Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline Halted As Non-Violent Veterans Join Peaceful Water Protec
On December 4, 2016, the Department of the Army prohibited the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) from crossing under Lake Oahe near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Alternative routes will be considered based on analysis of environmental impact.
This comes on the same day that over 2,000 military veterans arrived at Standing Rock. Led by Wesley Clark Jr., these vets arrived to stand in non-violence with peaceful Water Protectors, the name used by those who have been standing in peace and prayer near Lake Oahe for months.
Resistance against DAPL has been ongoing for months. In August, camps near Oahe began to swell in size as thousands of Water Protectors gathered to stand against DAPL. These included representatives from hundreds of indigenous tribes and nations, one of the largest such gatherings in human history.
Terming the pipeline the “Black Snake” based on Lakota prophecies, the Protectors engaged in peaceful resistance the centered around the use of unceasing prayer. Peace and non-violent direct action are stressed by nearly all who are present or have returned.
Militarized police took a different approach. By using excessive violence and force, they have committed numerous human rights violations on several occasions:
On September 3, private security unleashed dogs on these peaceful Protectors. At least six were bitten including a young child. Pepper spray was also used.
On October 22, 127 were arrested when militarized police forces used pepper spray on group of individuals engaged in prayer before making mass arrests.
On October 27, a multi-state police insurgency dispersed a newly built camp using chemical weapons, rubber bullets, LRAD (a “sound cannon”), and tasers before and during mass arrests.
On November 21, military police barricaded approximately 400 Protectors on a bridge on Highway 1806 for several hours. In below-freezing temperatures, a water cannon was used on the Protectors while concussion grenades and tear gas canisters were thrown into the crowd. One woman’s arm was nearly blown off when a grenade exploded near her.
The actions Water Protectors over the last several months have seen hundreds arrested, injured, harassed, and tortured by militarized police forces. At any point, they could have turned back, but they continued acting in peace and prayer. One might even say that their prayers were answered.
In a world of violence where little thought is often given to the sacred or the divine, this moment in history illustrates a change. Peace, not violence, has won. This lesson cannot be forgotten for the battle against Big Oil and America's military police has only just begun. There are still many pipelines to stop and a history of violence that must be countered before peace can begin.