Protesters march for Standing Rock
Group of Yellokwnifers heading to North Dakota camps this week to protest pipeline
Kirsten Fenn
Northern News Services
Friday, November 4, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A crowd of people holding signs that read, "You can't drink oil!" and "Water is life" filled the sidewalk outside the post office Tuesday in a demonstration of solidarity with the people of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
Yellowknifers gathered in the cold and wind on Tuesday to show support for the people at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation at a demonstration outside the post office, which was organized by the group Denendeh Against DAPL. - Kirsten Fenn/NNSL photo |
"We really just want to be able to represent that we're thinking of them here in the North and why we're thinking of them," said Peyton Straker, whose group Denendeh Against DAPL organized the demonstration.
The goal was to shed light on ongoing protests in North Dakota that began this April. Standing Rock Tribe, which is located in the state, opposes a pipeline they say threatens to harm their land and water.
Owned by Texas-based company Energy Transfer, the nearly 2,000-kilometre Dakota Access Pipeline would carry 470,000 barrels of oil a day across four states, running from Illinois to Iowa, South and North Dakota.
The $3.7-billion project is expected to generate millions in revenue in the construction phase alone.
But according to indigenous groups fighting the project, the costs to human and environmental life could be detrimental.
"Their lands and their waters can easily get polluted," Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus said at the demonstration. "That's serious. And who's going to take care of those people afterward?"
Straker said what's happening in North Dakota is a form of violence against indigenous people that happens all over the world, including the NWT.
"We have a history of pipeline resistance in the North," she said. "It's really relevant to us because we've kind of grown up under leadership that took on a similar role. That's really inspiring and I think a lot of us are really informed by that."
For her, it hits even closer to home. She is originally from Keeseekoose First Nation in southeastern Saskatchewan, close to where the camps are taking place.
Straker said water is a lifeline for everyone - whether they're indigenous or not. The demonstrations at Standing Rock are symbolic of a larger movement of indigenous resistance and self-determination.
That's why she and three other people from Yellowknife are travelling there this week to show support.
"We want to be there and we want to lend our skills, and we want to help and we want to be present and to share what we know," Straker said.
The group is bringing canvas tents, air-tight heaters and ideas for waste and food management.
"I'm not sure what it will look like yet," Straker said. "A lot of us are kind of interested I think in helping with the day-to-day activities to help the camp run smoothly."
It's not just about indigenous people, she said.
As Erasmus told the crowds on Tuesday, Standing Rock is about the future of next generations of young people.
"I think that's what people don't understand," Straker said. "Indigenous people are not just protesting specifically for indigenous people. They're protesting for everybody and taking a stand against something that violates all people.
"If you violate water, you violate all people," she said.
