emergency day of action against DAPL

The Sacred Stones Camp at Standing Rock has put out the call for immediate emergency action to stop the drilling below the Missouri River for the Dakota Access Pipeline after yesterday’s announcement by the Army Corps of Engineers of their intent to issue permission to proceed with construction, ignoring a previous order to conduct an environmental impact study on the project before doing so. Without action, drilling will likely begin today, Wednesday February 9, and the pipeline could be completed in 80 days.

If there were ever a time to flood TDP banks, shout outside of Army Corps of Engineers offices, and share this information widely, this is it. Find actions near you today!

We’ll leave you with this excellent quote from indigenous American Kandi Mosset in the Guardian today: “The Dakota Access pipeline is a symptom of the larger problem, which is the fracking that’s continuing to happen. Society as a whole needs to wake up and realize there are no jobs on a dead planet.”

don’t back down on DAPL, SEND PUBLIC COMMENTS TODAY!

Friends, it’s clear to us that the activism bug is sweeping the nation. Suddenly even my once-apolitical mother is calling her senators every day. It’s beautiful, and it’s important. On this note, we’ve got one URGENT request for you today: please, please add the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to your call and write lists. President Trump may have put the fast track on the Dakota Access Pipeline, but you still have the opportunity to voice your opposition to this dangerous and unnecessary project!

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ public comment period on the proposed 1,172-mile-long pipeline is open now, and the Water Protectors at Standing Rock need your support before the comment period closes February 20, 2017.

 

Send your public comment now and continue to stand with Standing Rock in opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Given this week’s current events,  we think the the sooner, the better!

*Photo by John Wathen, Hurricane Creekkeeper

what thanksgiving looks like at standing rock

Photo cred to Deborah Kates of the NYT

Ever late to the party, The New York Times is finally giving Standing Rock some much-deserved coverage. This gorgeous and inspiring video (and its accompanying article) gives sober context to Thanksgiving celebrations all over this country last week.

Caitlyn Huss, 25, a manager of a vegan hostel in Los Angeles, was closing up late one night last month when the tent flap opened and someone dropped off a deer that had just been killed by a car.

“We knew we had to find an elder from the sacred fire to come and bless it, then find someone who could skin it for us,” she recalled. “It was crazy.”

Not incidentally, Severine and Krista spent the afternoon making saurkraut to send to Standing Rock. And foraged apples from a 150 year old tree..

The events that are transpiring in North Dakota, though horrific, are providing a context for new agrarians, Native Americans, veterans, peace activists, climate activists and people from all across the country to unify in a land occupation that is about protecting the commons. We are moved and we are hopeful.

the best infographic we’ve seen all year

Geographer Robert Szucs created this color-coded map to show which rivers and tributaries feed the water basins of the United States. That big pink one in the middle? That’s the Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi, the basin the water protectors at Standing Rock are working so hard to keep safe.

harry, friends, we cannot wait

We can do this

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meanwhile at standing rock

http://www.democracynow.org/embed/story/2016/10/24/standing_rock_police_arrest_100_water

The indigenous peoples and activists at Standing Rock are facing militarized police and a impenetrable silence in the mainstream media as they work to protect the indigenous rights granted by treaty and our collective water commons.

The camp still needs supplies, donations, and volunteers. If you haven’t donated yet, this is a good time. If you have already donated, consider doing so again. All the necessary info can be found here.

on the front lines of the great fight of our times

The activists currently protecting the water commons, their indigenous heritage, and our planet against institutionalized corporate greed. We stand with them. See Thursday’s post for more background on the Dakota Access Pipeline and the protest again it and for ways you can help, and, at the very least, sign the petition here.

small (and large) ways to support the native activists fighting to protect our land water commons

Despite the resounding silence on the matter in mass media, the fight over the Dakota Access Pipeline continues at Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Hundreds of protesters, many of them Native Americans and very notably including members of the Souix Nation whose tribal water rights are threatened by the pipeline, are camped out at the Sacred Stones Camp in North Dakota. (Their website, by the way, is wonderfully rich in resources, well-designed, and easy to navigate.)

For those of you who like to receive your news audibly, this week’s CounterSpin gives a concise run-down of the protest and then features an incredible interview with Native activist and organizer, Kandi Mosset. Mosset provides a rich historical context of the tribes who live and lived along the Missouri River and compelling arguments for why we collectively need to come together to see “the false power associated with money” and protect the water, the animals, and the people who rely on it.

These activists are on the frontlines of climate justice and put themselves on the line to protect our water commons. They ask that if you can join them at the camp, do. If you cannot go, donate to their legal defense fund. If you ain’t got the money, consider sending some supplies. They’re asking for everything from folding tables to herbal teas, and there’s a lot on the list that might be gathering dust on a shelf in the back of a barn somewhere.

 

farm hack north dakota

Farm Hack North Dakota
Sunday, June 22nd @ Bad Goat Forest Products, Missoula MN

See examples of successful DIY tools and dream up your own in Montana’s first ever Farm Hack! It’s a new event that’s sweeping the nation, bringing together farmers, builders, and tech folks to create on-farm solutions! This event will offer attendees the opportunity to learn from some of our region’s experts on tools you can use to improve your farm and reduce your equipment costs.

Two-hour workshops will be offered simultaneously by the following experts:

Blacksmithing with Mark VanderMeer of Bad Goat Forest Products: Learn the basics by developing a simple hand weeder and attaching wooden handles

Welding with Jimmy Willett: Learn the basics of welding to fix your machines and build new tools

Incorporating Bike Parts with Bob Giordano of Freecycles: Learn how to reduce equipment costs by adding cheap or free bike parts to your tool-building know-how

And You!
We’ll finish out the day with a few beers and pizza will be available from the Clove Cart Pizza Peddlers! Join us!

Cost: $30, includes lunch from Burns St Bistro

Location: 1301 Scott St., Missoula (under the Scott St. bridge on the Northside)

REGISTRATION IS LIMITED TO 30 PEOPLE! Click Here to register today – registration closes on Thursday, June 19th.

For more information, visit http://missoulacfac.org/on-farm-field-days.html or contact Annie Heuscher at annie@missoulacfac.org or 406-763-6862.

 

land art in north dakota

Where land prices rose 26% in 2012, mostly because of fracking speculation.

Satellite Fields

SATELLITE FIELDS is a series of large-scale tree formations planted in North Dakota. Covering 4 acres of land, each piece will be large enough to appear in satellite surveillance of the area, so that the formations can be visited two ways: in-person and via internet programs such as Google Earth.