News & Commentary

A bill signed into law by President Bill Clinton about 20 years ago created an interstate agreement for emergency management. That agreement helped bring law enforcement agents from 10 states to the site of protests by the Standing Rock Sioux against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.

Police used tear gas, rubber bullets, concussion grenades, mace, and water cannons against 400 peaceful protesters in North Dakota as they attempted to move two burned trucks off Backwater Bridge just north of the Oceti Sakowin "Water Protector" Camp, which had blocked the main route to the city of Bismarck and delayed emergency services.

An update about ACLU work in Standing Rock and what you can do to help the water protectors.

ACLU and Leadership Conference call for an end to law enforcement response to peaceful protesters with weapons of war.

In the United States, people have the right to protest, and the press has the right to write about it. But over the past month, multiple journalists, documentary filmmakers, and activists have been arrested in three different states for engaging in and reporting on protests against fossil fuel infrastructure projects.

The use of highway roadblocks and checkpoints, and militarized equipment by law enforcement in response to DAPL protests and the numerous reports of unwarranted stops by police sent to our office from individuals prompted the records requests.

Our country has a long way to go in our relations with indigenous nations. We can start now in North Dakota by demilitarizing, ending the surveillance of the camp and water protectors, and starting to listen to the prayers of those who are protecting the water for us all.

Help us stand with Standing Rock. Sign our petition and tell Governor Dalrymple to demilitarize North Dakota’s response to peaceful protesters and protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Several thousand indigenous people from across the county have journeyed to a little-known pasture on the prairie just miles from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation to protect the land the tribes consider sacred and culturally significant as well as the water necessary for life. In response to the pipeline protests, North Dakota’s government suppressed free speech and militarized its policing by declaring a state of emergency and calling out the National Guard.