Standing Rock is over, but for jailed activists the struggle is not
The extraordinary Native American resistance effort may have faded from the headlines but the US government continues to prosecute activists, who say it is destroying lives
Standing Rock saved Little Feathers life. Then the US government took it from him.
Little Feather was one of thousands of Native Americans who traveled to North Dakota in 2016 to fight the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. The 45-year-old member of the Chumash Nation was battling drug addiction at the time, said his wife, Leoyla Cowboy. But the water protector movement gave him a sense of purpose, a renewed connection to indigenous elders, and sobriety.
But last year as the oil pipeline began operations, authorities jailed him and charged him with felonies stemming from his involvement in the demonstrations. Little Feathers case and the prosecution of hundreds of others is part of what activists say is an aggressive campaign by US law enforcement to suppress indigenous and environmental movements, using drawn-out criminal cases and lengthy prison sentences.
He has been taken from us, and its a huge void in our lives, Cowboy, 44, told the Guardian in a recent interview after Little Feather, also known as Michael Giron, was sentenced to three years. He is a political prisoner
We were protecting our land. Its something we have to do, and were going to be met with this violence from these agencies, from the federal government, from the state.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/22/standing-rock-jailed-activists-water-protectors
Manifest Destiny ...........................