October 5th, 2016
By Ben Haugmo
benhaugmo@yahoo.com
As climate change becomes a more and more pressing issue, it’s become essential that the public be made aware of the danger and what they can do to help. Climate change is a multi-pronged issue with aspects that people sometimes don’t consider. To gain a full perspective, one has to get up close and personal to the people being affected by it.
Mindy Ahler and Ryan Hall are doing just that. Their cycling tour, LowCarbon Crossings, will take them 4,000…
September 28th, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
cshagen@gmail.com
The true power behind the Dakota Access Pipeline extends beyond the private sector and into state leadership. This gray eminence – or power behind the proverbial throne – rivals the story books, both ancient and modern, truth and fiction.
In North Dakota, politicians have been bought by big oil and gas lobbyists, according to statesmen and analysts. Some have invested heavily in Bakken oil interests, declaring profits for the good of North Dakota’s…
September 22nd, 2016
By C. S. Hagen
cshagen@gmail.com
MANDAN, N.D. – Two North Dakotan chiefs are pitted one against the other.
One chief, Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, has laws, politicians, the North Dakota National Guard, taxpayers’ money, and a third chief from the private sector, Kelcy Warren, CEO of Energy Transfer Partners, with all the powers money can buy, on his side.
The other, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault II, uses prayer, donations, federal treaties, thousands…
September 21st, 2016
Greetings Sisters and Brothers:
I have been asked to write a SOLIDARITY statement to everyone about the Camp of the Sacred Stones on Standing Rock. Thank you for this great honor. I must admit it is very difficult for me to even begin this statement as my eyes get so blurred from tears and my heart swells with pride, as chills run up and down my neck and back. I'm so proud of all of you young people and others there.
I am grateful to have survived to see the rebirth of the united and…
September 14th, 2016
By C. S. Hagen
cshagen@gmail.com
Big Camp, ND – Centuries before the discovery of oil, a hungry bear lumbered into a forest and began gorging on all the huckleberries it could find, according to ancient Native American legends. The forest animals took notice, and held council, for without huckleberries a vital part of the forest would surely be lost.
After reaching a decision the forest animals timidly approached the bear and warned it to stop before the damage was irreparable; a price…
September 14th, 2016
By C. S. Hagen
cshagen@gmail.com
Americanhorse, known by friends as Happi, doesn’t see himself as the local hero he has become in online headlines and print media. He’s well spoken, peaceful in presence, commanding a quiet authority with his six-foot tall, 250-pound frame. Like many his age, he doesn’t know his native language, but intends to learn.
On August 31, the 26-year-old Sicangu-Oglala Lakota warrior pushed aside his fears, and leapt onto an excavator, forcing the driver to…
September 8th, 2016
While not yet official confirmed, the High Plains Reader last night received information from a confidential source indicating that North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple will likely be deploying National Guard units to the pipeline protest site near Cannon Ball and just north of Standing Rock Reservation.
HPR has reached out to various state leaders to confirm this report. That said, no official has confirmed it. However, in a statement to HPR, Jeffrey Zent, media spokesperson for the…
September 7th, 2016
I needed to go to Cannon Ball, North Dakota, and see firsthand the Dakota Access pipeline protest site in the heart of Indian Country, a stone’s throw north of Standing Rock Reservation.
When reports Saturday depicted a confrontation between the protestors, who are really protectors, and security personnel armed with dogs and Mace, it was clear I had to go.
Seven of us traveled in two vehicles from Fargo to the Sacred Stones Camp early Sunday morning, arriving there just before 11…
September 7th, 2016
By Matthew Musacchia
On September 1st, the Concerned Citizens of Buffalo, a group opposed to the proposed hog farm near Buffalo, North Dakota, announced from the front of the Cass County Courthouse that they plan to file an appeal against the North Dakota Department of Health. The appeal seeks to challenge the permit recently granted early last August for the hog farm’s construction.
Liane Stout was one of the residents speaking on behalf of the group.
“When the North Dakota…
August 24th, 2016
By C.S. Hagen
CANNON BALL, ND – The Bakken Pipeline began quietly, leaving few footprints along its legal trail straight into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ lap. Shortly after the 1,172-mile project was green-lighted, protests erupted in western North Dakota. Arrests and lawsuits, calls for peace and threats of violence followed.
On Friday, North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple issued an emergency order due to civil unrest, according to Morton County Sheriff’s Department, and…