Mar 20, 2017 - Oil could flow through DAPL today; here’s how we can stop it by Jacqueline Fielder

Dakota Access LLC has claimed that oil could flow through the Dakota Access Pipeline as early as today. The Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes will continue to ask the courts to “order the pipeline turned back off.”

We, as a movement, have exhausted many avenues to prevent the flow of oil, but there are still a few we have not yet exhausted.

METHOD – RESULT

  1. Indigenous youth organize a petition & run to D.C. IGNORED August 6, 2016

  2. Army Corps rejects easement for Dakota Access LLC REVERSED Jan. 24, 2016

  3. Water Protectors resist in prayer at Sacred Stone FORCIBLY REMOVEDFeb. 24, 2017

  4. Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes sue U.S. Army Corps on religious grounds REJECTED March 7, 2017

  5. Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes appeal religious-based court case decision PENDING

  6. Largest indigenous march on Washington in history IGNORED March 10, 2017

  7. Tribes ask Appeals Court of D.C. Circuit to halt oil flow REJECTED March 18, 2017

  8. Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Tribes sue U.S. Army Corps on treaty & trust grounds PENDING

  9. Cities and individuals divest from the 35 banks financing Energy Transfer to force banks to pull fossil fuel financing ONGOING

  10. Congress calls for FULL Environmental Impact Study ???

As we wait for the courts to hear the tribes’ cases, there are still four avenues individuals can commit to in order to keep the #NoDAPL movement alive:

Call for banks to pull financing of DAPL and other fossil fuel and anti-indigenous projects

  • From now until April 24, 2017, Wells Fargo shareholders are submitting votes online regarding an Indigenous People’s Rights Policy as part of their annual shareholder meeting

  • The shareholder meeting is set to take place on April 25, 2017 at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, at the Sawgrass Marriott, 1000 PGA Tour Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida – people with the means can mobilize there

  • The Wells Fargo Board has recommended shareholders vote NO on this proposal because Wells Fargo already has an “Indigenous Peoples Statement” in their Guiding Principles and has other policies that “fully address the issues raised by” the proposal for an Indigenous People’s Rights Policy

  • Tweet/Facebook post and mention Wells Fargo to implement a policy with teeth that honors the treaties.

    • @WellsFargo Indigenous People deserve more than a statement in your Guiding Principles. Implement a policy to #HonorTheTreaties #DefundDAPL

  • We can put pressure on the other banks to implement similar policies respecting the indigenous right to be consented

Call Congressional representatives to demand a full EIS
1. Locate your federal representatives’ phone numbers and Twitter handles here
2. Tweet at your reps using the hashtag #HonorTheTreaties and #NoDAPL (Tweet template below)
3. Call your representatives using the template below

————————————————————————————————————————

Hello,

My name is ______. My zip code is ______. Oil is going to flow through the Dakota Access Pipeline today unless Congress takes emergency action. I am calling to ask [REPRESENTATIVE] to call for a full Environmental Impact Study of the Dakota Access Pipeline and to recognize that the near completion of the pipeline​ is in violation of the Fort Laramie Treaties.

According to Article Six of the U.S. Constitution, Treaties are supreme law of the land, meaning the pipeline has effectively launched us into a constitutional crisis.

 I urge [REPRESENTATIVE] to come over to the right side of history, with the Lakota and Dakota tribes affected by this pipeline.

 Thank you.

————————————————————————————————————————

Tweet at your reps using the hashtag #HonorTheTreaties and #NoDAPL

Template 1:
[REP HANDLE] oil is set to flow through #DAPL today. Be on the right side of history and call for a full EIS. #NoDAPL #HonorTheTreaties

Template 2:
[REP HANDLE] oil is set to flow through #DAPL today. Your silence is violence. Call for a full EIS #NoDAPL #HonorTheTreaties

————————————————————————————————————————

Divest yourself from DAPL
1. See whether your bank is on the list of banks financing DAPL
2. Read this page on how to prepare to make the switch to a credit union
3. Locate a credit union near you at culookup.com
4. Apply to a credit union – you may need proof of address and a copy of a government-issued photo ID
5. Write a letter (or copy this one) to your bank explaining why you’re switching banks

Divest your city/university/local non-profit/employer from DAPL
• Launch or join divestment campaigns at MazaskaTalks.org (Money Talks)
o Get universities, non-profits, local governments, and other institutions with huge budgets to switch banks and investment partners, if those banks are on the list of banks financing DAPL
• Read the Guide to Divestment by Rachel Heaton (Defund DAPL: Seattle Action Coalition)

By Jackie Fielder

Jackie Fielder is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes (Hidatsa), a descendant of Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and was born and raised in Long Beach, CA. Jackie earned her B.A. in Public Policy and M.A. in Sociology at Stanford University in 2016. She is currently an organizer with San Francisco Defund DAPL Coalition and can be reached at jackiefielder@alumni.stanford.edu.

Last Real Indians