NATIVE AMERICANS IN NORTH DAKOTA–SOME THOUGHTS

The pipeline through the burial grounds and water supply of Native American Reservation in North Dakota should stop permanently.  The filing of criminal charges against the news media appears to be suppression and a violation of the First Amendment.

When I saw the dogs at the pipeline and it appeared that they were used against the Native Americans of the reservation, chills went down my spine. It sounded too much like the old civil right violations of whites of the south. We cannot forget the old western movies in which the white man’s promises were always broken. We cannot forget that at one time America belonged to the Native American. They were relegated to small reservations and were promised that the reservations would be their sovereign nations. Now for a few pennies, we will break that promise and invade their sacred burial ground and put their water supply at risk with a pipeline.  Journalist are being arrested and charged with crimes for documenting the events. This is information suppression and a violation of the First Amendment. It is as though the government and the powers that be do not want their actions to be reported. This must stop. We can destroy ourselves by drilling in the ocean and putting submarines and sonar systems in the ocean which may eventually destroy our fish and water supply. We should not continue to inflict pain on the Native American merely because we can. Someone has to stop this nonsense and live up to the Treaties and promises we made to Native Americans. I need to do more research but at a glance, our actions in this matter are wrong. We must begin to think about the preservation of the civilization as we know it for ourselves and our children of the future. There is something more important than the almighty dollar. People matter.