 Meet me at Standing Rock. I say that to everybody. If sacred land can be taken over by corporations, then none of our Indigenous communities are protected, including my own. Society took our land away from us. We need to protect it. I will start a fight for this place. There's no turning back for us. Despite all of the hatred and genocide, we're still here and we're resilient. I am not moving until every pipe is removed from the earth. It felt good for me to be there, but it felt better because of what I was seeing. I've seen gatherings over the years, but this was a gathering that had a different purpose. They're bringing their tribal flags. During the first two or three weeks, I saw one flag go up. I sensed a much stronger nation, a much stronger nationhood forming. This is what I felt was beautiful. I have not seen this kind of gathering and bringing in support. I have never seen it in my entire life. Wounded Knee was one kind of action, but it was nothing in terms of people coming together. Every week I come back and then I see five more flags, ten more flags, twenty more flags, hundred flags, and the community building. I would say within the sixth or seventh week, it was no longer an encampment. It was a community. We had about 4,000 people there, but it reached a peak by Labor Day weekend of 10,000 people. Seeing all of this develop, it made me feel that we needed, we needed Standing Rock. The American movement needed it. Why didn't this happen years ago? Why didn't we, as Native people, band together before I liked this? But it seems to me that need was needed US-wide. I think that's why it did come about. This is a true feeling of what has been lost with a lot of us. Standing Rock is a tribe. They also, Dave says, Dennis, we didn't know what was going on. We took the stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline. We didn't know what was going to happen out there. Unprecedented support came in that other tribes now realize that we can be victorious on this one. If we stick together and hold together. Well, there are several pipelines, probably about 30, 40 pipelines that are going underneath all across the United States. And even on our reservation, the Chippewa Reservation in northern Minnesota, one came through ours with very little resistance. My family went out there and was trying to say, no, you can't go any further than this, but please show up. But the pipeline, digging up stuff, and our shambles did a great deal of research on their property. And then the Environmental Protection Agency has listed five species endangered. There's the two whooping crane and another crane called the least-turned TERN. And then the black-footed ferret, the pallid sturgeon, and also the gray wolf. These are all endangered species. But also this land where they were coming to is a burial site. And that is why the Standing Rocksuit tribe said, no, now the Corps of Engineers called the Standing Rocksuit tribe and talked to Dave. He said, you remember, they talked for about 15 minutes. And then when the news starts coming out, the Corps of Engineers says, well, we consulted with the tribe. And that's when Dave Arsamo and the tribal council says, oh, wait a while. 15 minutes on the phone is not consultation and giving permits to these people to come through that property. We have burial grounds there. There's animals there. There's all these endangered species. We're going to stop it right now. And so they filed their lawsuit against not only the Corps of Engineers for issuing those permits to these people, but also to the state of North Dakota for allowing them to... Nobody consulted with the tribe about digging and going through burial grounds. And then another aspect of the pipeline going underneath the Missouri River, and some of it won't go all the way underneath, but we've seen them going through the... underneath the river, laying on the bottom of the bed there, the river bed. That, of course, the history of safety and the leaks and the disruptions with the Dakota Access Pipeline is terrible. They, you know, then they said, we have a good record of safety. No, it's not. It's not. It's contaminated the soil back there, contaminated the water back there, and it's contaminating the air. Now you're bringing it here. And we're saying no. And our Shambu and him went out there, went right out to the site, said, no, you're going to stop right here. He got arrested. And the travel council members also, standing with them, they got arrested. The tribe is... I mean, the Dakota Access Pipeline is on a terribly wrong side of history on this one. It's bad. They say, we stand behind our record of safety, but they can't. And if that leakage goes into the Missouri River, it's going to destroy not only the river itself in that area, but all downstream. And it will be catastrophic danger happening. So that's, you know, we are... The tribal nations in this country understand from time... when time first began that we had the responsibility of being a caretaker. And that responsibility is very great and huge. And it never ends. And we assume that I've been hearing that since I was a kid, but, you know, you've got to take care of the land. You've got to take care of the land. You've got to take care of the water. You've got to take care of the air. You've got to take care of the soil. We have a walk every day, as I mentioned all the way up to the site. And moms make that walk. And one particular day we saw the bulldozers scraping. They were not supposed to be doing that. And the grandmas and the moms decided to cross over the territory onto their land. Yes, they were trespassing at that point, but they went over there and they were going to stop scraping. And they got really close. They told these guys that we were going to stop you. You're not going to dig up our graves. You're not going to tamper with any of that sacredness of our people buried there. And then all of a sudden the dogs came out. You know, they were trying to hold them like that. And then they were singing the dogs loose. They didn't set them loose, but they were on a long leash. And they were attacking the women. And then, of course, the warriors just came forward. There was a lot of pushing and shoving. It was horrendous to see these dogs. You picture sights of 1953 and 1954 when bull corners had all those dogs and they were singing them on the walkers from Selma and it was terrible. The dog has blood and its nose and its mouth. But the women, even after getting bit there like that, and one of them went to the hospital, the ones that all got bit up, but they stood there. They weren't going to move even after being bitten. And then, of course, you see signs too. I mean, pictures of the dog turning on each other. It was bad. It was bad for to see women and children being bit. Security has some kind of gas. People are being pepper sprayed. Sir, reporter from New York, what are you spraying people with? What is that? He just maced me in the face right now. Dog bit him right now. What happened? I did a lot of mace and the sweat was dripping it in. The sweat was making the run down into my eyes. I maced twice. I got bit by a dog. I was in the front line. Where did you get bit? I got bit on the ankle where my boot is. So I told him they needed to leave, but the guy didn't believe me. So he didn't want to listen. He