October 23, 2016 Standing Rock Sioux
Police beat Native American water protectors with batons and pepper spray them in unprovoked attack
By Brenda Norrell at Censored News
STANDING ROCK, North Dakota — The Morton County Sheriff and police carried out a brutal attack on Native Americans as they gathered for prayer today. Native Americans and supporters defending the water of the Missouri River from the Dakota Access Pipeline were beaten with batons by police, pepper sprayed and thrown to the ground. More than 80 water protectors were arrested today during the unprovoked attack by police on peaceful water protectors. The police are defending a private pipeline.
Tipiwizin, a young mother at Standing Rock, called out for help, urging all those who came and camped at Standing Rock to return. “The police, the military, armored vehicles, assault rifles, they are chasing our people, surrounded our people, chasing them into the river.” Watching the live stream today, she said, “I started crying, holding my baby daughter, because we come from people who were chased down, hunted down and gunned down by the military and the police. History is repeating itself. All those stories we were raised with, that we carry in our hearts, of our people, fleeing, running, racing, for our lives, just to live. We are the grandchildren and great grandchildren of those who survived the US Government federally mandated massacres on our people.”
In an unprecedented amount of lies in the media, the Morton County Sheriff has falsely accused the water protectors of being violent and being armed. The local media, revealing a long history of racism, have repeated these lies in the media. In a steady stream of misinformation, the mainstream media reported that President Obama had halted the pipeline construction. Again, this is misinformation. DAPL, owned by Kelcy Warren, who has become the face of genocide for Native Americans, is racing to complete the construction. The DAPL construction is near a burial place where water protectors were attacked with vicious dogs and pepper sprayed on Sept. 3.
The Morton County Sheriff is engaging in strip searches and false imprisonment of Native American men and women, who are jailed without credible charges. The owner of the land where the Camp of the Sacred Stones Camp is located, said her daughter was arrested without cause, while traveling in a car away from the area, strip searched and jailed naked. Dakotas, Lakotas and Nakotas here say this abuse is recreating the historical trauma, a result of their ancestors who were murdered and subjected to sexual violence by the Calvary and U.S. military.
October 23, 2016
John Hanno
Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. You would think the Governors office and these police officials might have learned lessons from the civil rights protests in the south in the 1960’s. America was jolted awake when they saw police turning fire hoses and attack dogs on our black brothers and sisters peaceful protests. That was the impetus for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965. America and the world is watching, and is again waking up thanks to the Standing Rock Protectors and the morally bankrupt police who think it’s OK to abuse and intimidate peaceful protestors. This should be the catalyst we need to finally address climate change, global warming, destruction of our air, water and soil. We need a bill in Congress to protect our Native American brothers and sisters and our environment. It should be called The Standing Rock Protect America Act of 2016. This pipeline insanity must be stopped. We can’t all go to Standing Rock or line up with protestors in Iowa and Illinois but we can do our part. Contribute to their legal defense funds. And vote on November 8th for progressive Earth Protectors.
Like 37
Jerilyn So well said, Thank you.
Scott I hope so!
Reina What’s sad is that it happens again and again because prejudice and hate begets prejudice and hate or it goes into hiding for awhile but comes back whenever true freedom and human dignity raises it’s head
Phyllis John Hanno – Yes!!