Final Cleanup Begins at Dakota Access Pipeline Protest Camp

A building burns at the Oceti Sakowin camp near Cannon Ball, N.D. Wednesday.

Burgum and the Army Corps of Engineers had set Wednesday’s deadline for protesters to leave, citing hazards posed by impending spring floods along the Cannonball River. They believe the camp sits on their ancestral land, which they insist was not ceded to the USA government under the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

“Things went very smoothly”. The New York Times reports that 10 “water protectors” were arrested. The 17-year-old was “severely burned” and airlifted to Minneapolis, Burgum said. It’s not immediately clear how many protesters have been arrested. Many demonstrators have vowed to continue their resistance in other camps being established nearby.

Some protesters were helping with cleanup efforts. Police took about 10 people into custody for failing to heed commands to leave, authorities said. Forty-seven people were arrested on Thursday, said Maxine Herr, spokeswoman for the department.

For the Standing Rock Sioux and other opponents of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the protesters’ departure means the fight has moved to the courtroom T.I..

Dan Nanamkin, of the Colville Nez Perce in Washington, said he viewed Wednesday’s deadline as a transition rather than a closure. “I’m hoping if it stays cold like this, by Monday we could be done”.

Tribe members are concerned the pipeline would affect their drinking water supply and place downstream communities at risk of contamination from potential oil spills. The Lakota Law Project posted that the “Police have decided who are “approved media”, otherwise they are not acknowledging anyone or their credentials”. Army Corps rangers who are in the area can’t make arrests, but they can write citations for various offenses including trespassing that carry a maximum punishment of a $5,000 fine or six months in jail, Corps Capt. Ryan Hignight said.

Authorities haven’t yet decided how to handle the remaining people at a Dakota Access pipeline protest camp in North Dakota that’s been shut down. “That is something that has to stop”, Burgum said.

The protest camp was located on federal land near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. By lighting them on fire we send their smoke up like prayers.

The Cheyenne River tribe has joined the Standing Rock tribe in its continued legal battle against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which recently reversed an environmental impact statement that had halted construction of the project.

“I’d like to see what the summer looks like here”, he said. Anthony Gazotti, an activist from Denver, for one, said he does not plan on leaving the campsite. The next court hearing is scheduled for February 28.

National Guard soldiers and dozens of officers in full riot gear entered the camp from two directions shortly before midday Thursday, along with several law enforcement and military vehicles. It is high time for us to embrace clean and renewable energy.

Oceti Sakowin was fairly quiet on Wednesday morning.

The arrests came at the end of a day without any major conflict after police did not enter the camp. Others set the wooden constructions on fire.

Around 200 law enforcement officials from North Dakota, Indiana, Wisconsin and Alabama took part in the operation, Herr said.

Standing Rock is burning as activists are being forced to evacuate their camps – so where has all the celebrity support gone?

People are trying their best to follow, but the weather has not been cooperating. “Everybody came together here”.