands that were seized from the tribe. This was a pipeline that was moved away from a city because of safety concerns, and for which the proper studies were skipped.
All of that territory wasn't taken by the dam projects, a lot of was just never protected from white intrusion.
That said, if you read the following story of the injustice regarding dam projects that never benefited the Native Americans, but imposed heavy losses and burdens on them, you can understadn their mistrust:
Blackhawk wrote:I agree. Probably a third of my friends (real life and Facebook) are Native American, so I have been getting buried in stories about it.
Some of my in-laws are from Standing Rock. I grew up in rural North Dakota. My facebook is half outrage over the horror of the pipeline and the other half is demands that "those" people go away, with an implication that if a few die it wouldn't be a bad thing.
It's opened my eyes to the level of racism in ND.
I was horribly naive.
The actual story of the pipeline isn't black and white, but the response is very revealing.
Being just north of you guys in SK, the level of racism that forms people's opinions is staggering.
When I look at the overhead satellite images of Reserve lands, it's clear why it was given to them. Nice agricultural land all around the reserves, nothing but sloughs in the reserves. They're getting fucked every which way and am residents here see is, natives are making trouble, lock 'em up!
On Sunday, the Corps issued a new statement saying it wants a "peaceful and orderly transition to a safer location, and has no plans for forcible removal."
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," the statement added. "Those who remain will be considered unauthorized and may be subject to citation under federal, state or local laws."
Now, the North Dakota governor, Jack Dalrymple, is taking a different tack. He's ordered protesters to clear out immediately, because winter's coming. He said the temporary dwellings pose serious public safety concerns.
And the $1,000 fine is part of that approach.
The Morton County Sheriff's Department could not be reached for comment. But this is how spokeswoman Maxine Herr explained it to CNN affiliate KFYR in a statement:
"Any person who chooses to enter, reenter, or stay in the evacuation area does so at their own risk, and assumes any or all corresponding liabilities for their unlawful presence and occupation of the evacuation area."
What that means, she says, is "if delivery trucks are observed going into the evacuation area they will be notified that they are guilty of the infraction and could receive up to a $1,000 fine if they continue."
Herr said authorities will be "passively" enforcing the governor's order, meaning there will not be a roadblock, but anyone entering the area will be notified that they are trespassing and penalized.
I don't actually know what land they are protesting on. As the pipeline isn't running through "reservation land" can I assume it is "army" land and much more so "army" land than Nevada's state land that cattle were grazing on as if it belonged the ranchers?
On Sunday, the Corps issued a new statement saying it wants a "peaceful and orderly transition to a safer location, and has no plans for forcible removal."
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," the statement added. "Those who remain will be considered unauthorized and may be subject to citation under federal, state or local laws."
Now, the North Dakota governor, Jack Dalrymple, is taking a different tack. He's ordered protesters to clear out immediately, because winter's coming. He said the temporary dwellings pose serious public safety concerns.
And the $1,000 fine is part of that approach.
The Morton County Sheriff's Department could not be reached for comment. But this is how spokeswoman Maxine Herr explained it to CNN affiliate KFYR in a statement:
"Any person who chooses to enter, reenter, or stay in the evacuation area does so at their own risk, and assumes any or all corresponding liabilities for their unlawful presence and occupation of the evacuation area."
What that means, she says, is "if delivery trucks are observed going into the evacuation area they will be notified that they are guilty of the infraction and could receive up to a $1,000 fine if they continue."
Herr said authorities will be "passively" enforcing the governor's order, meaning there will not be a roadblock, but anyone entering the area will be notified that they are trespassing and penalized.
I don't actually know what land they are protesting on. As the pipeline isn't running through "reservation land" can I assume it is "army" land and much more so "army" land than Nevada's state land that cattle were grazing on as if it belonged the ranchers?
It's apparently owned by the Army Corp of Engineers.
EDIT: It's unclear whose land they are on. Another article I just read said it was pipeline company land. Either way, it belong to someone other than those protesting and camping on it.
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions. – G.K. Chesterton
President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday said for the first time that he supports the completion of a pipeline project near a North Dakota Indian reservation, which has been the subject of months of protests by tribes and environmentalists.
A communications briefing from Trump's transition team said despite media reports that Trump owns a stake in Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the pipeline, Trump's support of the pipeline "has nothing to do with his personal investments and everything to do with promoting policies that benefit all Americans."
So there's speculation he owns a stake in the pipeline being built, but we don't know, because he refuses to reveal his holdings, but unsurprisingly, he's TOTALLY in favor of the pipeline and against the protesters.
I'm utterly shocked by all of this.
I can't imagine, even at my most inebriated, hearing a bouncer offering me an hour with a stripper for only $1,400 and thinking That sounds like a reasonable idea.-Two Sheds
President-elect Donald Trump holds stock in the company building the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline, and pipeline opponents fear his investments could affect any decision he makes on the $3.8-billion project.
Trump's 2016 federal disclosure forms show he owned between $15,000 and $50,000 in stock in Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners. That's down from between $500,000 and $1 million a year earlier.
