by rodwebber
I arrived in the early hours at Standing Rock today. My first task was bringing supplies around the camp— But, almost immediately, I was told to rush to the front line to get video of police shooting water protectors with rubber bullets.
Things has calmed down when I arrived, but still definitely tense, since police were still macing water protectors.
And then, I heard the gun pop off, and the woman a few feet from me was the one who got hit. Her name is Erin Schrode.
I have never seen anything like it.... Pictures and videos... do not do justice.... The majority of America is seeing boiled down clips... this stand-off goes on and on and on.... it is totally insane... totally, totally insane and wrong.
This is piss-poor writing— but there is no wifi— and I have to rush to Bismark for supplies by nine.
UPDATE: Erin has posted on Twitter that she will be alright— but she should expect some serious, serious bruising. If she is still around, I will try to get an interview and update again.
I think Erin’s sentiments sum it up best:
ERIN’S FACEBOOK:
I was just shot. Militarized police fired at me from point blank range with a rubber bullet on the front lines of Standing Rock.
My body will be okay, but I am hurting, I am incensed, I am weeping, I am scared. Peaceful, prayerful, unarmed, nonviolent people on one side of a river; militarized police with armed vehicles and assault weapons occupying treaty land on the other, where sacred burial grounds have already been destroyed. What is happening here in North Dakota is li...ke nothing I have ever seen in my life, anywhere in the world. This is a fight to protect and defend the water for 17 million people in the watershed downstream to the Gulf, for a livable planet, for Native and human rights, for the lifeforce of us all. We are at the confluence of the movements for civil rights, for the environment, for peace, for justice. I am proud to stand in solidarity with our Native brothers and sisters – alongside the water protectors and land defenders – who put their lives on the line and are facing excessive force, pepperspray and mace, historic trauma, brutal arrest, imprisonment in dog kennels, felony charges, and callous destruction of sacred objects. This is not about me, but I am here – and will remain here – to cover and amplify truth and bravery on the ground with my colleagues Josh Fox of Josh Fox Film, Josue Rivas of Josué Rivas Fotographer, Jordan Chariton of The Young Turks, Evan Simon of ABC News. Standing Rock represents the exploitation of a long-oppressed people, illegal land seizure, crude oil transport, media censorship, national security threat, public health crises, and more human rights violations than I can count.
It is inexcusable for the President Obama to say he will “let it play out for several more weeks." It is unjustifiable for the Attorney General to not be here. It is unconscionable for mainstream media to not cover this. It is indefensible for all politicians to not condemn what is occurring here. It is disgraceful for more people to not speak out and show up to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Pray for the water protectors, for justice, for our people and our world. #NoDAPL #StandWithStandingRock #WaterIsLife
Read this article on Daily Kos.
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