Turkey Day At Standing Rock

 

The DAPL Gang

Thanksgiving is a day of celebration for millions of Americans. Some even consider it a religious day. For large portion of Native Americans it is something much different. For them the coming of European settlers was the beginning of the largest attempted genocide ever perpetrated.

Treaties are consistently broken to suit the needs of those in power and control of the majority of the country’s wealth. The Standing Rock Sioux reservation is no stranger to it. For years their land has been taken for various reasons without proper attention to the treaties. George Custer was probably the most famous character in history for breaking the very treaty being dealt with today. The Sioux have had enough. Today they are standing their grounds to demand fair treatment.

On this Thanksgiving Day while most families were eating way too much turkey and dressing the camps at Standing Rock went to pray for the victims and wounded from the previous battle.

That Sunday night the scene was very surreal. It looked more like a scene from a war movie than citizens exercising their right to assemble. Fortunately the police did exercise more restraint than in the past. At one time they did try to use a water hose on people in subfreezing weather. Fortunately the people they were trying to spray were too far away to reach so you know they couldn’t have been any threat.

One group of protectors walked along the riverbank and was met by a squad of militia from all over ranging from city police to game wardens. There must have been a couple of dozen armed with everything from pepper spray to lethal semiautomatic weapons. No one else was armed. There was never a need for such a show of force.

It was cold and overcast all day until late afternoon. The clouds broke just as the prayers on Turtle Island came to a close. The police pulled back and the water protectors went back across their bridge for a final prayer. If the police had just allowed us to do that all along there would have never been such violence as shown in the past 6 weeks by the militarized police force I call the DAPL gang.

The next morning DAPL security is suspected of destroying the bridge, stealing and tearing up the canoes owned by citizens with a right to use the river. There was miles of razor wire completely surrounding the beach. We are talking about a waterway of the US and treaty land which they have no true jurisdiction over.

Millions of tax dollars have been wasted in North Dakota protecting an industrial investment that is tied to several North Dakota elected representatives including the governor. No American taxes should ever be spent protecting a project that continues to violate treaties. It’s time America respect, honor, and obey the international laws that supercede the US Constitution.  

It’s your money America… Just Say No!