RED OWL LEGAL: Standing Rock Cars Ransacked, Sacred Items Destroyed by Police

Photo by Rob Wilson

Standing Rock Water Protectors Report Escalating Surveillance, Civil Rights and Privacy Violations

Impounded cars ransacked, sacred items destroyed; one water protector arrested and held for conspiracy while transporting donated supplies to camp

Contact: Angela Bibens

Ground Coordinator, Red Owl Legal Collective

Censored News
Dutch translation by Alice Holemans at NAIS

CANNON BALL, North Dakota – Members of the Red Owl Legal Collective (ROLC), a group providing pro bono legal support to the thousands of people encamped near the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, are condemning increasing incidents of disturbing overreach by local and state law enforcement.

Since August 2016, Indigenous people and allies have been encamped on the shores of the Cannon Ball and Missouri Rivers in North Dakota to protect ancestral land and waters from the Dakota Access Pipeline. Their numbers have since swelled into the thousands.

On October 27, law enforcement launched a violent raid on a new frontline camp. Over 100 armed officers, accompanied by a sound cannon, armored vehicles, and a bulldozer deployed tear gas, mace, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades against Indigenous protectors and horses. But what happened after and since the raid has not been so visible, report Red Owl Legal Collective members.

As part of the raid, law enforcement created a blockade between protectors and their vehicles, then impounded over 60 of those vehicles after mass-arresting protectors; because many vehicles belonged to protectors who were arrested, dozens were released only to find themselves stranded in Bismarck or Mandan, over an hour’s drive from camp. And when owners finally regained possession, it got worse.

“Most of the vehicles had been totally ransacked,” said Red Owl Legal Collective’s Angela Bibens. “We saw items removed from cars with no explanation, medicines emptied and scattered around, property destroyed, damage to steering columns, and evidence of attempts to open locked luggage.” One protector discovered an airjack – a device used to force open car doors – in their passenger seat.

The property damage didn’t stop with cars. A dumpster load of seized property was recovered at a Bureau of Indian Affairs checkpoint on the highway about 2 miles from the camp. When protectors returned for their things, they found sacred item after sacred item had been defaced, with apparent intentionality. One item, a bull skull, had its horns snapped clean off. One protector, who asked to be identified only by her first name, Sabelle, believes these actions are attempts to intimidate potential travelers to the camp. “When they target us like this, it makes other people scared of coming,” she said.

Clergy Standing With Standing Rock

The Red Owl Legal Collective also reports two disconcerting incidents of arrests. On November 2, a protector was pulled over, arrested, and told he was he being held for conspiracy charges. He was later charged with “impeding government function,” a charge Bibens finds disturbing given what the protector was doing at the time of his arrest: driving a U-Haul full of donated kayaks to the camp.

On November 3, at least 17 clergy representing multiple faiths were arrested at the governor’s office [praying] and charged with disorderly conduct and “criminal trespass.”

Rather than bring all the arrestees to a holding facility in Bismarck, law enforcement separated the group by gender, then drove all the women to Fargo, North Dakota, more than four hours’ drive away.

Red Owl has found no evidence that this decision was made because of a lack of space. The separation is part of a larger pattern of separating arrestees on seemingly arbitrary bases; Red Owl reports that arrestees have been sent to six different facilities all over the state so far.

“We get treated differently because the color of our skin, when we’re all human. It’s uncomfortable to get targeted like that,” said Star, another protector living at the camp.

“We just want clean water for everyone. We get put in dog kennels – they don’t care. We’re not here to be angry, we’re here in peace and prayer, for all of us. The only weapons we have are our prayers, our good thoughts, and our humanity.”
Red Owl volunteers have maintained a 24/7 presence at the main camp since August 2016 to deal with the growing pile of criminal cases and civil litigations resulting from the excessive use of force and suppression of First Amendment activity at Standing Rock.
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Mohawk Nation News 'BOOM'

BOOM

Posted on November 4, 2016

 Mohawk Nation News

Please post and distribute.

MNN. Nov. 4, 2016. Toxic pipelines are not needed. The bankers and oil barons want to show us they’re the bosses. We have every right to decide how and who shall pass on our land.

The deadly Bakken crude and other poisons cannot traverse kaia’nere:kowa territory! Our friends and allies must now stand with us. As John Kennedy said: “Those who shrink from controversy are complicit with it”.

The corporation has no right to our land or resources, below, on or above the ground. They enjoy seeing their mercs humiliate, spray us in the face with mace and tear gas, shoot us with rubber bullets, hit us with clubs, jail and threaten to kill us and the environment. Chemical and biological warfare violates the Geneva Convention, the UN Convention on Genocide and international law.

Creation looks after all of us everywhere in the world. The corporate matrix falls when the cops and construction workers quit and either leave or join the people to protect our mother. Nobody wants that pipeline no matter what deals are made between the corpo band/tribal councils and the bankers/government/politicians.

The oil and poisons come from North and South Dakota by pipeline or rail directly to our kanion’ke:haka/Mohawk communities.

Our original instructions from creation fuels our instinct to survive. We try to share this power with our friends and allies. The ohenton kariwa tekwen spells out our duties to nature. https://rotinonshonnionhwetkanatahere.wordpress.com/thanksgiving/ 

These gas lines, bridges, rails, highways, seaways, communications networks and everything that runs through our communities and throughout ono’ware:keh are threats to our people and our way of life.

As Little Walter spells it out: “No kidding, I’m ready to fight. I’ve been looking for my baby all night. If I get her in my sight, boom boom, out go the lights”.

UPDATE: http://bsnorrell.blogspot.ca/

BRASSCHECK VIDEO: Actions of the po-lice at Standing Rock.

MNN:

MNN Mohawk Nation News kahentinetha2@yahoo.com for more news, to donate and sign up for MNN newsletters, go to mohawknationnews.com More stories at MNN Archives. thahoketoteh@ntk.com Address: Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0 or original Mohawk music visit https://soundcloud.com/thahoketoteh

LET’S TELL THEM WHERE WE STAND: Politicians, Corporatists, Band & Tribal Councils and sell-outs that are cooperating with pipeline companies; ENERGY TRANSFER PARTNERS OF HOUSTON http://energytransfer.com/contact_us.aspx

Terrorizing Charges Dropped Against NODAPL Water Protectors

Photo copyright by photographer

By Camp of the Sacred Stone

Censored News

CANNON BALL, North Dakota -- Last month, spirit rider Mason Redwing was charged with felony reckless endangerment of law enforcement and a felony count of terrorizing law enforcement after he allegedly rode his horse towards a police line. On Tuesday, Judge Romanick found no probable cause and dismissed all charges against Redwing.

Similarly, Wanikiyewin Loud Hawk, a South Dakota native, was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, and obstruction of government function. The charges were dropped after Judge Romanick once again found no probable cause.

Water protector Red Fawn Fallis was arrested on the frontline last week for allegedly firing a .38-caliber pistol three times. The gun is claimed to have fired as Fallis was pinned to the ground by an officer, as two additional officers held her left arm. She faces charges for attempted murder, and her bond was set at $100,000, the highest yet of this campaign.

Sean Turgeon, also known as Prolific the Rapper, faces two charges of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor obstruction of government function, after Morton County made allegations the he flew a drone near a North Dakota Highway Patrol aircraft. Turgeon gained national recognition through his music videos that criticize Dakota Access and the violent law enforcement response. He was released on bond on October 31, 2016.

These charges and arrests come after weeks of militarized police response and escalation of violence. Just last week, over 300 police officers fired pepper spray, percussion grenades, and shotguns at largely unarmed DAPL protesters, and a prayer circle of elders was interrupted and all were arrested for their peaceful protest.

Eryn Wise, International Indigenous Youth Council, “Red Fawn is a valued member of our community and a revered friend of the International Indigenous Youth Council. When we heard of the charges, all of us were in disbelief. Red Fawn has continually supported the youth council since its inception and is responsible for personally rescuing many of our members from the front lines after being brutalized by police. She is an extension of our organization and a selfless caretaker, being responsible for many women and elders within her own encampment. We'd like to ask as a council that you stop sharing the mugshot of our sister and instead speak her name. Uplift her in prayer and remember that even our most gentle and devoted warriors are under attack.”

Tara Houska, Honor the Earth, “The contrast between the treatment of indigenous people protecting their water and sacred sites vs. the so-called “Bundy Standoff” of armed white folks taking over a federal building is stark. We have seen elders arrested while praying, teenagers maced, unarmed protectors tased, and horses killed by police. Life altering consequences await us, at the hands of a prosecutor eager to comb the books for felony charges. This isn't justice. America should be in an uproar over what's happening to indigenous people and their allies within U.S. borders. President Obama’s “let it play out over several weeks” isn't an answer. Order a full Environmental Impact Statement and protect the water and sacred sites at issue for the people.”

Sacred Stone Camp -- 'Riot Police Injure over 100 People Defending Standing Rock Burial Grounds' Nov. 2, 2016

By Camp of the Sacred Stones

Censored News

Dutch translation by Alice Holemans at NAIS

CANNON BALL, North Dakota -- On Wednesday, November 2, law enforcement desecrated the burial grounds of Alma Parkin and Matilda Galpin, the indigenous women who once owned the Cannonball Ranch. As water protectors held a water ceremony, snipers shot at them from armored vehicles parked around the tree marking the graves.

Water protectors building a makeshift bridge across the Cannonball River were met by riot police firing less-than-lethal munitions at point blank range and indiscriminately blasting OC Spray on peaceful unarmed people. The bridge was torn down per theorders received by Morton County from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Morton County police then unleashed pepper spray and tear gas on water protectors standing in the river with their hands in the air.

A teenage boy was shot in the back by a rubber bullet at point blank range, causing him to cough up blood. He was examined on site by Dr. Jesse Lopez who confirmed that the young man did not go to the hospital. In addition to the young man, two additional people were shot at and hit with rubber bullets.  Over 100 were injured in total and the camp’s medical facilities were overwhelmed.  

According to reports, protectors began falling back from the shoreline in a “domino effect” and medics laid tarps across the grass to treat the wounded whose entire bodies were covered in pepper spray. Many people worked to haul protectors by boat back to the south side of theriver to receive treatment for mild hypothermia and chemical burns.

Police continue to monitor throughout the nights. High powered flood lights have been posted all along the hills surrounding DAPL’s drill pad where they intend to drill under the Missouri River. The pad has been fortified with concrete walls and razor wire as the company works around the clock.

Eryn Wise, International Indigenous Youth Council, “Members of our youth council were again among the first to be wounded while in the water today, trying to rescue their relatives from being hurt. I spent an hour washing pepper spray from their hair and faces. They asked me, ‘When will this end?’ I had no answer.”

Linda Black Elk, Standing Rock Medic and Healer Council, “As I used milk of magnesia to treat pepper spray victims, I looked towards the river the sight that met my eyes was horrific. Rows upon rows of white armored militarized police were firing indiscriminately into the water at brown people who were swimming, risking hypothermia, and rowing kayaks and canoes to protect the water and stop a pipeline.”

LaDonna Bravebull Allard, Sacred Stone Camp, “They parked their armored cars on the graves of Matilda Gaplin, Eagle That Looks At Woman, and her are her daughters Louisa DeGrey Van Solen and Alma Parkins who once owned the Cannon Ball Ranch. Next to her is her husband Charles Parkins, and 11 babies. These are famous people for us here in Indian country. Matilda was the only woman to sign the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. Louisa was the first school teacher on Standing Rock. I am deeply hurt to see the desecration of their graves.”