The construction of the North Dakota access pipeline continues along with its unhappy protesters. According to CNN, Gov of North Dakota Jack Dalrymple had ordered the protesters to leave immediately, due to their safety of the harsh cold temperatures. But protesters are refusing to evacuate their camp and allow the construction of the pipeline
“If you want to make this safer, then stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. Stop the whole thing completely,” said Wicahpi Ksapa, a tribal headsman for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. “You want to poison our people?”
According to CNN reporters Holly Yan and Sara Sinder, the only thing that will stop the protestors is if the construction stops.
Protestors are now receiving support from U.S. Military veterans. According to Reuters the U.S. military veterans plan to build barracks and act as “human shields” at a protest camp in North Dakota to support the thousands of protesters against the multi-billion-dollar pipeline project near the Standing Rock Native American reservation.
In a recent encounter with the police and protesters, officers used tear gas, rubber bullets and large water hoses in below freezing temperatures. According to ABC News more than 525 people from across the country have been arrested since the protest began in August. ABC News said that 17 protesters were taken to the hospital due to hypothermia and injury.
Protesters prepare for the brutal North Dakota winter as donations of food, water, firewood, and Army tents with heating stoves are being sent to the camps. According to ABC news, the federal deadline of evacuation will not have any immediate effect on the camp. The Army Corps of Engineers says they have no intentions of forcibly removing anyone, but protesters guilty of violating could be charged with trespassing.
Construction continues as the company building the pipeline refuses to reroute the oil pipeline.
