For nearly two years now, the Dakota Access Pipeline, a pipeline that would run beneath Standing Rock Sioux land in North Dakota, has been protested by the Sioux people and supporters. But in recent days, acts by the authorities keeping watch on the peaceful demonstrations have reached an intensity few could have expected.
The Standing Rock Sioux are peacefully fighting against a proposed project that could potentially poison the water of an entire people as a pipeline would travel 1,200 miles, carrying 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota to Illinois, and at points, will reportedly be routed beneath the Missouri River and/or it’s tributaries. Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners (the company proposing the project) says the pipeline is safe. But the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has discovered more than 3,300 incidents of leaks and ruptures at oil and gas pipelines since 2010. The dangers are very real.
Sunday, police used water hoses, rubber bullets and tear gas to push back protesters that were trying to cross a highway bridge. Seventeen protesters were taken to area hospitals, some of whom were treated for hypothermia after being doused in the sub-freezing temperatures. “Water hoses were used to keep distance between officers and criminal agitators and also to put out fires set by those agitators,” said Morton County Sheriff’s spokesman Rob Keller. But Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune called the incident an “act of brutality” and “nothing short of life-threatening and inhumane.”
Action sports athletes have weighed in heavily. Surfers like Kassia Meador and Kamalei Alexander have actually joined the protest movement in North Dakota. Eleven-time World Champion Kelly Slater issued a strongly-worded statement through his Instagram account. “There’s a sick irony here with clean water being sprayed on #WaterProtectors in freezing cold weather,” he wrote. “If that isn’t considered torture on some level, I’m not sure what else it is.”
Olympic champion snowboarder Jamie Anderson questioned the pipeline itself: “What is wrong with our leaders? If we know there are better ways to be more mindful with our resources, why wouldn’t we invest in that?”
As the seemingly brutal force intensifies, Leah Dawson, Rob Machado and even commentators like Sal Masekela are giving opinions. These athletes have been blessed to live and work in some of the most glorious playgrounds on the planet—and thankfully they think about more than just contests and film parts. Proof there’s hope for us yet.
Read more of our Dakota Access coverage here and here.
This article was updated with information on the pipeline’s route.
