Defend the Sacred

In recent years, America has been forced to take a hard look at itself in many ways. The Black Lives Matter movement has brought to light the nationwide epidemic of police violence against unarmed Black civilians. The Me Too movement has exposed many prominent abusers and shown just how many women have been the victim of sexual violence.

In recent years, there have been an increasing number of movements protesting the international lack of action to protect our environment. Many of these demonstrations on environmental issues have gained national media coverage, but one in particular took center stage in early 2016 following the announcement of plans to build a massive oil pipeline stretching from North Dakota to Illinois.

You might be familiar with #NoDAPL if you were on Twitter around that time. The hashtag, which stands for No Dakota Access Pipeline, was used to get the world's attention as the oil pipeline threatened the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's sacred land -- and their water supply.

As the protests continued, #NoDAPL was going viral online, and more and more demonstrators were using the tag to show the world the violence they were experiencing at the hands of police. Water Protectors (what the protesters at Standing Rock call themselves) faced off against a heavily militarized police force and were met with everything from pepper spray and strip searches by officers to rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons, concussion grenades, and even armed soldiers.

Despite the fact that President Trump forced the protesters to disband after officially approving the pipeline in early 2017, the protests that the DAPL sparked are still relevant today. The impact on our environment from using oil is well known and documented, and the use of oil and other fossil fuels is a very hot button issue in the climate change discussion today. From contaminating our air as it is burned for fuel in cars to contaminating our water either from spills at oil rigs at sea or from fracking that leaks into the groundwater, oil has both immediate and future consequences for our planet.

The Dakota Access Pipeline further improves the nation’s fossil fuel infrastructure, enabling increased use of fossil fuel at a time in our history where the use of clean energy has never been more vital. The pipeline has already leaked and contaminated our environment, which was precisely the fear that sparked the protests.

Additionally, the fact that the Dakota Access Pipeline destroyed and contaminated places that are sacred to the Standing Rock Sioux cannot be overlooked. For centuries, America has stepped on the toes of Indigenous people and violated their rights, even as they were granted in treaties signed by our own leaders. The effect of this pipeline and other environmental risks on Native people is worth a continuing conversation.

Many major news outlets promoted the protests and the issues with the pipeline as if they were a problem for someone else and didn’t impact the country at large. Many environmental issues are presented this way, and not only does this deepen the divide between those fortunate enough to be able to buy their way out of the impacts of pollution and climate change, it also takes responsibility off the shoulders of the community and the nation itself.

This issue, as with all other instances of abuses and contamination of our environment, should be taken seriously and as a problem for everyone, not just those that are closest to it. Continuing the dialogue about these issues unifies our countries and empowers those that continue to fight for the right to a clean planet.