{"id":86697,"date":"2017-02-13T12:00:54","date_gmt":"2017-02-13T12:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=86697"},"modified":"2017-02-12T16:49:06","modified_gmt":"2017-02-12T16:49:06","slug":"army-veterans-return-to-standing-rock-to-form-a-human-shield-against-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/02\/army-veterans-return-to-standing-rock-to-form-a-human-shield-against-police\/","title":{"rendered":"Army Veterans Return to Standing Rock to Form a Human Shield against Police"},"content":{"rendered":"

A growing group of military veterans are willing to put their bodies between Native American activists and the police trying to remove them.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>

Jake Pogue, a 32-year-old marine corps vet, returned to the Sacred Stone camp on Friday 10 Feb 2017. Photograph: Sam Levin for the Guardian<\/p><\/div>\n

11 Feb 2017 – <\/em>US veterans are returning to Standing Rock and pledging to shield indigenous activists from attacks by a militarized police force, another sign that the fight against the Dakota Access pipeline<\/a> is far from over.<\/p>\n

Army veterans from across the country have arrived in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, or are currently en route after the news that Donald Trump\u2019s administration<\/a> has allowed the oil corporation to finish drilling<\/a> across the Missouri river.<\/p>\n

The growing group of military veterans could make it harder for police and government officials to try to remove hundreds of activists who remain camped near the construction site and, some hope, could limit use of excessive force by law enforcement during demonstrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are prepared to put our bodies between Native elders and a privatized military force,\u201d said Elizabeth Williams, a 34-year-old air force veteran, who arrived at Standing Rock with a group of vets late on Friday. \u201cWe\u2019ve stood in the face of fire before. We feel a responsibility to use the skills we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is unclear how many vets may arrive to Standing Rock; some organizers estimate a few dozen are on their way, while other activists are pledging that hundreds could show up in the coming weeks. An estimated 1,000 veterans traveled to Standing Rock in December just as the Obama administration announced it was denying a key permit for the oil company<\/a>, a huge victory for the tribe.<\/p>\n

<\/a>

The veterans camp at Standing Rock. Photograph: Sam Levin for the Guardian<\/p><\/div>\n

The massive turnout \u2013 including a ceremony in which veterans apologized<\/a> to indigenous people for the long history<\/a> of US violence against Native Americans \u2013 served as a powerful symbol against the $3.7bn pipeline.<\/p>\n

But the presence of vets was not without controversy. Some said the groups were disorganized and unprepared to camp in harsh winter conditions, and others lamented that they weren\u2019t following the directions of the Native Americans leading the movement.<\/p>\n

Vets with post-traumatic stress disorder also suffered in the cold and chaotic environment without proper support, said Matthew Crane, a US navy veteran who is helping coordinate a return group with the organization VeteransRespond<\/a>. His group has vowed to be self-sufficient and help the activists, who call themselves \u201cwater protectors\u201d, with a wide range of services, including cleanup efforts, kitchen duties, medical support and, if needed, protection from police.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a humanitarian issue,\u201d said Crane, 33. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to stand by and let anybody get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday afternoon, as snow rapidly melted during an unusually warm day in Cannon Ball, Jake Pogue helped organize a vets camp area at Sacred Stone, the first camp that emerged last spring<\/a> in opposition to the pipeline.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not coming as fighters, but as protectors,\u201d said the 32-year-old marine corps vet, noting that he was concerned about police escalating tactics. \u201cOur role in that situation would be to simply form a barrier between water protectors and the police force and try to take some of that abuse for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since last fall, police have made roughly 700 arrests<\/a>, at times deploying water cannons<\/a>, Mace, rubber bullets<\/a>, teargas, pepper spray<\/a> and other less-than-lethal weapons. Private guards for the pipeline<\/a> have also been accused of violent tactics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the experience of standing in the face of adverse conditions \u2013 militarization, hostility, intimidation,\u201d said Julius Page, a 61-year-old veteran staying at the vets camp.<\/p>\n

Dan Luker, a 66-year-old veteran who visited Standing Rock in December and returned this month, said that for many who fought in Vietnam or the Middle East it was \u201chealing\u201d to help water protectors.<\/p>\n

<\/a>

Julius Pag,e a 61-year-old veteran: \u2018We have the experience of standing in the face of adverse conditions.\u2019 Photograph: Sam Levin for the Guardian<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThis is the right war, right side,\u201d said Luker, a Vietnam vet from Boston. \u201cFinally, it\u2019s the US military<\/a> coming on to Sioux land to help, for the first time in history, instead of coming on to Sioux land to kill natives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luker said he was prepared to be hit by police ammunition if necessary: \u201cI don\u2019t want to see a twentysomething, thirtysomething untrained person killed by the United States government.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, founder of the Sacred Stone camp and a Standing Rock tribe member, said she welcomed the return of the vets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe veterans are going to make sure everything is safe and sound,\u201d she said, adding, \u201cThe people on the ground have no protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Standing Rock, indigenous activists say the mass arrests and police violence<\/a> have led many of them to develop PTSD, suffering symptoms that many veterans understand well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis historical trauma of indigenous communities in this country is very real. It\u2019s tragic,\u201d said Crane. \u201cThe military has a lot of the same problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aubree Peckham, a member of the Mescalero Apache tribe who has been at Standing Rock for months, was in tears on Friday as she described the way indigenous water protectors have bonded with vets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know how to protect ourselves against the tactical weapons they are using,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are getting us better prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peckham said the affection was mutual: \u201cWe are able to talk about PTSD. And they finally feel like they are understood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 theguardian.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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