Marshall Hannigan (Yakama Nation) catches some of the gunfire as he live streams the situation, asking for supporters to keep arriving as Energy Transfer closes in on the last two miles from Cannonball River.
“We have the Warriors, the people gathered here and prayer… Nobody here has any weapons,” Hannigan says into his phone as he live streams video from #NoDAPL on the morning of Sunday, October 23rd. “Any weapons that we have are digital weapons. We have our live feeds. Anything we can gather to document what is going on, that’s what we’re using.”
Warning – There is some language in the background.
Source: Facebook
For months, participants at Standing Rock have questioned the reliability of their phone service at #NoDAPL.
They use these tools to document the truth of what is happening with the Dakota Access Pipeline. However, circulating these videos and photos provides damning evidence for the violations at Standing Rock. Perhaps that is why both Amy Goodman and Shailene Woodley were singled out after releasing widely shared footage of the injustices in North Dakota.
After my own experience at Standing Rock in September, I understand the isolation that is felt – isolation from the outside world, isolation from protection. Between the acts committed by Energy Transfer’s workers on unarmed citizens and the way local law enforcement seems to be hell bent on protecting anyone but the Protectors, the connectivity of our cell phones feels like our only protection.
In the latest efforts to capture quality footage, Protectors have been using drones to fly over the camps and prepared to document the workers tearing up sacred sites. As of this morning, several drones have been struck down from the air. There are also reports of deputized police throwing rocks and shooting at the drones. Shots can be heard at about two minutes into Hannigan’s video as more drones are hit at the side of Highway 1806.
“Maybe some people are trying to agitate us, trying to push someone’s button,” Hannigan says on camera.
To him, the police are trying to entice people to respond violently so they can call it a public safety and justify the project’s progression. Yet this movement has always focused around prayer and coexistence; these forces are drastically underestimating the mental clarity of the Warriors involved.
As various police forces from Morton County and other counties take turns at Standing Rock, many citizens have reported the National Guard is also present. Law enforcement has maintained the roadblock between the Reservation and Bismarck, the closest city, for months. On-the-ground reports indicate the roadblock may be racially profiling people to prevent Natives from arriving from the north unless they take the back roads, a route two or so hours out of the way.
How desperate can an energy company be to complete a project that it arrests journalists, destroys cultural sites, and shoots down drones? Will there be consequences to destroying documentation of someone being injured? And would this be different if the victims weren’t Native American?
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Source: 30dB.com – North Dakota and Pipeline
“Social sees just about nothing good in the North Dakota pipeline which is pulling 92% negatives over the last 90 days.” – Howard K. 30dB
Photo: Facebook Screenshot