Trump also owns between $100,000 and $250,000 in Phillips 66, which has a one-quarter share of Dakota Access.
While Trump's stake in the pipeline company is modest compared with his other assets, ethics experts say it's among dozens of potential conflicts that could be resolved by placing his investments in a blind trust, a step Trump has resisted.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
A Canadian reporter was barred from entering the US. Is this the beginning of the end of press freedom?
Ed Ou is used to crossing borders.
The award-winning Canadian photojournalist has spent the past decade travelling to the kinds of places where being in the media can be a hazard to your health: Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Egypt and Turkey, to name a few.
So when he booked a flight last October to the US from Canada to cover the Standing Rock pipeline protests in North Dakota for the Canadian Broadcasting Company, he was relieved to be somewhere with press freedoms.
"In my mind I had nothing to hide, (America) is actually one of the few places in the world where you can just say you're a journalist," he told the BBC.
But when he told US border officials at the Vancouver airport he was travelling to North Dakota to cover Standing Rock, he says they pulled him aside and proceeded to interrogate him for six hours. When he refused to unlock his mobile on the grounds that it contained confidential information about sources, they forcibly took his SIM cards and made copies of his reporter's notebook and personal diary.
Then they barred him from entering the US.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
The US Army has decided not to allow an oil pipeline to cross under a reservoir on land it controls in North Dakota in a move praised by protesters.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe hailed an "historic decision" and said it was "forever grateful" to President Obama.
Instead, the US Army Corps of Engineers will look at alternative routes, a statement by the campaigners said.
The Sioux have been protesting since April against the pipeline which is near a reservation.
"Today, the US Army Corps of Engineers announced that it will not be granting the easement to cross Lake Oahe for the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline," the tribe's statement read.
"Instead, the Corps will be undertaking an environmental impact statement to look at possible alternative routes."
The multi-billion dollar pipeline, which runs close to the Standing Rock Sioux Native American Indian reservation, is nearly 1,200 miles (1,900km) long.
It is nearly complete except for the lake section.
The Sioux, along with other Native Americans, oppose the pipeline because they fear it will contaminate drinking water and run over sacred burial sites.
Hundreds of US military veterans joined the activists last week. The campaigners, who have numbered thousands, have endured bitter temperatures and had been ordered to leave the area by Monday.
President-elect Donald Trump, who has had stocks in Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the project's builder, and Phillips 66, which owns one-quarter of the pipeline, has said he supports the project.
But he denies his policy is related to any financial interest.
North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple called the decision a "serious mistake".
North Dakota Republican Representative Kevin Cramer said the Army Corps' decision amounted to "a very chilling signal" for US infrastructure.
The protests, on federal land, have seen clashes between the demonstrators and law enforcement.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
In recent weeks, videos shot by Native American drone pilots have shown percussion grenades launched from an armored vehicle deep into a crowd of people protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota. They have shown people being knocked backward with a constant barrage of water being shot from fire hoses. They’ve shown a line of body armor-clad cops aiming guns at unarmed water protectors holding their hands high above their heads. Another video, shot at night, shows that construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline continues under the cover of darkness.
...
These drone-shot videos have been invaluable in recording these abuses. And yet those, too, have been targeted by the government. The Federal Aviation Administration has set up a Temporary Flight Restriction over a four-mile radius surrounding the Standing Rock protests. The TFR applies only to civilians; law enforcement helicopters and aircraft buzz over protesters with impunity.
Experts say the no fly zone is a blatant violation of the First Amendment that has normalized a chilling precedent set by the FAA during the 2014 protests in Ferguson following the police killing of Mike Brown.
By any definition of the word, the drone pilots documenting the Dakota Access Pipeline protests are conducting journalism. The videos, live streamed to Facebook and later posted on YouTube, have shown human rights abuses, caught police in lies, and—in the case of the numerous videos that show their drones being shot at by police—have documented law enforcement committing federal crimes. Many of the videos have thousands of views on YouTube and millions of people have seen them on Facebook.
The White House’s directive today to the Corps for further delay is just the latest in a series of overt and transparent political actions by an administration which has abandoned the rule of law in favor of currying favor with a narrow and extreme political constituency.
As stated all along, ETP and SXL are fully committed to ensuring that this vital project is brought to completion and fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe. Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way.
The Seattle City Council voted 9-0 Tuesday to cut banking ties with Wells Fargo because of the bank’s role as a lender to the Dakota Access Pipeline project. The city will not renew its contract, which continues through 2018.
The Seattle City Council voted 9-0 Tuesday to cut banking ties with Wells Fargo because of the bank’s role as a lender to the Dakota Access Pipeline project. The city will not renew its contract, which continues through 2018.
Photo says it all:
Now that's great and all but if they were still doing business with WFC after they defrauded millions of customers with those fake accounts...
In other news, looks like Davis, California is the second city kinda OK with fraud but not with pipeline loans. They voted to pull around $125M worth.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
