November 28th, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
BISMARCK - State charges were dropped against Red Fawn Fallis Monday, but felony charges were filed against the No DAPL activist in federal court.
“This is the first DAPL-related case we’ve had in federal court,” Head Federal Public Defender for North and South Dakota Neil Fulton said.
The state dropped the attempted murder charge against Fallis, according to Morton County Clerk of Court. Instead, she will be tried for possession of a firearm as a convicted felon in…
November 26th, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
CANNONBALL – A flurry of activity followed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers threat to Standing Rock that the tribe has 9 days left to evacuate camps situated against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
“The letter means nothing to us,” Nick Tilsen, co-founder of the Indigenous People’s Power Project, said. “Indigenous people are here to stay, and we’re not going to move unless it’s on our own terms, because this is our treaty land, this is our ancestral land, and this…
November 26th, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
BISMARCK – Standing Rock and supporters have 10 days to move camps, or face possible mass arrests, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported Friday.
“This decision is necessary to protect the general public from the violent confrontations between protestors and enforcement officials that have occurred in this area, and to prevent death, illness, or serious injury to inhabitants of encampments due to the harsh North Dakota winter conditions,” U.S. Army Corps of…
November 23rd, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
BISMARCK – The day before President Obama pardoned the Thanksgiving Turkey, Peace Garden State leaders told Standing Rock and the tribe’s supporters that North Dakota has had enough.
“It’s time for them to go home,” Bismarck Mayor Mike Seminary said to the activists camped outside of Standing Rock. “I thank the visitors for coming, making their message known. It’s loud and clear… It has been profound, and we understand. No more productive messaging can really…
November 23rd, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
MANDAN – Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney and Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler called Liz George and Kana Newell over to their table while they were eating at the Chinese restaurant Rice Bowl.
And then, in true “North Dakota nice” spirit, they kicked them from the premises. Before kicking the two women out, they threatened arrest. George was wearing her “Water is Life” badge on the back of her clothing.
“We were eating dinner and on our way out of Mandan when two…
November 22nd, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
cshagen@hpr1.com
The day White Cloud was born on July 10, 1996, ranchers thought she was a trash bag.
“They thought it was a grocery bag lying out there,” said Ken Shirek. Shirek is the owner of Shirek Buffalo Farm in Michigan, North Dakota, and also a director of the North Dakota Buffalo Association. “And they were going to go pick it up and then it took off. It looked way weird.”
White Cloud lived 20 years, passing away quietly in her sleep Monday, November 14,…
November 22nd, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
cshagen@hpr1.com
The woman who nearly had her arm blown off Sunday night at the Backwater Bridge standoff is in stable condition, according to the Standing Rock Medic Healer Council.
Sophia Wilansky, 21, from New York, was hauling drinking water to activists near the front line when a concussion grenade thrown by law enforcement hit her left arm and exploded, according to medic reports.
Law enforcement denies the accusation, claiming a Coleman propane explosion wounded…
November 21st, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
cshagen@hpr1.com
An all-night battle at Backwater Bridge between police and Standing Rock activists left hundreds injured, according to camp medics.
Morton County Sheriff’s Department has reported it planned to remove a blockade on Highway 1806, but has done nothing for three weeks, Tara Houska, national campaigns director for Honor the Earth, said. Instead, when activists attempted to move the blockade, they were met with potentially deadly force.
“They did say they were…
November 19th, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
BISMARCK – North Dakota Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson’s police radio crackled to life; Standing Rock activists were caravanning toward Bismarck.
Troopers patrolling alongside the convoy stayed in constant contact over the radio, watching to see if the activists split up.
“We’ve lost the front part of the convoy,” a voice on the police radio said.
A bulletproof vest and a black cudgel were stowed in the cruiser’s back seat. Iverson’s government-issued Glock…