As you may have seen in the news over the past 24-48 hours, the conflict in North Dakota over the Dakota Access Pipeline has escalated rapidly.
The National Congress of American Indians, on behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, is asking for immediate assistance from around the country.
The Tribe desperately needs:
(1) lawyers with civil rights expertise to provide pro bono legal assistance to the hundreds of protectors who have been arrested over the past week; and
(2) monitors on the ground who can observe the conflict and ensure that the civil rights of protectors who are peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights are not violated by law enforcement.
If you are able to provide the tribe with such assistance or know who can, please contact NCAI Executive Director Jacqueline Pata at jpata@ncai.org.
In addition, the Tribe is requesting calls to the Obama Administration asking it to:
+ Direct the Department of Justice to send observers to safeguard the protectors’ safety and their First Amendment rights.
Contact:
Attorney General Loretta Lynch
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
Tracy.Toulou2@usdoj.gov
+ Direct the Army Corps to immediately issue an order to stop work on additional construction within a mile between Highway 1806 and the Missouri River to help reduce tensions until the Corps finalizes its decision regarding the Lake Oahe easement.
Contact:
Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of Army (Civil Works)
108 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310
joellen.darcy@us.army.mil
(703) 697-8986
And to the Governor to:
+ Call North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple to remove the National Guard. It’s an inappropriate use of the United States military to interfere with a peaceful exercise of the First Amendment.
Contact:
Governor Jack Dalrymple & Lt. Governor Drew Wrigley
Office of Governor State of North Dakota
600 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58505-0100
governor@state.nd.us or http://www.governor.nd.gov/contact-us
(701) 328-2200
NCAI’s letter to Attorney General Lynch, sent today, is here:
https://app.box.com/s/0sxtnnjhfl4dnt1zqyi1hmuwv7qx6udm
Again, if you are able to provide the tribe with such assistance or know who can, please contact NCAI Executive Director Jacqueline Pata at jpata@ncai.org.
Thank you!