Baltimore protests the Standing Rock & DAPL Pipeline
Social Justice and environmental activists, in solidarity with Native Americans, staged a large protest action on late Tuesday afternoon, November 15, 2016, in down town Baltimore, Maryland. The purpose of the their action was to draw public attention to the ongoing attempt by powerful corporate interests to build a pipeline, known as the “Standing Rock & DAPL Pipeline.” The focus of the protest action was the office of the Army Corps of Engineers. It has an important role in the permit process.
The proposed pipeline, Dakota Access, will travel along 50 counties and four states, 1,172 miles, reaching from North Dakota to the state of Illinois. It runs through the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. This land is sacred to Native Americans. There is also a genuine fear the pipeline could contaminate Lake Oahe and the nearby Missouri River. #NoDAPL
At press time, federal authorities have called for delaying a “final decision” on the $3.7 billion project citing concerns about “repeated” dispossession of tribal lands in the past.
A coalition of groups came together to sponsor the lively event part of a national protest action. There were activists lined up in front of the office of the Army Corps of Engineers on South Howard Street, and also across the street on the side of the sports arena. An estimated 300 protestors participated in the rally.
I talked at the rally with one of the activists, Julie Fisher, who had also protested the pipeline at the Standing Rock site. She said she want to bring “an end to the pipeline,” and she expressed her concerns about maintaining “life on our planet…and making our water safe…”
More photos can be found on my Facebook page.
Bill Hughes is an attorney, author, actor and photographer. His latest book is “Byline Baltimore.” It can be found at: https://www.amazon.com/William-Hughes/e/B00N7MGPXO/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1