Indeed, the encampment at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota, where the struggle over the DAPL is centered, never closed down. Mossett, who is heading back to the site, explained that about 500 activists, also known as "water protectors," have remained at the camp through the dead of winter. Because there are serious concerns about springtime flooding in the area, activists plan to move to higher ground and are undergoing training to withstand the seasonal weather and the expected crackdown by law enforcement. Just days before Trump revived the project, 16 people were arrested in protests over the pipeline, bringing the total number arrested over the course of the fight to 600.
Mossett said that the fight against the pipeline has brought indigenous groups together. But so has the election. "Native nations across the country have been coming together in response to a Donald Trump presidency," she said. "We will band together as nations in this country and make a significant change using our treaty rights and the legal system."
Trump, however, has not even acknowledged the existence of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which has led the legal fight against the project. Asked by a reporter about the tribe moments after he signed the DAPL memorandum, Trump simply ignored him and moved onto the next question. Press secretary Sean Spicer suggested Trump would "negotiate" with the tribe, saying, "He is willing to sit down with all of the individuals that are involved in the Dakota pipeline to make sure that it's a deal that benefits ... all of the parties of interest, or at least gets them something that they want." But, Mossett countered, "We won't negotiate. There's no negotiating with our lives."
Despite the grim news of the pipeline renewal, Mossett remains hopeful. "We are so strong as a result of a Trump administration," she said. "Him being in there is causing this revolution." More than 300 tribal nations have expressed formal support for the Standing Rock Sioux's fight against DAPL. Worldwide, approximately 600 indigenous groups have done the same. Mossett believes Trump may be "underestimating the power of the indigenous nations, our treaty rights, our right to exist and thrive on a planet that actually impacts everyone, even him."
In recent years, the fight for climate justice, particularly under the leadership of indigenous communities and organizations, has blossomed into a full-fledged movement, winning victories on national and local levels. It therefore was not surprising to me that at the largest women's march, which took place in Los Angeles on Saturday, I spotted many signs that sported "#NODAPL." Mossett, who was at the main march in Washington, D.C., was thrilled to hear marchers chant, "We support Standing Rock."
She and other indigenous activists recommend that supporters engage in civil disobedience and other forms of political activism in their own communities and in centers of power. Indeed, within hours of Trump approving the pipeline projects, at least a thousand people gathered outside the White House to demand an end to the DAPL. The morning after the decision, members of the environmental organization Greenpeace unfurled a gigantic banner that said "Resist" from a construction crane overlooking Trump's new residence. Greenpeace cited the pipeline decision during its action. In New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, emergency #NODAPL protests have already been organized.
Another prong in the multifaceted struggle against the DAPL is a divestment effort to push banks funding the pipeline to pull their money. The website defunddapl.org offers a guide to approaching banks and applying public pressure. To date, the effort takes credit for pushing banks to divest more than $50 million from the project.
In addition to being a focus of indigenous human rights and treaty rights, the fight against these pipeline projects is part of the broader struggle for climate justice. In dismissing climate change as a hoax and appointing pro-fossil fuel industry leaders to top Cabinet positions, Trump has declared war on the global climate. How we respond at this political moment will determine whether we push our atmosphere past its tipping point or manage to dodge the worst impacts of the warming that is already in progress. If the fight against the Dakota Access pipeline was the most important grass-roots political battle of 2016, it may very well win that distinction for the second year in a row.
