The Morton County Sheriff's Department arrested 22 people on September 13, 2016, accusing them of disrupting a Dakota Access Pipeline construction in North Dakota. Photo from Facebook
Jori Kaniehtakohe Rourke, a member of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, shares her moving visit to the #NoDAPL encampment in North Dakota:
I had been reading and watching everything I could on the Dakota Access Pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s fight against big oil. Watching the events that unfolded two weekends ago, I was in tears. Seeing the construction company workers and private security guards antagonizing the water protectors into provocation, literally throwing stones to protect one another. I couldn't believe it, in 2016 and our brothers and sisters were being treated poorly on their own land. Then later, the press release from Morton County Sheriff’s Department was debilitating. The words hurt: “guard” dogs attacked the protectors and they were maced...there were “weapons,” which the “rioters” used to jab and assault the workers and security officers. This is all alleged, because no law enforcement was on the scene and they only took statements after the fact from the “security officers.” I was visiting my childhood friend when she asked if I wanted to drive with her to the Sacred Stone Camp. My answer was everyone's answer. I will be forever thankful for the opportunity, and the people that made it possible for me to go and experience the power of the People.Read More:
Jori Kaniehtakohe Rourke: My Journey to Sacred Stone Camp (Indian Country Today 9/13)
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