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Checking-In at Standing Rock Reservation
A post calling on Facebook users to check-in at Standing Rock Reservation to confuse the local Dakota Police Department who were allegedly using Facebook to target activists and journalists at the gathering of over 90 Native American tribes protesting against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline has now turned into a global show of solidarity with the protesters. With Facebook users across The Americas, Europe and even further afield checking-in, Check-ins had risen from roughly 140,000 to over 870,000 by yesterday afternoon, showing the depth of support from around the globe for the Native American protesters.
Seen by many as one of the frontline battlegrounds against climate change and corporate greed, there have been shocking reports at Standing Rock of both brutal treatment of the protesters by the local police as well as journalists and celebrities being arrested on false grounds to prevent them publicising the events on the ground. Over a hundred arrests have already been made as the protesters are preparing for a final stand against the authorities.
The origins of the post calling for check-ins at Standing Rock are unknown, but the Morton County Sheriff’s Department have subsequently released a statement declaring that they have not and are not following Facebook check-ins at the protest site or any location.
Native American protesters and climate change supporters claim that the Dakota Access Pipeline will be jeopardising the supply of fresh water to the reservation, which has a Native Indian Sioux population of over 8,000. With similar projects in the U.S such as the ExxonMobil oil spill in Montana showing the likelihood of the protesters claims to be true, the protesters are more than ready to dig in and stand up for their rights to land and clean water, a cause that has served to historically unify all the Native Indian tribes in the U.S. on an unprecedented scale.
Show your support by checking-in at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation on Facebook.
#NoDAPL #NativeLivesMatter
#StandWithStandingRock
