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letter to congress no DAPL, letter to congress standing rock, letter to Congresswoman Julia Brownley, stop DAPL
Congresswoman Julia Brownley
26th District of California
1019 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Re: Support for Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and NO on the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)
Dear Honorable Congresswoman,
We, the signees of this letter, are extremely concerned with the escalation of dangerous clashes between police and water protectors exercising their First Amendment rights to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline project near Cannon Ball,
ND at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The use of supposedly “non-lethal” weapons, including the documented use of water cannons on water protectors in sub-freezing temperatures, and concussion grenades that severely injured one water protector resulting in near loss of her arm and another protector’s possible loss of an eye, is excessive and unnecessary. We urge you to take action to protect the First Amendment rights of water protectors, and to prevent further violation of the US Constitution and applicable federal law.
On November 14, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that additional analysis of the Dakota Access Pipeline(DAPL) project is necessary, and invited the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to engage due to potential impact of a pipeline leak on the Tribe’s drinking water supply. In the interim, the Army Corps has made clear that pipeline construction under Lake Oahe — where the Tribe gets its drinking water cannot occur without a federal easement.
Yet, the pipeline construction continues. The bulldozing of Sioux burial grounds has gone unpunished in violation of the treaty with the Sioux Nation, while construction has continued unabated, ignoring The Army Corps of Engineers’ call fora review. Under these unlawful actions by DAPL, this project should not move forward.
You are a proven champion of Veterans Affairs. Please know that as of December 1st, thousands of U.S. Veterans are self‐deploying to defend those that are defending the water and the basic rights of the not only the Lakota Sioux people, but other first nation/tribes, and allies.
We are firmly against the DAPL. Please stand with us, the veterans, Senator Harry Reid and numerous Congressional leaders, and stop the unwarranted DAPL project. Lastly, we encourage you to relay this message and our concerns to President Obama.
We, the undersigned, thank you for your attention to this matter.
