To the editor:
During the weekend of Oct. 21-23, I had the immense honor of visiting the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North Dakota to march in solidarity with those working to protect their water, land and sovereignty as they resist the Dakota Access Pipeline, the same pipeline being constructed diagonally across Iowa.
From my position of white privilege and with my middle-class perspective, I was deeply humbled by the peaceful, prayerful actions of the people of Standing Rock and was reminded of the historic struggles this fight is built upon.
Even as I write this, I know my words are not the words the world needs to hear to understand this struggle. My purpose in relaying my insignificant experience is to help bring awareness to central Iowans as to what our Native neighbors are fighting for and why — and to encourage readers to learn more and to take action.
My experience at the Oceti Sakowin camp, from rising at 5:30 a.m. to the gentle but persistent call for all to come to the sacred fire and prayer ceremony to participating in the action of the day alongside water protectors, was one that cannot leave me complacent.
Through prayer and nonviolent actions, the men, women and children of Standing Rock and their hundreds of indigenous, Native and non-native supporters showed me how people can come together to change our world for the better.
However, these water protectors are up against a powerful oil industry backed by a militarized police force, and they are putting their own bodies and lives on the line.
The concerns of the people of Standing Rock go deep. While the pipeline puts at risk the waters of the Missouri River, the main drinking source for the reservation, even more unthinkable is that the pipeline is going through their sacred ancestral burial grounds.
Construction is tearing through land that was granted to the Sioux in the Treaty of 1851 and taken away only a few years later as the Standing Rock Reservation was reduced in size.
The historical significance of this pipeline and the way it reinforces and perpetuates the indignities, mistreatment and injustices that the Native peoples of this country have endured is at the heart of this protest.
This fight is a continuation of the fight for the sovereignty of Native peoples, for the right to determine the water they drink and the food they eat, and the right to self-government that affects their culture, their traditions and their future generations.
This struggle has much in common with the struggles of indigenous and native peoples around the world.
At the Oceti Sakowin camp and throughout the prayerful, peaceful actions, I witnessed people who were not only tenacious and determined but also joyful and welcoming. Despite the escalating militarization of law enforcement and the knowledge that infiltrators could be among them, spirits of the water protectors remained high.
They refused to give in to fear. They continued to pray and believed they can change the hearts and minds of those in power to stop this pipeline.
For all of us concerned about a just society, the sovereignty of indigenous and Native peoples everywhere, and a livable planet for future generations, we cannot afford to be complacent. Support for the actions of the water protectors in North Dakota is necessary to stop this pipeline and begin a new era of renewable energy.
We can stop the violence enacted on unarmed civil disobedient demonstrators, here and around the world, by militarized law enforcement who are protecting the profits of an extractive and destructive industry. We can dismantle colonialism, neoliberal policies and the capitalistic logic that takes away the rights of people and destroys natural resources in the name of economic progress.
The time is critical. The pipeline is nearly finished. Here in Iowa, as I write, drilling problems have delayed the laying of the pipe under the Des Moines River. Questions arise as to the increased risks these problems will pose if oil is ever pumped under this river.
In North Dakota, drilling is about to begin under the great Missouri River unless the Army Corps of Engineers calls for a halt.
What can you do? Call President Obama today, and tell him to de-escalate the militarization against these peaceful protectors, to immediately send Justice Department observers and to immediately enforce law to stop Dakota Access from construction: White House (202) 456-1111.
Patti Edwardson
Churdan
Below are resources to learn more about this issue, to divest from financial institutions that support this project and to donate to Standing Rock:
About Standing Rock and the DAPL:
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/38165-how-to-talk-about-nodapl-a-native-perspective
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/09/standing-rock-dakota-access-pipeline-protest/
http://www.standingrocksolidaritynetwork.org/resource-packet.html
Divestment resources:
Donate money:
Oceti Sakowin camp: https://www.paypal.me/OcetiSakowinCamp
Water Protector Legal Collective: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/11B5z8
Medics: https://medichealercouncil.com/donate/
Sacred Stone Camp donation page: http://sacredstonecamp.org/supply-list/
The following 17 banks are directly funding DAPL:
Wells Fargo*
CEO Timothy J. Sloan
timothy.j.sloan@wellsfargo.com
BoardCommunications@wellsfargo.com
866-249-3302
Customer service: 844-931-2273
Corporate Office:
Wells Fargo
420 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
BNP Paribas*
CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafe
jean-laurent.bonnafe@bnpparibas.com
Corporate Office:
3 rue d’Antin
75002 Paris, France
00-33-157-082-200
U.S. Office:
787 Seventh Avenue – The Equitable Tower
New York, NY 10019
212-841-3000
SunTrust*
CEO William H. Rodgers Jr.
