Standing Rock
SumOfUs
Patrick, Over 100 water protectors were brutally arrested by Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) security forces -- some locked in dog kennels and shot at with rubber bullets and pepper spray -- just for standing up for their ancestral lands and our most precious resource, water. Thousands have peacefully gathered in North Dakota to stop this dirty 570,000 barrel-per-day pipeline that would endanger the water and sacred burial grounds of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Just this week, people around the world have donated and showed up in support of the protest, and "checked-in" on Facebook in solidarity. While this inspiring work is going on, the banks we use every day, like Wells Fargo and Citibank, are backing the project with hundreds of millions of dollars in loans. North Dakota recorded nearly 300 oil pipeline spills in less than two years -- and none were disclosed to the public. It’s no wonder Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities alike are terrified by the prospect of this project. DAPL was originally going to be routed near the city of Bismarck -- but was rejected because it would have run so close to municipal water sources. But for some reason, it was given a green light to put the Standing Rock Sioux’s ancestral water supply at risk to the profit of banks like Wells Fargo and Citibank. Wells Fargo and Citibank aren’t the only banks trying to profiting off the Dakota Access Pipeline. ING Bank, SunTrust, and TD Bank are supporting the pipeline, too. These banks are vulnerable to public pressure. We are their customers and shareholders. They need our business. We can pressure them to pull out of this toxic, disrespectful project. What we are bearing witness to at Standing Rock is a moment of history. We can't all be in North Dakota, but we can all stand in solidarity with those who are. Sign the petition and we'll then share with you other ways you can support the Standing Rock Sioux to stop DAPL. Alongside Indigenous leaders and grassroots communities on the front lines, tens of thousands of SumOfUs members raised their voices together, and we helped stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Our global community has stood with Indigenous communities, contributing tens of thousands of dollars to lawsuits to stop Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline in Western Canada. We are powerful when we come together. Now, we need to come together and help the Standing Rock Sioux stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. Sign the petition asking banks to stop supporting Dakota Access Pipeline now. Thanks for all that you do, Nicole, Reem, Toni, and the rest of the SumOfUs team ********** More information: Who's Banking on the Dakota Access Pipeline? Food and Water Watch, Sept 6, 2016 The $3.7-billion pipeline that became a rallying cry for tribes across America, LA Times, Sept 13, 2016 |