stuck his hand out and he maced me. He said to the guy, and I think he maced a lady too. Then they tried getting the dogs on her. So I was just standing there. I wasn't really doing nothing. That dog ran up on me and bit around my ankle. I hope we've accomplished letting Enbridge know that the people of this nation and the people of this world, tribal or otherwise, have withdrawn their social license to pollute water and that they need to find an honest, nonviolent way to make a living. Why is this such an important fight to you? Because water is life. Like I said, without water we wouldn't be here. These plants wouldn't be here. There would be no oxygen. We all die without it. I wish they'd open their eyes and have a heart to realize, you know, if this happens we're not going to be the only ones that's going to suffer. They're going to suffer too. That's the sadness of what but the pipeline struggle goes on. We'll continue to battle them in court. Even though they've done wrong things against us on the field we're not moving and I thought after the dogs they were going to bring the guns and I'm sure that the security their security would want to use weapons. They brought them and when you bring the weapons to a fight then you want to use them. Well there's about five companies including Phillips including Shell who are waiting for some of that oil to be refined and they're investors. There are the ones that are propelling the pipeline because they it's quite, I don't know how many hundred billions or billion thirty five billion dollars invested on this already we're listening to the history of our people that are buried there we're listening to the animals that are being hurt for where they're at the pipeline coming this way and I think they deliberately took their machinery over here to do and provoke an incident of course it did provoke we're standing at the construction site of the Dakota Access Pipeline it looks like there are at least three bulldozers that are, to people's surprise at this moment actually bulldozing the land there's a helicopter above there's security here and hundreds of people have been marching up when they heard that the construction site is actually active these, the people that were on they went out of their way to come scrape over here and dig I think that they were kind of laying the lands down they were laying the they wanted to fight I think the state of North Dakota they've also had a bad history of protecting the sites of Native Americans all across North Dakota and I don't want to say each governor's been racist but there's a lot of racism that still exists in North Dakota and South Dakota I think that's part of the reason is that a lot of money is going to be as long as that pipeline is flowing through North Dakota they're going to be making money treaties that come into play one is the 1851 treaty the Fort Laramie treaty and the other one is the 1868 treaty they both are both signatories of the US government plus the chiefs red cloud signatures on them and saying that that our land will never be disturbed matter of fact that was one of the statements that in the early making the US government the lands and the properties of Native people will never be disturbed the history of putting us on land that what they thought was no value to the land and suddenly in many places natural resources find the riches find the resources and you'll find change of the policy between the government and the Native people change the understanding change the target and so every place is filled with gold find gold on the reservations find oil on the reservations change the language of the treaties make a new treaty and that's what they did I don't think they want us to be part of the meanness of the United States and that's what it is they're very mean they've been mean to us and they've hurt us and I don't think they want shown forever but as long as I'm alive I'm going to say this is what happened in 1890 this is what happened in 1864 at Sand Creek Massacre and time and time again there's been pain and hurt next tonight here to the new flashpoint in the pipeline showdown in North Dakota hundreds of protesters flashing with police and riot gear trying to block the pipeline's construction after several demonstrators tried to move burnt out vehicles from the backwater bridge they were joined by hundreds of others who lined up in front of the police barricade all that tear gas my chest hurt for like maybe a week it was pretty traumatizing I had to see all that it was hard to see it and it's even hard to talk about it right now police described the night of November 20th as a riot you all right they shot him for speaking the Standing Rock Medic and Healing Council reported over 300 injuries that evening with 26 haven't been taken to the hospital and sisters they went through a terrible time in their lifetime and right now they can't even rest that piece their remains can't rest that piece because of the destruction of the pipeline it's escalated before we try everything to defend our people but that's why the Youth Council speaks out about staying there and prayer and to stay peaceful this is a ceremony and we have to protect what we have here and that's our prayer and that's just one thing that a major victory for the Sioux Tribe at Standing Rock the Army Corps of Engineers halted construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline on December 4th, 2016 the Army announced it would not approve the easement needed for the pipeline to cross the Missouri River and in the middle of his election Donald Trump's presidential campaign received more than $100,000 from Kelsey Warren, the CEO of Energy Transfer Partners Trump also held significant investments in the companies involved with the construction and operation of the Dakota Access Pipeline and although Trump claimed to have since purged himself of such investments he has offered no substantial proof of that claim and in the meantime he has selected Rick Perry who has sat on the Energy Transfer Partners Board of Energy less than a week after taking office Trump signed a memorandum ordering the Army Corps of Engineers to review and approve the pipeline in an expedited manner we love this land and half of the time I feel bad because they make us feel bad for loving this land but most importantly we love the water every year our people sacrifice we go four days without drinking water that it reminds us how important this water is and I ask everybody do you go with four days without water what happens to your body on that third day your body starts shutting down so so we remind ourselves every day how important we say mini-wachoni water of life every time we drink water we say mini-wachoni water of life we cannot live without water so I don't understand why America doesn't understand how important water is so we have no choice we have to stand no matter what happens we have to stand to save the water Ladonna Brave Bull Allard travel historian for the Standing Rocks speaking to us on the morning of September 3rd the day the Dakota Access Company unleashed dogs and pepper spray against Native American land defenders biting a number of them it was also the 153rd anniversary of the White Stone Massacre when the U.S. Army killed 300 members of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation