Tell President Obama to declare Standing Rock a national monument
The standoff to stop the Dakota Access pipeline is reaching a fever pitch, and this may be our last chance to halt construction before Donald Trump takes office.
Militarized law enforcement and private security firms are harassing, assaulting and jailing hundreds of non-violent protesters who are fighting for indigenous rights and to curb climate change. They are arresting journalists for doing their constitutionally-protected jobs and attacking non-violent water protectors with tear gas, concussion grenades, rubber bullets and water cannons. And now, North Dakota’s governor has issued an evacuation order for the protest area, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has told protesters to leave by Dec. 5 or face criminal charges.
President Obama can end this standoff now — before Donald Trump closes in on the White House — by declaring Standing Rock a national monument, forever protecting its cultural sites and halting the Dakota Access pipeline’s construction once and for all.
Without decisive action by President Obama before his term expires, it is all but certain that Donald Trump’s administration will allow pipeline construction to continue. During the campaign, Trump “vowed to ‘unleash’ unfettered production of oil and gas,” and his potential energy secretary picks are extremely close to the fossil fuel industry.
Making matters worse, Trump reportedly owns stock in Energy Transfer Partners, the primary developers behind the multi-billion dollar pipeline construction, and in Phillips 66, which owns a quarter share of the project.
The push for a Standing Rock national monument is picking up steam and has the backing of progressive powerhouse Sen. Bernie Sanders. In a recent speech to #NoDAPL activists in front of the White House, Sen. Sanders called on President Obama to stop construction of the pipeline by whatever means necessary, saying “to President Obama, in any way that you can: stop the pipeline. And if there are other approaches, such as declaring Standing Rock a Federal Monument, let’s do that.”
This is our last best shot to stop the Dakota Access pipeline once and for all. President Obama has a chance to do right by the indigenous community, environmentalists and the American people. By declaring Standing Rock a national monument, he can help stop the violence against indigenous people, slow runaway climate change, protect sacred Native sites and drinking water and stop Trump from profiting from this dangerous pipeline.
Originally published at act.credoaction.com.