As things stand now, something nearly miraculous has happened: the protesters have won, indigenous people will not be forced at gunpoint to allow a danger to their drinking water that their settler neighbors had rejected, and the pipeline may die. Despite a media blackout and brutal suppression, native people have won an historic and just victory through bravery and humbling perseverance, and that victory has also struck a blow for a world where preventing climate change and preserving our common home takes precedence over enriching the tiny minority of investors in the oil industry.
But it’s far from over. The Army Corps will apparently research alternate routes for the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners could sue to repeal the refusal, the Trump administration could reverse the Corps.
The Army wants the water protectors to clear out, but many are digging in to stay and ensure that the decision sticks. At best, this encampment could be the seed of a new post-Trump resistance that fuses the Occupy movement and movements for justice for indigenous people like Idle No More.
I am telling you this right now folks because the spirits have told me. It will be the indigenous peoples on this plant who will lead the next revolution. That’s because they never stopped listening to the spirits. They’re hardened from decades of genocide and know how to stick it to the man. They will win and we will all be lifted up by it.
