News Day

UPDATE,  10 a.m. October 28: More than 100 people were arrested on October 27. Police fired beanbag rounds and teargas. Meanwhile, an Oregon jury  said that the armed white men who forcibly occupied federal offices for 41 days are not guilty of anything. For more reports on October 27, see: 

• Report from SacredStoneCamp.org: Police from 5 states escalate violence, shoot horses to clear 1851 Treaty Camp
• Statement by Standing Rock Tribal Chair Dave Archambault 
• ND oil pipeline protesters use burned vehicles to block highway (MPR)
• Google shows numerous other reports from ABC, NBC, CNN, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, etc.
• 2 p.m. – and this comprehensive report from Indian Country Today

When I tune in to the live Facebook feed, less than an hour after  it begins, some 4,000 people are watching police move in on protesters – water protectors – who have barricaded Highway 1806 in North Dakota. They are trying to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, trying to protect the waters of the Missouri River from the oil pipeline that is planned to run under the river, trying to protect sacred sites of the Dakota Sioux people. This is the frontline camp, the north camp. Less than an hour later, the number is up to 16,000 people and climbing.

A young Native American man, E’esha Hoferer broadcasts live from the site, saying he is reporting for One Nation TV. We hear the police telling protesters to move south, to take their tents with them. We see people carrying straw bales and American flags. We hear the police broadcast loud, ululating noise to disrupt communications or to warn people to move back. We see the lines of law enforcement, like wings extending in both directions from their vehicles on the road. Continue reading →