Run DC

News | August 19th, 2016

By Sabrina Hornung and Raul Gomez

It started as a 500 mile run from Cannonball North Dakota to to the district office of the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha, Nebraska. The run was an act of protest against the recent approval of the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

Once it was still approved, Native youths hit the road on a 2,000 mile relay protest run to Washington DC, in reaction to the recent approval of the Dakota Access oil pipeline that will run through their tribal lands and under the Missouri River--their main water source.

The relay took about three weeks. According to Bobby Jean Three Legs, they tried to run between 30 and 70 miles a day. The youths involved came from various reservations throughout the Midwest, and all that they asked for was support and signatures against the drilling.

According to Three Legs’ speech “We had a 48-hour notice about two days ago [August 6] that they are going to start drilling under the Missouri river and we're trying to stop it with every power that we have.”

The finish line was a rally in front of the White House. Chants of “We run for our brothers and our sisters, we run for our people and one nation, we run for water for life--we run--we run--we run” filled the air. As well as chants of mni wiconi which is Lakota for “water is life”, and “You can’t drink oil--keep it in the soil.”

High Plains Reader’s own Raul Gomez was on the scene where he captured the following dialog from 25-year-old Standing Rock Reservation resident, Bobbi Jean Three Legs.

“It is not even a fourth of a mile from our reservation. It will only take 5 minutes to get into our water intake and everything will be done after that. What will we do? What will you do? All families will be affected the same no matter how rich or poor you are, you will all be affected the same. And it's sad because most people don't know this is going on. A lot of people don't know this pipeline is being built and it will affect us. It's going into our main water resource throughout the Midwest. This will affect 10 million people and most people don't know that this is being built. This is our reality.”

She continued, “I'm scared, I'm scared for our future, my daughter's future, and we're trying to do everything in our power to stop this and bring awareness across the world. This pipeline is a 1,167-mile-long pipeline. They're trying to push through 570,000 barrels per day. Can you imagine what even 20 gallons would do to our water? Our lives are at stake here. And who's to say that we don't deserve a future? That your kids don't deserve a future? We all bleed the same blood, no matter what color your skin is. We all have the same lives. We all deserve a future.

She continued, “This is only an hour from where I live. The whole Missouri, anyone who lives down to Illinois, down all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, all these waters connect, everybody in central America, their lives are at stake. Everyone will be affected the same. Nobody's different.”

YOU SHOULD KNOW

http://change.org/rezpectourwater

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