Our Voices Won’t Be Silenced, Our Movements Won’t be Repressed: Solidarity with Our Comrades

This week in Mandan, North Dakota, a jury came to a decision after nearly 3 days of deliberation that Greenpeace USA is liable for nearly $700 million in damages impacting Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), during the 2016 fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). A pipeline that continues to illegally operate and run oil through North Dakota today.

Content Warning: photos and descriptors within this blog show images of police, state, and colonial violence.

Read NDN Collective’s DAPL Report to learn more about the depths of corruption involved in ETP’s Dakota Access Pipeline.

Many people were unaware of this lawsuit or knew that this trial was happening. What has also been kept quieter was that every single judge in Morton County recused themselves due to a conflict of interest because of their ties to the oil and gas industry. More than half of the selected jurors had direct ties or were spouses to those who work within the oil and gas industry. To add salt to the wound, this case was being heard in rural, conservative-dominated Morton County, North Dakota – this trial was truly riddled with *partiality.

“It’s unfortunate and sad to see the results of this trial go in favor of the destruction of lands and ongoing threats to our health. My heart goes out to the city of Bismarck, the Standing Rock Tribe, and all the communities downriver and the territories where DAPL is pulling oil from. We have witnessed how money can manipulate narratives, isolate blame, and distract from the real injustice happening in our front and back yards. Rivers, rain, wind, and snowfall know no lease boundaries, know no land ownership, and know no borders — but all will be impacted by pollutants and spills from the DAPL project. While disheartening, this is nothing new to Indigenous communities fighting for access to clean water. More reason to join the LANDBACK movement in your region/community, for all walks of life”, said Cy Wagoner, NDN Collective’s Creative Resistance Director.

Indigenous youth-led the movement at Standing Rock to protect the people, water, and land from the destruction of the DAPL.
– Korina Barry, NDN Action Managing Director

It is well-known and understood that Indigenous youth led the movement at Standing Rock to protect the people, water, and land from the destruction of the DAPL. The 11-month occupation in Cannon Ball was the culmination of many years of organizing. Mainstream media, the government, and proponents of the oil and gas industry will lead you to think this was some spontaneous, unorganized moment, when in fact Indigenous organizers had been training, building skills, and strengthening direct action strategy for some time.

*Water protectors holding signs at Standing Rock in 2016. Photo Taken by: Josue Rivas.*

Through their lawsuit, ETP was intentionally erasing the truth that the fight at Standing Rock was an Indigenous-led movement. They wanted the public, the jurors, and the judge to believe that non-Indigenous representatives of GP instigated and ultimately controlled this fight. Not surprising to any Indigenous person, as we continue to navigate the erasure of our people, our culture, our languages, and our histories every day.

*Standing Rock 2016, water protectors hold the front line and embrace each other while being pepper sprayed by law enforcement and North Dakota state troopers. Photo Taken by: Josue Rivas*

We have seen a rise in the use of Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) lawsuits and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges against movement organizers and organizations. SLAPP lawsuits are strategically utilized to silence people, drain resources, and drown out movement-led narratives. Essentially, bypassing the First Amendment rights of Free Speech. RICO charges are used to criminalize groups and organizations for allegedly engaging in patterns of racketeering and collection of unlawful debt.

Over 60 people were indicted on RICO charges for alleged efforts to stop the construction of COP City in Atlanta, Georgia. These activists are facing sentences of up to 20 years in prison for such charges. Why does this feel familiar and close to home? NDN Collective’s Founder & President, Nick Tilsen, was also targeted for protecting the people and the land during Trump’s visit to Mount Rushmore in 2020. Tilsen was threatened with a sentence of 20 years or more over his head for years, causing stress and turmoil for his family. After 2.5 years of fighting, Nick’s charges were dropped.

*Standing Rock organizers hold a banner that reads, “Indigenous Sovereignty Protects Water.” Photo by Josue Rivas.*

It is not lost on us that just over a month ago, the United States’ longest-standing Indigenous political prisoner was released, after serving 50 unjust years in a 6 x 8 foot cell. Leonard Peltier, a defender of Indigenous rights and self-determination, returned to his homelands at 80 years old. Five decades after the federal government systematically targeted him for pushing against the status quo and fighting for better, and equitable conditions for Indigenous peoples’.

Just three months into this new administration, it is clear that the surveillance of and attacks on organizers and movement organizations will only be exacerbated over the next four years. Trump and his administration will continue to support and empower repression tactics to silence and criminalize anyone pushing back against the status quo. Let us not forget that President Trump previously had nearly $1 million invested into Energy Transfer Partners and had been outwardly supportive of DAPL.

Water Protectors gather to pray at North Dakota’s state capitol in 2016. Photo by Josue Rivas.

“The right to peacefully protest and express our protected free speech is under full attack. The work of Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks would be illegal under the current decision of the jurors in Mandan, ND. The fact that a corporation can operate a pipeline illegally, violate our treaties, and violate the U.S. Constitution while simultaneously getting a verdict like this, is a sign of the times we are in. This is authoritarianism in full swing and the only way authoritarianism will ever fall is when people rise against it. We stand in solidarity with all those who are currently under attack. We continue to encourage people everywhere to not let this decision deter you from speaking truth to power, organizing for positive change, and to resist. Resistance is necessary for the survival of our people and for the protection of Mother Earth,” said Nick Tilsen NDN Collective’s Founder & CEO.

This is a critical time for unity and solidarity amongst organizers, movement organizations, and movements. We hold within us deep knowledge, skills, and the power of our prayer and medicines. It is important that we continue to stand up with and defend our comrades who are being targeted and were parties to the lawsuit and all who we have witnessed be taken by ICE for speaking up against the genocidal acts this government and others have perpetuated. We can also show solidarity by making a donation or signing up to volunteer with Greenpeace USA. To continue building community, learning, and sharpening our skills please join Greenpeace’s “Protest on Trial” webinars; find your people and support your local social justice organizations that are defending the rights of queer/LQBTQ2S+ relatives, immigrants, water protectors, land defenders, and Palestinians.