How you can help Standing Rock activists stop the Dakota Access Pipeline
Rachael Prokop, Online Campaigner at Greenpeace USA
If you opposed Keystone XL, then you need to know about Standing Rock. Right now, hundreds of Indigenous activists are peacefully protesting the construction of a crude oil pipeline on ancestral lands, and they need your support.
For months, the Standing Rock Sioux and their allies have been peacefully protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline project, which would carry more than 400,000 barrels of crude oil a day across their ancestral lands and under the Missouri River. If the pipe leaks or spills, it could dump hundreds of thousands barrels of crude oil in the Missouri River, less than a half mile downstream from the tribe’s water supply.
As more tribes and allies have joined the protests at Standing Rock Camp, construction crews have reacted with aggression and violence. Last week, private security forces set dogs and pepper spray upon a crowd that included young children, injuring 30 activists.
Today was a pivotal day in the movement to stop the pipeline.
First, a federal judge denied the tribe’s request to halt construction of the pipeline near its reservation. Then, ABC reported that three federal agencies asked the pipeline company to “voluntarily pause” construction on a stretch that included sacred tribal lands.
In a statement, the Departments of Justice, the Army, and the Interior said the legal case against the pipeline “highlighted the need for a serious discussion on whether there should be nationwide reform with respect to considering tribes’ views on these types of infrastructure projects.”
This means two things.
First, it means that the momentum created by Indigenous activists at Standing Rock is getting results. Second, it means that this is a critical moment in the fight to stop the pipeline for good. We don’t know yet if the company will comply with the government request, and if they do, how long the pause will be. What we do know is that they’re listening — and right now we have a chance to stop this project for good.
Standing Rock and Red Warrior Camps have reached out to Greenpeace USA— and people like you — for support. Here’s how you can help.
Send a Message to President Obama
The federal government has finally weighed in, but President Obama can stop this project in its tracks by revoking the construction company’s permits. Call the White House at 1–888–369–5791 and demand that President Obama take action and stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, or add your voice by signing here.
The pipeline was approved without adequate environmental reviews or consultation from the community — and any spill is a direct threat to water supplies for the Standing Rock Sioux. President Obama can make this “pause” a stop, but he’ll only take action if we put the pressure on him.
Send Supplies
Resistance camp organizers have reached out for donations of camping, cooking, art and other supplies to keep the growing peaceful opposition to the pipeline going as long as possible.
We’ll be holding supply drives at Greenpeace USA offices in the following cities:
- Costa Mesa, CA
- Denver, CO
- Los Angeles, CA
- New York City, NY
- Oakland, CA
- Portland, OR
- San Diego, CA
- San Jose, CA
- St. Petersburg, FL
- Washington, DC
Click here more information, or to find out how to send supplies by mail.
To get involved directly with Standing Rock Sioux organizers, visit their website for even more opportunities to show support.
Originally published by Greenpeace USA on September 9, 2016.
