Thread by @CultExpert

5 years ago TODAY, hundreds of militarized police descended on a small camp of Indigenous water protectors that stood directly in the path of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The officers forcibly evicted residents and arrested 142 people. Medics and journalists were also arrested.

This violent confrontation between law enforcement and the water protectors showed in glaring detail the COORDINATION between federal, local, state police & private security in suppressing protest.

It's important to remember WHY people were protesting.

This pipeline, like so many other pipelines, cut through land the pipeline company didn't have the authority to claim. Treaties were (as they've always been) completely ignored. In this case, the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

Water protectors at #StandingRock were also doing what their name entailed...protecting the water!

The Dakota Access Pipeline cuts through the Missouri River. In the event of ANOTHER spill or leak, the water that millions depend on for drinking and irrigation, would be contaminated. This would also have cascading effects on the surrounding land, wildlife, etc.

This Indigenous-lead fight serves as a living example of what meaningful protest looks like. The Capitol #Insurrection ⅙ was NOT this. The insurrection was fueled by the worst authoritarian tendencies...the Dakota Access Pipeline fight was fueled by community care.

For a retrospective on this important anniversary, this reporting from @theintercept will catch you up. theintercept.com/2017/10/27/law…

For an empowering on-the-ground account, this article from Desiree Kane (@MrSocial) is wonderful. yesmagazine.org/orphan/2016/11…

If you are interested in learning more, the @TorreyHouse book "Standoff: Standing Rock, the Bundy Movement, and the American Story of Sacred Lands" is critical reading. amazon.com/Standoff-Stand…

The Cult of Trump must be identified in these contexts. On his 1st day in office, Trump issued an executive action to get oil moving through the pipeline. A gross abuse of the presidency and the military to unduly influence Native people into submission under corporate control.

A terrible microcosm reflecting the ongoing history of America and its relationship to Indigenous People and in hindsight of Jan 6, the ongoing history of America and truly its relationship to itself now, too.

The author of "Standoff: Standing Rock, the Bundy Movement, and the American Story of Sacred Lands," @jfkeeler, does an excellent job to explain important historical contexts from the perspective of Indigenous People.

In unwinding authoritarian control, hearing directly from impacted people is an important course-correction around historically erased voices.