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Deadline Passes for Dakota Pipeline Protesters to Leave A Few Dakota Pipeline Protesters Remain, Despite Deadline to Leave
(35 minutes later)
CANNON BALL, N.D. — A few activists protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline remained camped along the banks of the Missouri River here as a Wednesday deadline passed for them to leave. CANNON BALL, N.D. — A dwindling band of activists protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline remained camped along the banks of the Missouri River here as a Wednesday afternoon deadline for them to leave had passed.
The atmosphere was calm as most of the demonstrators, who believe the almost completed 1,172-mile pipeline would imperil the drinking water supply on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, left the site before the mandatory evacuation time of 2 p.m. local time. They have been camped out for months, calling for a halt to construction and a full environmental review of the project. Most demonstrators, who believe the almost completed 1,172-mile pipeline would imperil the drinking water supply on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, abandoned their largest encampment before a 2 p.m. deadline set by this state’s governor. But a handful remained and seemed likely to be arrested. The protesters have spent months demanding a halt to construction and a full environmental review of the project, which became central to national debates about energy, the environment and the rights of Native Americans.
But pipeline construction resumed this month with President Trump’s backing, and the Army Corps of Engineers and North Dakota’s governor have ordered that the largest protest camp — which sits on federal land — be cleared because of flooding concerns. “There’s two sides of it: They’re either very calm or they’re scared,” Vanessa Red Bull said of the protesters. She said she was a medic who had provided assistance to the protesters for about six months. “You can kill this plant, but you can’t kill the root. And the root is, it’s strong here, and much of that root has already moved on to other places,” she said.
“It’s time for protesters to either go home, or move to a legal site where they can peaceably continue their activities without risk of further harm to the environment,” the North Dakota attorney general, Wayne Stenehjem, said in a statement. Officials said that the trash at the protest camps posed an ecological risk if it were washed downstream by any flooding and that urgent cleanup was needed because of that possibility. Lt. Tom Iverson, of the North Dakota Highway Patrol, said the authorities believed as many as 100 demonstrators remained at the encampment. Officials, he said, did not mount an immediate raid and hoped to negotiate peaceful arrests.
The deadline on Wednesday was the latest event in months of contentiousness that drew thousands of people to this rural patch of land about an hour’s drive south of Bismarck, N.D., the state capital.
Although the project’s critics scored a victory in the waning days of the Obama administration, pipeline construction resumed this month with President Trump’s backing. The Army Corps of Engineers and North Dakota’s governor had ordered that the largest protest camp — which sits on federal land — be cleared by Wednesday afternoon because of concern the Missouri River would flood.
“It’s time for protesters to either go home, or move to a legal site where they can peaceably continue their activities without risk of further harm to the environment,” the North Dakota attorney general, Wayne Stenehjem, said in a statement. Officials said that the trash at the protest camps posed an ecological risk if it were washed downstream by flooding and that urgent cleanup was needed because of that possibility.
Rain turned to large snowflakes in the somber hours before the deadline, which Gov. Doug Burgum set in an executive order he signed last week. Much of the camp appeared empty and calm Wednesday morning as law enforcement officials gathered nearby.Rain turned to large snowflakes in the somber hours before the deadline, which Gov. Doug Burgum set in an executive order he signed last week. Much of the camp appeared empty and calm Wednesday morning as law enforcement officials gathered nearby.
One man used a four-wheeler to help get a car out of the deep mud, and another person rode a snowmobile through the dirt. Some semipermanent structures had been burned, apparently an effort to demolish them ahead of the deadline. A fire burned, black smoke rising in the cold air, while some people roamed the area. One man used a four-wheeler to help get a car out of the deep mud, and another person rode a snowmobile through the dirt. Some semipermanent structures had been burned, apparently to demolish them ahead of the deadline. Black smoke from the fires rose in the cold air while some people roamed the area.
Nick Cowan, 25, who has lived in the camp for more than two months, watched a dwelling burn nearby Wednesday morning. Nick Cowan, 25, who has lived in the camp for more than two months, watched a dwelling burn Wednesday morning.
“It’s an act of defiance,” said Mr. Cowan, who said he did not set the fire. “It’s saying: ‘If you are going to make us leave our home, you cannot take our space. We’ll burn it to the ground and let the earth take it back before you take it from us.’”“It’s an act of defiance,” said Mr. Cowan, who said he did not set the fire. “It’s saying: ‘If you are going to make us leave our home, you cannot take our space. We’ll burn it to the ground and let the earth take it back before you take it from us.’”
