Thursday, September 08, 2016

Sioux-- and Green Party Candidate-- Protest North Dakota Pipeline Across Sacred Land

The Washington Post this week reported on the showdown between members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the company building the Dakota Access crude-oil pipeline across North and South Dakota.  The tribe claims that the pipeline will run through sacred ancestral lands which were taken from the tribe over the years. It will cross the Missouri River just a mile north of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.  Thousands of Native Americans have traveled to North Dakota over the past weeks to join the protest. As reported by CBS News, on Tuesday Green Party Presidential candidate Jill Stein visited the protest site and, at the urging of activists, spray painted a  message on a bulldozer blade. In response, yesterday a warrant was issued for Stein's arrest, charging her with misdemeanors-- criminal trespass and criminal mischief.  On Tuesday, a judge issued a temporary restraining order halting construction only on part of the land. A ruling on the Tribe's request for an injunction is expected Friday. (NPR News).