Natives occupy Democratic National Committee Headquarters

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the third anniversary of the world famous police water-hose assault against DAPL resisters at Standing Rock, ongoing unrest over oil pipeline construction across the Northern Great Plains culminated in Native grassroots involvement at the occupation of the Democratic National Committee Headquarters here on Nov. 19.

The event melded support from Native and other organizations nationwide into a coalition pressuring President-elect Joe Biden to make good on his campaign promises to act on stemming global warming and on halting construction of  the Keystone XL Canadian tar-sands crude pipeline across unceded  Lakota treaty territory.

“We have passed the tipping point to stop climate change. We must act quickly to mitigate the climate chaos we are experiencing for the sky, land and water,” the Indigenous Environmental Network said.

“The people demand President-elect Biden move to a just transition centered in Indigenous knowledge so that Mother Earth can heal. We can’t afford to continue to fight climate change with false solutions and carbon mechanisms that allow big polluters to pollute,” the national non-profit said in a prepared statement at the 24-hour occupation.

The action, led by youth, frontline activists, and artists — representing a range of identities from Black, Indigenous and brown leaders in communities across the United States — was joined by members of the U.S. Congress, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who noted she worked with the Biden campaign to develop a $2 trillion budget plan that takes on the climate crisis.

During the sit-in, prominent participants included members of the Eagle-Butte-based Cheyenne River Grassroots Collective Joseph White Eyes, Danny GrassRope, Rhea Le Compte, and TaSina Sapa Win, who was the first speaker in the diverse lineup.

“It breaks my heart every day to watch it happen and watch TC Energy dig up the earth and go under our rivers and waterways,” she said of the Canadian company seeking KXL permits, formerly known as TransCanada Corp.

“Biden, with or without your support, this pipeline will be stopped by the indigenous communities and allies on the path!” declared the collective she co-founded.

“We have been fighting the KXL Pipeline since 2008 and intend to push Joe Biden until he keeps his promise to cancel the KXL pipeline. We need the President-elect to take bold action to mitigate climate change, our communities depend on it. We demand a just transition grounded in Indigenous knowledge so we can divest from fossil fuels and create a regenerative economy that treats workers with care,” the collective stated.

Many occupation participants demanded a Presidential Administration dedicated to the components of a Green New Deal.

“This includes a corporate-free Cabinet and Administration staffed with personnel committed to addressing the climate threat, as well as following through on promises made during the campaign,” the organizers said.

The roster of occupiers included representatives of the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy, BLM Philly General Body Meeting, ARM in ARM 4 Climate, It Takes Roots, Right To The City Alliance, Sunrise Movement, Climate Justice Alliance, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Working Families Party, and People’s Action.

Biden’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate nominee is John Kerry, who denied a Keystone XL Pipeline when he was former U.S. Secretary of State under President Barack Obama.

However, the President-elect has come under scrutiny for nominating other Cabinet members with alleged close ties to the corporate control axis.

Biden’s Administration also faces potential political blowback from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, which not only encourages oil exports via pipeline proliferation but also underwrites projects of this nature.

On Nov. 21, a day after the Democratic National Committee occupation wound down, another Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe pipeline resister expressed her opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline, locking herself to a pipe at a pump station construction site about 35 miles north of Philip on Royer Road near the tribe’s reservation boundary in Haakon County.

She was taken into custody in Philip by law enforcement protecting the private infrastructure development, despite the project’s lack of permission to build in the United States. Indigenous Environmental Network and the crew at 2KC Media documented the civil disobedience action and Charger’s release.

She said “she felt it in her heart to make a stand for her people, her homelands and all the children who have no say about the destruction currently happening to their home,” Indigenous Environmental Network related.

It said a complaint was filed with the state’s attorney in Haakon County to “stop the illegal construction happening” but no action has been taken yet. “So Jasilyn felt it was her civic duty to act and make a stand for those who can’t.”

Meanwhile, Native pipeline resistance actions mounted in South Dakota’s surrounding states of Montana, Nebraska, and Minnesota.

Canadian climate justice activists, impacted directly by the tar-sands mining in the ancestral Athabascan boreal forest at the head of the pipeline opponents call the Black Snake, have joined those in the United States to gather signatures on an open letter, with an introduction entitled, “We Don’t Want KXL,” stating:

“President-elect Joe Biden has promised to cancel the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline once he’s in office. But in Canada, Justin Trudeau, Jason Kenney and Big Oil have said they’re making saving this dirty oil pipeline a top priority.

“To counter this, we’re joining our friends at 350.org in asking people across North America to sign this open letter urging Biden to stand strong. Your voice is needed to urge him to listen to the overwhelming majority of people in Canada and the U.S. who want bold climate action and massive investments in good, green jobs.”

The sign-on letter reads: “Dear Mr. Biden,

“I want to make it clear that all across North America, people support your promise to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline.

“Like you, I believe this is the moment to tackle the climate crisis and create millions of green jobs – the Keystone XL pipeline doesn’t do either of those things. This pipeline is still what renowned NASA climate scientist James Hansen called it nearly a decade ago – “a fuse to the biggest carbon bomb on the planet”.

“You and former President Barack Obama were right when your administration rejected Keystone XL back in 2015. Now, it’s time to do the right thing again.

“Cancelling the Keystone XL Pipeline is a necessary part of ensuring that both the United States and Canada do our parts to meet the climate crisis. We ask that you do what’s right and stop this pipeline once and for all.”

(Contact Talli Nauman at tallinauman@gmail.com)

 

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