Up in North Dakota, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and environmentalist groups continue to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline, which seeks to carry as much as 400,000 barrels of crude oil a day from the Bakken region of western North Dakota across South Dakota and Iowa before connecting with an existing pipeline in Illinois. This path darts across ancestral Native American land and under the Missouri River. Opposition to the pipeline scored a victory last week, when the federal government temporarily halted construction of the 1,134-mile project.
As protesters hold their ground and brace for the next steps, organizers across the country are holding supply drives for them. One is being held this evening (Tuesday) at the corner of King and Churton Streets in downtown Hillsborough.
“We are sending supplies to the resistance camp to keep growing the peaceful opposition to the pipeline as long as possible,” Caroline Hansley, an organizer with Greenpeace, tells the INDY. “Hundreds of indigenous activists have been peacefully protesting the construction of this crude oil pipeline on ancestral lands for months, and thousands have joined the movement nationally to keep fossil fuels in the ground and stop pipelines from North Dakota to North Carolina.”
If you’d like to support the movement, here are some of the supplies organizers are seeking, per the event’s Facebook page:
Four-season tents
Tent stakes
Ropes
Blankets
Sleeping bags
Socks, coats, gloves and hats for men, women and kids
Tarps
Chairs
“We hope to raise awareness and inspire others to get involved,” says Francisco Plaza, an organizer of the drive.
The event takes place between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. If you can’t make it, you can also send supplies directly to:
Red Warrior Camp
BIE 00N02 Agency Ave
Fort Yates, ND 58538
More info about the national effort here.
