I hope you’re staying safe as we begin this new year. It’s been a wild election season, culminating with Tuesday’s Senate races in Georgia and Wednesday’s insurrection at the Capitol. Sadly, it’s inevitable that many of Trump’s (mostly white) followers will get away with their seditious actions in D.C. — meanwhile, a pair of young, Native activists here at the Cheyenne River Nation face charges after nonviolently protesting the Keystone XL pipeline.
In November, 24 year-old Jasilyn Charger locked herself to an oil pump station, and the cops arrested her for a class 1 trespassing misdemeanor. Lakota Law rallied to her side, and we’ve secured legal representation for her that will mount a strong defense. Her predicament provides yet another opportunity to stand up in South Dakota’s courts of law and defend dissent against dangerous, unnecessary pipelines. She was arraigned Wednesday, and there will be more to share soon.
https://click.everyaction.com/k/23598115/268081614/1717253684?ms=ea&utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=jcoh&utm_content=piclink&sourceid=1044940&rac=,lpnl&nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMS8xLzU4MDcwIiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogIjcwNDE4MDIyLTljNTItZWIxMS1hNjA3LTAwMTU1ZDQzYzk5MiIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAiYXp0ZWM4ODg4QGFvbC5jb20iDQp9&hmac=muX1eoLIYxgAwgw5UCRlBIdfs80NW9XCaXi-0Mh6JK0=&emci=2b998145-1652-eb11-a607-00155d43c992&emdi=70418022-9c52-eb11-a607-00155d43c992&ceid=2659296
Also on Wednesday, police arrested Cheyenne River tribal member Oscar High Elk (30 years old) and charged him on 12 counts, including felony aggravated assault, though he committed no acts of violence. Now, he faces a maximum of 23 years in prison. How wrong it would be should either one of these young water protectors serve time for standing against a Canadian pipeline which would provide little economic value to Americans and threaten Unci Maka.
This glaring disparity in our country between how law enforcement treats us Natives and other people of color as opposed to whites underlines the urgency of our struggle. We must take every opportunity to secure justice for Black and brown communities as the Trump era comes to an ignominious end. If you have not already done so, please sign our petition to the Biden transition team telling the president-elect: It’s time to end KXL and DAPL once and for all. We hope you’ll stay with us — and with our young activists — in the fight for environmental justice.
You can also share our call to action via social media by clicking the buttons below:
Wopila tanka — thank you for supporting our struggle! Mni wiconi.
Madonna Thunder Hawk
Cheyenne River Organizer
The Lakota People’s Law Project
Water is Life 