New Orleans Stands with Standing Rock Nov 15

More than 300 people gathered in front of the Army Corps Office on Leake st in support of water protectors in North Dakota and Iowa who have assembled to prevent the Dakota Access Pipeline from transporting fracked crude oil from Bakken fields to Tx and through Louisiana. The Louisiana leg of the Dakota Access Pipeline is know as Bayou Bridge, and a portion already runs from Nederland, Tx to Lake Charles, LA.

The Lake Charles to St James segment is proposed to destroy 600 acres of wetland and cross more than 700 water bodies, including the crawfish producing Atchafalaya Basin, and Bayou Lafourche, drinking water for over 300,000 residents of coastal Louisiana.

Alicia Cooke of 350La, James Hartwell of Gulf Restoration Network, Anne Rolfes of LA Bucket Brigade, and Cherri Foytlin of BOLD Louisiana spoke to the racial injustice of the pipeline route, avoiding federal law for profit, the likelihood of spills and accidents, and the need for a hearing on the Bayou Bridge segment.

The assembly ended with water ceremonies and dances on the Mississippi River, downstream of the current encampment struggles on the Missouri.