News Roundup February 3, 2017

Via Billy Penn

Please Support These 5 Standing Rock Legal Defense Funds to Stop the Dakota Access Pipeline

In December, you sent over $3 million in supplies from Amazon to Standing Rock.

Then you sent over $1 million in cash to purchase trucks, trailers, warehouses, and to complete a full service medical center.

Now, it’s time for us to step up again, but for legal aid. As you likely know, Donald Trump issued an executive order yesterday ordering that construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) continue. The order not only violates the rights of the people of Standing Rock, but it also violates the current order from the Army Corps of Engineers to halt construction while a true environmental impact study is completed. Read more. 

People's Emergency Center opening affordable housing for artists in West Philly

A new low-income housing development has been built in West Philadelphia’s Mantua neighborhood, designed specifically for artists.

The 20 apartments at 4050 Haverford Ave. were built by the People’s Emergency Center, a community development corporation that has built 270 housing units around the troubled neighborhood that recently has been seeing a lot of new construction. Read more. 

How to turn these huge Philly protest marches into action

At any point Thursday while President Donald Trump and the GOP were in Philly, you could have gone to a protest or demonstration. At some points, you could have seen upwards of 5,000 people taking to the streets. All that action in Philly was less than a week after an estimated 50,000 people crowded the Parkway for the Women’s March on Philadelphia Saturday.

Since Trump was inaugurated, Philly has turned out to protest and take action. Many participants have said this is the first time they protested anything. And if you’re still motivated, there are ways to take your action a step further, whether it’s joining an online community, donating to a group or calling a politician. Read more. 

Philadelphia police reformer resigns from citizen watchdog commission

Kelvyn Anderson, a longtime reformer who headed Philadelphia's Police Advisory Commission, has resigned.

Anderson, 57, who has worked on the commission since 2000 and served as its executive director since 2013, said he plans to pursue “opportunities for consulting around police and community issues.” Read more. 

Every day in December is a day of action

This past Sunday, Natives, water protectors, and Dakota Access Pipeline protesters scored a huge victory. The Obama Administration announced that the US Army Corps would not grant Dakota Access LLC the last remaining easement it needs to drill under the Missouri River at Lake Oahe and complete construction of the pipeline.

While this is encouraging, Mariposa will still be collecting donations at our registers. Read more about what’s next below.

“While this is clearly a victory, the battle is not “over”. A response statement from Energy Transfer Partners  and Sunoco Logistics said the corporations remain “fully committed to ensuring that this vital project is brought to completion and fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe. Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way.”

The Trump administration could easily approve the project early next year. The Obama Administration has never guaranteed the water protectors or the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe that they would use force to stop Dakota Access from drilling under the river without a permit, if necessary. The Army Corps has not yet agreed to pursue a full EIS for the entire length of the pipeline.

Organizers continue to call for every day of December to be “a day of #NoDAPL action” against the investors of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Over 100 solidarity actions worldwide have already been registered for the coming weeks as the encampment continues to stand their ground.

Dallas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network says, “Today, the Obama Administration has told us they are not granting the final easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline. This is not just an amazing victory for Standing Rock and the Oceti Sakowin  -- but also for the many other Tribal Nations, grassroots Indigenous communities and millions of Americans around the country who have stood in solidarity with us here in person, at rallies around the country, and through phone calls and letters. This is a victory for organizing, and it doesn't stop now. We are asking our supporters to keep up the pressure, because while President Obama has granted us a victory today, that victory isn't guaranteed in the next administration. More threats are likely in the year to come, and we cannot stop until this pipeline is completely and utterly defeated, and our water and climate are safe.”

LaDonna Allard, Director of the Sacred Stone Camp, says, “I was asked, “When do you consider this pipeline issue to be over?” I said, when every pipe is out of the ground and the earth is repaired across the United States. I am not negotiating, I am got backing down. I must stand for our grandchildren and for the water.”

Read more at sacredstonecamp.org/blog/