If you take a look at Hillary Clinton’s website, it says “Hillary will continue to stand for Tribal sovereignty and in support of Tribal resources and sacred sites. … She will strengthen public safety and justice in Indian Country.” So after reading that, it makes me wonder: Where was Hillary Clinton? This weekend, Hillary had the opportunity to prove to the American people that she is a woman of her word. Instead, she was nowhere to be found.
If you are not aware of the situation, a corporation called Energy Transfer Inc. is tearing through the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation burial grounds in North Dakota with the goal of building the Dakota Access Pipeline. This pipeline will transport an estimated 470,000-570,000 barrels of oil daily from North Dakota to Illinois. One of the many issues with the pipeline is it will pass through the Missouri River. Like all pipelines, at some point, it will inevitably leak or break. When that happens, the water supply for over 18 million people would have been permanently contaminated.
Hundreds of Sioux Native Americans united to peacefully protest the building of this pipeline. Protestors were attacked by attack dogs and pepper sprayed. Victims included a pregnant woman who was bitten on the stomach by an attack dog as well as children and men who were bitten and pepper sprayed. This pipeline is being built on sacred indigenous grounds without the consent of the indigenous people which is wrong. This land is supposed to be protected by the US government under the Treaty of Fort Laramie. The building of that pipeline is a clear violation of that treaty.
Hillary Clinton, a woman who may be the most powerful person on earth come November had the opportunity join the Native Americans in their protest or at least speak up in support of them. She has the pulpit and the platform to stand for Tribal sovereignty as she so promised on her website. Instead, she has remained completely silent.
Neither of the two mainstream presidential candidates cared to even mention the issue. Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump said nothing about the issue. Who came out to stand with the Sioux Native Americans? Green Party candidate Jill Stein of course. She went to North Dakota to protest the Dakota Access pipeline with the hundreds of people who started the protest. Jill Stein did not do this for publicity. You would think that a presidential candidate joining protester would be a major news story but apparently, it’s not. The mainstream media has not covered this protest at all. Jill Stein, unlike the other presidential candidates, care for the causes that she campaign for. She is a true activist. As for Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Gary Johnson, what they say are just their policy positions. They don’t have a moral code that they actually stand for and believe in. Their policy is based on political expediency. It is all rhetoric to appease their respective bases.
Jill Stein has been an activist for more than two decades. She isn’t worried about pandering to her base. She, like Bernie Sanders, fights for what she believes in. She was the only presidential candidate to stand with the Sioux Native Americans in their protest not to gain votes but because this is who she is. Her protest, however, has gotten her in a bit of trouble. She and her running mate Ajamu Baraka are wanted in North Dakota. A warrant has been put out for their arrest for vandalism and trespassing for spray painting equipment at the Dakota Access Pipeline. According to Morton County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Rob Keller: “If authorities were to come across Stein, they would arrest her.”
Jill Stein is willing to put her freedom on the line to fight for the American people. I’m still waiting for the other presidential candidates to even speak on the issue. This alone tells you who will actually fight for the values that you believe in. If this isn’t evidence for why Jill Stein should be the next president of the United States, I’m not sure what is.
On a side note:
The upcoming presidential election is much more than just an election. It is a fight for our democracy. Whether you are a Clinton supporter, Trump supporter, Stein supporter or a Johnson supporter, it is important that you have the right to vote. Please Join Unity for democracy on October 23rd, 2016 in Washington DC to March take back your democracy and prevent America from becoming the corporatocracy that it is well on it's way to becoming. This is a nonpartisan event that is committed to making sure that your voice and your vote will always matter. To learn more information, you click here to visit the facebook page. If you can't make it but you would like to help fund the event, you can donate by clicking here. You matter. Make sure your voice and your vote makes a difference.
