PENSACOLA IN SOLIDARITY WITH STANDING ROCK

On November 15, 2016, the local Earth Ethics group, headed by long-time local environmental expert and activist Mary Gutierrez, hosted the Pensacola, Florida event in support of the national "Day of Action" in solidarity with the Dakota and Lakota (Sioux) Nation's opposition to the Direct Access Pipeline (#NODAPL).  The purpose of the months' long protests in North Dakota by hundreds of Native activists drawn from nearly 100 Indian nations is to pressure the Obama administration and the Army Corps of Engineers to honor the Sioux's treaty rights, stop the pipeline construction, and stop the destruction of Sioux sacred territory and the existential threat the pipeline poses to the water serving the region.  The Oceti Sakowan Camp, according to the camp's website, "represents a first of its kind historic gathering of Indigenous Nations. The most recent such assembly of Tribes occurred when the Great Sioux Nation gathered before the Battle at the Little Big Horn."

Mary GUTIERREZ, local Earth Ethics environmental expert and activist

According to the Standing Rock camp's website, "The Tribe filed litigation in federal court in the District of Columbia to challenge the actions of the Army Corps, undo the approval of the pipeline, and enforce their federally protected rights and interests. The lawsuit alleges that the Army Corps violated multiple federal statutes, including the Clean Water Act, National Historic Protection Act, and National Environmental Policy Act, when it issued the permits. The Army Corps has failed to follow the law—both regarding the risk of oil spills and the protection of their sacred places. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is also a part of the lawsuit against the Army Corps."

"On Sept. 9, 2016, The Department of Justice, the Department of the Army, and the Department of the Interior called for a stop to construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in the immediate area of Lake Oahe along the Missouri River. The statement from the federal agencies also called for national reform to “ensure meaningful tribal input” on infrastructure projects. Their announcement came in the wake of a court decision by the U.S. District Court which denied the Tribe’s request for injunction to halt pipeline construction.

The tribes immediately appealed the court decision and are currently waiting for a ruling on the injunction pending appeal. In the meantime, construction remains halted in the immediate area of Lake Oahe."

Those wanting more information are directed to the Earth Justice website.

Below, are video of the local "Day of Action" in support of the Dakota and Lakota Nations.

And pictures from the event: