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Stop the Dakota Access Pipeline!

Today Monday the nation celebrates a federal holiday known to many as "Columbus Day." While many across the country know this holiday as a day off of work, a growing number of us understand that it is just one of many ways that the federal government continues to oppress indigenous people in this country.

Diana Peterson/Blueskywoman Photography

And while many folks will be enjoying parades and mattress sales, indigenous freedom fighters continue to take incredibly brave stands in the Plains to combat the construction of the dangerous Dakota Access Pipeline. SURJ remains in solidarity with those who are combatting this pipeline, and we invite you to join that fight.

Two of the key factors that are moving the pipeline forward are banks, which are financing the pipelines construction, and construction companies, which are literally building the pipeline through sacred ground.

Will you divest from the banks that are supporting the Dakota Access Pipeline? Pledge your support here: http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/dapl_divest

Our friends at Groundwork in Wisconsin recently protested at a student recruitment event featuring Michels Corporation, one of the key construction companies behind the pipeline -- and were able to shut down their ability to recruit students at that event.

We need more white folks to show up in support of the courageous resistance that our friends at Indigenous Environmental Network, Red Warrior camp, and many others are engaged in right now. We know that this fight isn't just about a pipeline -- it's about decolonization and self-determination and so many other things. But we also know that white folks have tremendous power to undermine the structures that are putting this pipeline into place -- and we have a responsibility to do exactly that.

If you currently bank at an institution that is supporting the DAPL, we urge you to move your money. Our theory of change behind this call to action is that white people need to "visibilize" our resistance to practices that threaten our friends, our planet, and the ability for indigenous people to protect their land. If we can threaten the business interests of these banks, then we can pressure them to do something different.

Will you divest from the banks that are supporting the Dakota Access Pipeline? Pledge your support here: http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/dapl_divest

This Monday, we hope you take some time to support the work of the fierce protectors of land and life in the Dakotas -- whether that's putting plans in place to divest from your current bank or moving money to the front-line struggle: https://www.generosity.com/fundraising/red-warrior-camp-legal-fund-nodapl.

In solidarity,

Erin, Heather, Jennifer, Z!, Zoë, and the whole SURJ team

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