In a victory for the Native American-led resistance to the destructive Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), last month the Obama administration denied DAPL permission to drill underneath the Missouri River in the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
Labor for Standing Rock, a group of trade unionists supporting the anti-DAPL campaign, released the statement below on January 4.
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Labor for Standing Rock salutes the Water Protectors, whose courageous resistance has forced the Obama administration not to grant a final easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline to drill under the Missouri River.
We thank all those who have already joined us on the ground; helped purchase and deliver supplies to winterise Standing Rock camp; and organised support in their own unions and communities. We appreciate the thousands of military veterans whose recent presence has played a key role in fighting DAPL. This is what working class solidarity looks like.
Now, we must keep the pressure on until the Black Snake is dead and gone.
As Indigenous activists point out: "This fight is not over, not even close. In fact, this fight is escalating. The incoming Trump administration promises to be a friend to the oil industry and an enemy to Indigenous people. It is unclear what will happen with the river crossing. Now more than ever, we ask that you stand with us as we continue to demand justice."
While supporters are not being asked to come to Standing Rock at this time, the coalition "support[s] those who choose to stay, if they are able to live comfortably and self-sufficiently through a winter in the Great Plains." In addition, Indigenous activists have asked Labor for Standing Rock to continue providing support for those who remain through the bitter winter.
IN THIS context, we reaffirm that workers' rights are inseparable from Indigenous rights. An Injury to One is an Injury to All! Mni Wiconi: Water is Life! There are no jobs--or life--on a dead planet; we need just transition and full employment to build a sustainable world.