Mr. Cowan, a restaurant manager from Britain who had most recently been living in New Zealand, said he left his job and girlfriend to join the protests after seeing video footage of clashes with law enforcement. He said that he did not believe protesters should have to evacuate and did not know what he would do when the deadline to leave came.Mr. Cowan, a restaurant manager from Britain who had most recently been living in New Zealand, said he left his job and girlfriend to join the protests after seeing video footage of clashes with law enforcement. He said that he did not believe protesters should have to evacuate and did not know what he would do when the deadline to leave came.
“The people are incredible,” said Mr. Cowan, who was wearing a jacket with an antipipeline logo. “This is a place unlike any other I’ve ever lived before. The lessons I’ve learned I’ll never forget.”“The people are incredible,” said Mr. Cowan, who was wearing a jacket with an antipipeline logo. “This is a place unlike any other I’ve ever lived before. The lessons I’ve learned I’ll never forget.”
It was unclear how many of those still camped out would heed the evacuation order and how the authorities would respond to anyone who refused to leave. But Mike Nowatzki, a spokesman for Mr. Burgum, told The Associated Press that arrests were possible if people refused to leave. But many people left the site before the governor’s deadline, uncertain how the authorities would respond to a new round of defiance.
“Some of them are definitely going to stay,” Chase Iron Eyes, a well-known protester, said of other demonstrators Tuesday night. What will happen Wednesday afternoon, he said, is uncertain. North Dakota officials have offered meals, lodging, a medical exam and a bus ticket to anywhere in the 48 contiguous states for protesters who left by Wednesday afternoon but needed help getting home.
“Some people are going to stand in prayer,” he said. “Others may try to engage others in civil disobedience, but nobody’s armed and nobody’s going to aggress the cops or do anything that would cause harm.” That approach was at odds with events of recent months, when the demonstrators sporadically clashed with the police, leading to the activation of the North Dakota National Guard and hundreds of arrests. The police sometimes used tear gas and rubber bullets. The North Dakota guard said on Wednesday that it had spent more than $8 million responding to the protest since last August.
Mr. Iron Eyes, who is facing criminal charges for his actions during an earlier protest, said he planned to honor the Wednesday deadline. Both sides have accused the other of escalating tension and engaging in violence since the protests started last year as a local affair. The camps ultimately swelled to thousands in the summer and fall, with Native Americans and supporters from across the country gathering in spirited opposition and setting up a makeshift society in the camps, complete with cooking tents, supply areas and semipermanent structures.
State officials have offered meals, lodging, a medical exam and a bus ticket to anywhere in the 48 contiguous states for protesters who leave by Wednesday afternoon and needed help getting home. Despite the lingering tensions and frustrations, the scene had calmed somewhat in recent weeks as the number of demonstrators declined during the harsh winter. Dave Archambault II, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which has sued seeking to block the pipeline construction, urged protesters to go home.
The protests started last year as a local affair, but the camps swelled to thousands in the summer and fall, with Native Americans and others from across the country gathering in spirited opposition and setting up a makeshift society in the camps, complete with cooking tents, supply areas and semipermanent structures. The dispute about the pipeline resurfaced soon after the inauguration of Mr. Trump, who instructed the Army to drop its study, and construction resumed. Barring court intervention, oil from the Bakken fields in western North Dakota could be flowing by this spring through the pipeline to its end point in Illinois.
At times, demonstrators clashed with the police, leading to the activation of the North Dakota National Guard and hundreds of arrests. The police sometimes used tear gas and rubber bullets. Both sides have accused the other of escalating tensions and engaging in violence. The North Dakota National Guard said on Wednesday that it had spent more than $8 million responding to the protest since last August. Chase Iron Eyes, a well-known protester, said the demonstrators were “feeling a bit of despair, but it’s not overwhelming.”
In recent weeks, the scene had calmed somewhat, as the number of demonstrators dwindled during the harsh winter. Dave Archambault II, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which has sued seeking to block the pipeline construction, has urged protesters to go home.
The tribe seemed to score a victory when, in the waning weeks of President Obama’s tenure, the Army Corps announced that it would undertake a full environmental impact study before allowing the pipeline to cross Lake Oahe, the Missouri River reservoir near the protesters’ encampment.
But Mr. Trump instructed the Army to drop that study, and construction resumed. Barring court intervention, oil from the Bakken fields in western North Dakota could be flowing by this spring through the pipeline to its end point in Illinois.
Protesters, Mr. Iron Eyes said, were “feeling a bit of despair, but it’s not overwhelming.”
“They know what they’re here for,” he said.“They know what they’re here for,” he said.