Thousands of protesters, tons of garbage and nearly 750 arrests later, the Dakota Access pipeline occupation wrapped up Thursday as law enforcement cleared stragglers from the floodplain in preparation for the massive clean-up ahead.
A total of 46 people were arrested after refusing to leave during the two-day evacuation at the Oceti Sakowin camp, the largest of the protest enclaves located on federal land along the Cannonball River.
The cold, muddy encampment was declared cleared of inhabitants at 2:09 p.m. CST by the North Dakota Joint Information Center.
“We know this brings us one step closer to closure and now we can focus on the important mission of cleaning up the environment and strengthening our relationship with our neighbors,” said Morton County Commission chairman Cody Schulz.
Foes of the pipeline insisted the battle isn’t over, vowing to keep up the fight against the $3.8 billion project, but their options are rapidly narrowing as construction nears completion on the 1,172-mile, four-state oil conduit.
“Our hearts are not defeated. The closing of the camp is not the end of a movement or fight, it is a new beginning,” said the Indigenous Environmental Network in a Thursday statement. “They cannot extinguish the fire that Standing Rock started. It burns within each of us.”
Caught somewhere in the middle is the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which invited supporters to the area near the reservation to help protest the pipeline over concerns about water quality — and then couldn’t get rid of them as trash, waste and debris piled up in the floodplain.
The tribe has urged activists to show their support in other ways, such as by attending the Native Nations March & Camp in the District of Columbia, scheduled for March 7-10.
Authorities are investigating an incident in which two children suffered burns Wednesday after protesters lit 20 fires at the camp. A 17-year-old girl received severe burns to her hands and face, while her 10-year-old brother had minor burns and was expected to be released Thursday from a Bismarck hospital.
Law enforcement agencies, including the Morton County Sheriff, the North Dakota Highway Patrol and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, were able to clear the camp without using tear gas, rubber bullets or other less-than-lethal means, although they did have to get up close and personal with some activists.
Members of a veterans’ group occupying a tent said they were engaged in passive resistance and refused to leave on their own, which meant that “law enforcement had to carry them out,” said the North Dakota Joint Information Center.
The two-day total means that more than 750 arrests have been made since the occupation kicked into high gear in August, drawing celebrities such as Shailene Woodley, who was herself arrested in October for criminal trespassing.
The six-month protest helped fuel anti-pipeline activism in other states as part of the environmental movement’s “keep it in the ground” campaign, but also led to hard feelings with locals in the Bismarck-Mandan area who bore the brunt of the roadblocks, bridge closures and uptick in vandalism and livestock kills.
“I am hopeful that this announcement brings us closer to finality in what has been an incredibly challenging time for our citizens and law enforcement professionals,” said Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier. “Having dealt with riots, violence, trespassing and property crimes, the people of Morton County are looking forward to getting back to their normal lives.”
At last count, the state had spent $33 million in overtime and other law-enforcement costs.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers set the Feb. 22 evacuation deadline in order to speed the cleanup at the camp, which protesters left strewn with an estimated 4.5 million pounds of tents, teepees and trash, as well as between 200 and 300 abandoned vehicles.
The corps has hired a Florida contractor help with the restoration, which the tribe began last month, in a $1 million deal.
Warmer-than-expected temperatures have hastened the snowmelt and threatened to wash the debris into the Cannonball and Missouri rivers.
“We’re going to continue to work with North Dakota as we aim to have a permissive environment for contractors,” said corps Col. John Henderson. “We appreciate their assistance and partnership from Morton County which enables us to do our mission to protect the water resources and land resources entrusted to us by the United States.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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