Corporate Office:
303 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30308
800-786-8787
Chief Communications Officer:
Sue Mallino
404-813-0463
sue.mallino@suntrust.com
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ*
Chairman Nobuyuki Hirano
CEO and President Takashi Oyamada
Corporate Office:
2-7-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, Japan
81-3-3240-8111
U.S. Office:
1251 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020-1104
212-782-4000
Mizuho Bank*
President and CEO Nobuhide Hayashi
Corporate Office:
Otemachi Tower
1-5-5, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 100-8176, Japan
81-3-3214-1111
U.S. Office:
1251 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
212-282-3000
Citibank (CitiGroup)*
CEO Michael Corbat
Michael.L.Corbat@citi.com
212-793-1201
Corporate Office:
388 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10013
Phone: 800-285-3000 and 212-793-0710
TD Securities*
Chairman, CEO, and President Bob Dorrance
Corporate Office:
P.O. Box 1, TD Bank Tower
66 Wellington Street W
Toronto, Ontario
M5K 1A2
Investment Banking: 416-307-8500
Equity Research: 416-307-9360
Trading Floor Enquiries: 416-944-6978
U.S. Office:
31 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019-6101
212-827-7000
Credit Agricole*
CEO Jean-Paul Chifflet
Office:
12, Place des Etats-Unis
Montrouge, France 92545
33-1-43-23-52-02
U.S. Office:
1301 Avenue of the Americas,
New York, NY 10019
infoamericas@ca-cib.com
Intesa SanPaolo*
CEO Carlo Messina
Corporate Office:
Piazza San Carlo, 156
10121 Torino, Italy
39-011-555-1
Corporate Social Responsibility Unit:
39-02-8796-3435
CSR@intesasanpaolo.com
sostenibilita.ambientale@intesasanpaolo.com
ING Bank*
CEO and Executive Board Chairman Ralph A.J.G Hamers
Wholesale Banking, Operations & IT, Sustainability, Corporate Governance:
Carolien van der Giessen
carolien.van.der.giessen@ing.com
31-20-576-63-86Head of Media Relations:
Raymond Vermuelen
raymond.vermeulen@ing.com
31-20-576-63-69
Corporate Office:
Amsterdamse Poort
Bijlmerplein 888
1102 MG Amsterdam
The Netherlands
31-20-5639111
Mailing Address:
ING Bank N.V.
P.O. Box 1800
1000 BV Amsterdam
The Netherlands
U.S. Office:
ING Financial Holdings LLC
1325 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019
646-424-6000
Natixis*
CEO Pierre Servant
Corporate Office:
Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A.
21 quai d’Austerlitz
75634 Paris Cedex 13, France
33-1-78-40-90-00
U.S. Office:
Natixis Global Asset Management, L.P.
399 Boylston Street
Boston, MA
617-449-2100
BayernLB*
CEO Johannes-Jorg Riegler
Head of Communications:
Matthias Priwitzer
Matthias.Priwitzer@bayernlb.de
49-89-2171-21255
Corporate Office:
Brienner Straße 18
80333 Munich
49-89-2171-27176
U.S. Office:
560 Lexington Avenue
New York City, NY 10022
212-310-9800
BBVA Securities*
CEO Carlos Torres Villa
Executive Chairman Francisco Gonzalez Rodriguez
Corporate Office:
Calle Azul, 4
28050 Madrid, Spain
34-902-22-44-66
DNB Capital*
U.S. office:
200 Park Avenue, 31st Floor New York, N.Y. 10166-0396
212-681-3800
ICBC London*
CEO and Managing Director Jin Chen
Corporate Office:
20 Gresham Street
London EC2V 7JE, United Kingdom
44-203-145-5000
U.S. Office:
520 Madison Avenue 28th Floor
New York, NY 10022
212-407-5000
SMBC Nikko Securities*
President and CEO Yoshihiko Shimizu
Corporate Office:
3-1, Marunouchi 3-chome, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 100-8325, Japan
81-3-5644-3111
Societe General*
CEO Frederic Oudea
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredericoudea
Chiarman of the Board Lorenzo Bini Smaghi
lorenzo.binismaghi@snam.it
Corporate Office:
Paris, France
2.0@societegenerale
33-1-42-14-20-00
U.S. Office:
245 Park Avenue
New York City, NY 10167
212-278-6000
Contact information for the banks involved in funding the entire Bakken pipeline is available here. They are offering credit lines to the DAPL’s parent companies: Sunoco Logistics, Energy Transfer Partners, and Energy Transfer Equity.
