The Standing Rock Medic and Healer Council explains the medical and health situation at the Dakota Access Pipeline Resistance Camps (Oceti Sakowin, Sicangu/Rosebud, Sacred Stone, etc.) in light of the ongoing blizzard conditions and 1806 police roadblock.
Winter conditions are intense, but spirits at camp are high.
Everyone has been working together to get people to delegated warming spaces in camp and spaces on the reservation. Medics, security, and veterans have been going from shelter to shelter to do wellness checks on our water protectors. Women, children, elders and other folks who wish to leave camp are being evacuated with four wheel drive vehicles and operators who know how to use them.
The road conditions are icy. Visibility is low; however, roads are passable with four wheel drive vehicles. Our medical and logistical volunteers are evacuating patients/campers to the hospital and warming spaces as needed and are stabilizing patients in the meantime, coordinating with the Standing Rock EMS.
As of 2:00PM CST, there have been no confirmed deaths or any critical care patients. There have been two cases of moderate hypothermia for whom the medics on the ground provided care.
The main impediment to health is not the winter, but the state. The police roadblock on ND HWY 1806 is delaying the timely evacuation of patients and vulnerable populations. We have developed the capacity to keep the campers safe and warm, but are asking the state of North Dakota to cease its inhumane and unjustifiable blockade of highway 1806.
We applaud the water protectors efforts to self-organize and care for each other, the medics & healers who have collectively held space here for months, the Standing Rock EMS for their coordination and expert care of patients, and all other groups working tirelessly to ensure the health and safety of the campers.
We condemn the state for its refusal to remove the roadblock, even after the Army’s denial of the easement for Dakota Access Pipeline crossing Mini Sose/Lake Oahe/Missouri River.
Thank you and Mni Wiconi,
Standing Rock Medic & Healer Council
