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IPFS News Link • Revolutions, Rebellions & Uprisings

20+ Most Powerful Photos From Standing Rock That Will Shake You To Your Core

• True Activist

These riveting photos convey the determination and spirit of those who are protesting the four-state DAPL.

Credit: Aaron Judd

Credit: Aaron Judd

Since April, "water protectors" have been camped out near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, in protest of the $3.7 billion Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL). Supporters of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe maintain that the pipeline's development will not only uproot sacred burial ground, it may potentially contaminate the Missouri river. In addition, the tribe insists that the land belongs to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe due to an 1851 treaty which was never revoked.

In recent months, tension has escalated between law enforcement workers and thousands of activists (including individuals from over 300 tribes from around the world). Protestors have been maced, tased, beaten with batons, shot with rubber bullets, tear gassed, and even hosed down with water cannons in freezing temperatures. Because of the brutality that's been witnessed, 2,000+ veterans recently arrived at the Sacred Stone camp to show solidarity for the indigenous as well as to help activists who are present prepare for the winter.

Though North Dakota's governor issued a mandatory evacuation on December 5th, water protectors remain on site and have told the press that they will not leave until the pipeline is halted completely or re-routed. Their fierce opposition has inspired hundreds of thousands around the world to call out corporate greed and demand that the Native Americans be respected by the U.S. military for the first time in approximately two hundred years.

On Sunday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied an easement to Dakota Energy Transfers – the parent company responsible for the DAPL. At this news, cheers rang out in the camp. It seemed the standoff was finally over. However, a statement by the company soon made it clear that the construction will continue through the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's land – despite the federal mandate from the Obama Administration.

Water protectors are now urged to remain in North Dakota – where temperatures are presently below 0 degrees F – and to be safe as prayer is invoked and legislative action is taken. To grasp just how important this movement is for not only the indigenous but activists involved, scroll through the following photos which were captured by several talented photographers. This issue is far from over, and the determination and spirit which is evident in the people gathered near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, can be witnessed in the following photographs:

1) Veterans Arrive

Credit:

Credit: Jim Watson,AFP/Getty

"U.S. Army veteran Zhooniya Ogitchida spray paints a sign for the veterans headquarters tent at the Oceti Sakowin Camp, Dec. 3, 2016, on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation near Cannon Ball, N.D."

2) Indigenous On Horseback 

Credit: Jim Watson,AFP/Getty

Credit: Jim Watson,AFP/Getty

Activists on horseback pass through the Oceti Sakowin camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

3) Veterans Prepare 

Credit: Jim Watson,AFP/Getty

Credit: David Goldman,AP

Vietnam Army veteran Dan Luker attends a briefing for fellow veterans at the Oceti Sakowin camp.

4) Flag Road

Credit: David Goldman,AP

Credit: David Goldman,AP

Flags flap in the wind on the main thoroughfare of Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, Dec. 3, 2016, outside Cannon Ball, N.D., as Native Americans and activists from around the country gather at the camp trying to halt the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

5) Preparing For Winter

Jim Watson, AFP/Getty

Jim Watson, AFP/Getty

An activist builds a temporary shelter at Oceti Sakowin camp.



Read More: http://www.trueactivist.com/20-most-powerful-photos-from-standing-rock-that-will-shake-you-to-your-core/

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