Portland camp-in held in solidarity with Standing Rock

“This is a clear stretch of state emergency management authority and a further attempt to abuse and humiliate the water protectors”, Dave Archambault, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribal council, said in a statement. Propane tanks also will be blocked because they have been used in attacks on law enforcement, she said.

Despite an executive order from the governor of North Dakota that protesters evacuate the area near the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, an official said Tuesday they would not block supplies from reaching the camp.

“At the end of the day, we are all human beings and we are dependent on water, there is no substitute for water”, said Joely Proudfit, director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center at CSU – San Marcos, who has had students, alumni and staff participate in supporting the demonstration at Standing Rock. “It’s going to be us, the people who live here”.

But in a statement issued late Sunday, the Corps said it “has no plans for forcible removal”.

Jack Dalrymple (R) issued a mandatory evacuation order for the activists, citing “anticipated harsh weather conditions”.

Last week, the Army Corps of Engineers cracked down on the protester encampment and established “free speech zones” instead. He said that first responders will no longer be responsible for rendering aid to those who stay. A spokeswoman for the department later clarified that they’d only stick to punishing trespassers.

For Iron Eyes, the initial threats of arrest have brought back memories of the government’s past treatment of Native Americans.

Native Americans who want to protect their water from the oil of the Dakota Access Pipeline are complaining that white protesters’ behavior could be already tainting it. The 1,100-mile pipeline, when completed, would carry almost a half-million barrels of crude oil a day across four states, raising fears that a rupture would pollute the Missouri and harm sacred lands. Respecting the tribe’s culture and sovereignty requires acknowledging that harm caused to their lands and territories simply can not be compensated for in monetary terms.

“We’re not planning on going nowhere until we accomplish what we came here to do”, Cook said.

Phillip Swafford, from left, and David Cook, both of Colorado, sit around a campfire at the Oceti Sakowin camp where thousands have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, N.D., Wednesday, Nov. 30, .

Authorities maintain that not all protesters have been peaceful, and described some protest events as “riots”. “Standing while being hit with water cannons, mace, tear gas, rubber bullets”.

“This is a federal problem and needs to be dealt with by them”, Kirchmeier said.

“The lands and territories of indigenous peoples, and the natural resources contained therein, the public health professionals’ letter said, “are inextricably tied to their physical and cultural survival”.