By Ariyana Love | Commentary (Updated Feb. 4th)
There was a mass arrest at Standing Rock Wednesday afternoon, when G4S private military contractors, Morton County police and Army Corps arrested 76 water protectors for establishing a new camp against government and tribal council orders.
The water protectors were part of a group led by Chase Iron Eyes.
This group established a new camp Wednesday morning, near Highway 1806 and the original Oceti Sakowin camp that was established last year. They called the camp “Last Child.”
The spot they chose was just North of Standing Rock Reservation and just South of DAPL’s pipeline construction extending under the Missouri River. All the land where water protector camps are and the land where DAPL is constructing it’s pipeline is on Lakota, Dakota and Nakota tribal land, according to the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1858. These treaties are still legally binding.
When police arrived with armoured military vehicles, they blocked the road and blocked access to Oceti Sakowin camp. Before his arrest, Iron Eyes reportedly said: “this is treaty land.”
The groups actions were against the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s orders. The tribe said the group put the entire Standing Rock cause and people’s lives at risk. The tribe is asking people not to return to the camps. In a statement by tribal Chairman Dave Archambault regarding the incident, he told: “the fight is no longer here, but in the halls and courts of the federal government.”
However, LaDonna Brave Bull said Archambault sold them out. According to one report, Archambault willingly allowed the Army Corps, DAPL police and masked PMC domestic terrorists onto the reservation to make their arrests. What kind of a tribal Chairman would do that?
In military terms, under no circumstances does a commander in chief allow the enemy onto their sovereign territory!
Jordon Chariton, a Young Turks and TYT reporter, revealed that police have rammed people in their vehicles into the barbed wire fence. Is this why North Dakota and GOP lawyers are seeking to make ramming people with vehicles legal?
Iron Eyes has a small but growing following and he’s being regarded by some as a “spiritual leader.” But he is a lawyer, not a spiritual leader.
Iron Eyes claim to fame is that he’s a descendant of a treaty signer. He knew exactly what would happen if they set up the new camp.
There are astonishing reports of torture by water protectors who were previously arrested and in police custody. Reports such as water boarding, rape, being stripped naked and held in dog kennels for many hours while still naked are just a few examples.
An actual Lakota (Sioux) spiritual leader informed me that Iron Eyes has a history of [allegedly] shady business deals, one in particular was a land deal. In fact, I heard multiple reports of this by members of the tribe. It might be relevant to keep this in mind.
Police certainly had observed Iron Eyes live streams, where he was calling water protectors to return to Standing Rock. They know he is rising in power as a leader. They knew he was going to take a stand for treaty rights and they are making an example of him.
Being a lawyer, Iron Eyes must have had something in mind. Last night, this was sent to me:
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About the writer:
Ariyana Love is a TLB Project Staff writer, researcher and project Director.
“There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me. The sign was painted, said ‘Private Property.’ But on the backside, it didn’t say nothing. This land was made for you and me.”