As clashes between water protectors and law enforcement continue at Standing Rock, today saw four significant legal developments in the Dakota Access Pipeline campaign.  1) The US Army Corps published an official Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Lake Oahe crossing.  2) US District Court Judge James Boesberg denied Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) attorneys’ request for a Temporary Restraining Order, which sought to block publication of the Army Corps' Notice of Intent for the EIS.  3) The US Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s appeal of the September, 2016 US District Court decision to deny their request for a preliminary injunction.  4) The ND Supreme Court ruled to partially grant a petition allowing non-North Dakota licensed lawyers to more easily represent the more than 600 water protectors facing criminal charges.   Read more for details and links.....

As a unique national Native initiative, Honor the Earth works to raise public awareness and raise direct funds to grassroots Native environmental groups. We are the only Native organization that provides both financial support and organizing support to Native environmental initiatives.

Dear Al: Letter to Enbridge "..we expect you to clean up your old mess... "

This is my annual letter to you, but it’s been a long time coming. For the past two months, I have been asking you to use your influence to stop the violence on Standing Rock, and in North Dakota, but while hundreds of people were arrested and injured, Enbridge, and you, said nothing.  I think this is a very bad decision for you." by Winona LaDuke, Executive Director - Honor the Earth

This 30 minute video from Al Jazeera offers insight into the battle for Native American land rights as protests continue against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

A must see, and follow: "One woman’s quest to keep crude oil pipelines out of her Ojibwe communities’ sacred wild rice beds." A film and documentary of history by the First Daughter and the Black Snake 

We are a coalition of grassroots Native groups living and working in the Dakota Access resistance camps along the Cannon Ball River in Oceti Sakowin treaty lands: Honor the Earth, Indigenous Environmental Network, Sacred Stone Camp, and the International Indigenous Youth Council.  The following is our coalition statement on the next steps for the #NoDAPL fight and the water protectors at Standing Rock:

Today, the US Army announced that it would not grant Dakota Access LLC the last remaining easement it needs to drill under the Mni Sose (Missouri River) at Lake Oahe and complete construction of the pipeline.  The statement implies that the Army Corps will conduct a limited Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the river crossing and explore possibilities for alternative routes.

The decision comes as thousands of veterans are arriving from across the country to stand with the water protectors and join the frontlines of resistance in the face of extreme and escalating violence at the hands of law enforcement.  

This is an enormous victory for our movement to protect the water.  It shows what is possible when we come together and take action.  We have fought this battle with all of our hearts.  We have been maced, tased, demeaned, beaten, and hit with water cannons in below freezing temperatures.  We have drawn on the strength of our ancestors and refused to back down.  Today our courage and determination were finally rewarded.   

But the battle is not over.  Many questions remain about the Army decision and the path forward....

Once we defeat the Dakota Access pipeline, it is essential that we carry the energy from this fight forward, to the many other places where Indigenous people are resisting fossil fuel infrastructure projects that threaten our lands and water.  We are not fighting a pipeline, we are building a movement.  The black snake has many heads.  We ask you to continue standing with us.

On November 29, Canada's federal government officially approved two major pipeline projects - Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain expansion and Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline.  They also rejected Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline, after years of opposition from west coast First Nations and their allies. 

Once the last piece of Dakota Access pipe is removed from the ground, we at Honor the Earth will turn our focus back to Line 3.  Similar in size and purpose to the recently defeated Keystone XL pipeline, Enbridge’s Line 3 is proposed to transport tar sands oil over 1000 miles, from Hardisty, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin, right through the heart of Anishinaabe territory and some of the best lakes and wild rice beds in the world.  The proposed route endangers three of the continent’s major watersheds including the Great Lakes, home to one fifth of the world’s fresh water.  It would also pierce the heart of Ojibwe treaty lands, where members of signatory bands retain the rights to hunt, fish, gather, hold ceremony, and travel.  It is our responsibility as water protectors to prevent this.   We will not allow Line 3 to desecrate our lands, violate our treaty rights, or poison our water....

Honor the Earth is part of a coalition of grassroots Native groups on the ground at Standing Rock calling on all people of conscience, from all Nations, to join the encampments and stand with us as we put our bodies in front of the machines.   We are also calling for a month of solidarity actions to stop construction of the Dakota Access pipeline.  Let’s make December an international month of action, with bold and courageous actions every single day, all over the world. beginning with a Global Day of Action on December 1st.  We are asking people to target the 17 banks funding the pipeline and demand they divest from the project, which is already financially vulnerable.     

Take action today to cut off investment for the pipeline.   Join or host local actions all over the world to shut down banks - find a target using the NoDAPLSolidarity page, and find or register an action on the ActionNetwork page, which you can also access via this amazing calendar.   Close your accounts and move your money to credit unions that have no fossil fuel investments, and show the world you're doing it.  

Also, if you live in a jurisdiction currently sending law enforcement to Standing Rock, use the contact info below to demand their removal.   

And keep up the pressure on the Obama administration.  Sign the petition, call the White House, and write to President Obama demanding that he immediately deny the last outstanding easement, revoke the permits, and order a full Environmental Impact Statement.  

On Friday, November 25, after the turkey was pardoned, the Obama Administration issued an eviction notice to the Oceti Sakowin encampments at Standing Rock.  We are a coalition of grassroots groups living and working at the encampments, and we will not be moved.  We stand united in defiance of the black snake and are committed to defense of water, our Mother Earth, and our rights as Indigenous people.  We call on all people of conscience, from all Nations, to join the encampments and stand with us as we put our bodies on the line....