Oil pipeline protester says dozens injured

Dozens of protesters at the Dakota Access oil pipeline have been injured as police sprayed them with water and fired rubber bullets during a clash in subzero temperatures. Protesters criticize the barricade as blocking emergency services and suggest it is being used to prevent access to construction sites just north. We call again on President Obama to step in, immediately halt all violence and police actions against the water protectors, and stop all pipeline construction.

The temperature was 25 degrees.

Rob Keller, spokesman for the Morton County Sheriff’s Department, confirmed that water was being used for crowd control as well as to douse fires and wet the land to keep the flames from spreading. “Citibank’s funding of the pipeline directly contributes to the desecration of the sacred sites of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe”, said Sean Estelle, a member of Rising Tide, one of several groups that participated in the demonstration in a statement emailed to Chicagoist”.

teleSUR takes a look at the latest round of attacks on the water protectors who have placed their bodies on the line in defense of their land and the bodies of water endangered along the pipeline’s path.

At least 17 protesters were taken to hospitals; one person was arrested, and a police officer suffered a head injury as a result of the latest confrontation over the Dakota Access oil pipeline last night.

The 1,200-mile, four-state pipeline is meant to carry oil from western North Dakota to a shipping point in IL. Police dressed in riot gear were also using rubber bullets, tear gas, and concussion grenades, according to The Washington Post.

Completion of the pipeline, set to run 1,172 miles (1,185 km) from North Dakota to IL, was delayed in September so federal authorities could re-examine permits required by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Winnipegger has been taking part in the Dakota Access pipeline protests since September 13 and was aghast at Sunday’s violence.

Why are the Sioux and other environmental activists protesting the pipeline? .

The main company behind the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners of Texas, is building the line to bring oil from North Dakota to IL en route to the Gulf Coast. “We are deeply saddened that despite the millions of Americans and allies around the world who are standing with us at Standing Rock, a single corporate bully – backed by USA government taxpayer dollars through a militarized law enforcement – continue [s] to be sanctioned by aggressive, unlawful acts”. After repeatedly ordering them to leave, authorities stormed the camp, using pepper spray, high-pitched warnings and rubber bullets against those who refused to leave.

– tara houska (@zhaabowekwe) November 21, 2016Nov 18: Morton County Sheriff expresses concern about hypothermia at #NoDAPL camps.

In an earlier release, the sheriff’s office described the clashes as “an ongoing riot on the Backwater Bridge, north of a protest camp”.

Six people were arrested Monday in Philadelphia after three women barred the doors to TD Bank with a “TD Bank Divest your Money from DAPL” banner, leading a protest opposing the Dakota Access pipeline project. Many have traveled to North Dakota to participate in what began months ago as a peaceful protest.

The sheriff’s department told the Tribune that the bridge has been closed since October because transportation officials were concerned about its structural integrity. They are accomplices with the Dakota Access Pipeline LLC and its parent company Energy Transfer Partners in a conspiracy to protect the corporation’s illegal activities.