While Rising Tide Vermont members and others have protested Vermont Gas’ pipeline for years, Tuesday’s action was in response to a call put out on social media by North Dakota’s Sacred Stone Camp, a group started by members of the Standing Rock Sioux, for global demonstrations of solidarity.
“A lot more people [than usual] are going to be coming out today because of the Standing Rock camps,” said Alex Prolman of Rising Tide.
Two drivers walked away as protesters reached their backhoes.
The group walked up the site’s gentle hills, singing songs distributed on a “song sheet.” One young man played the banjo. Protesters carried handmade signs and banners reading “Stand with Standing Rock,” “Water is life,” “People and the planet over profit” and “Save it for our children.”
Farther up, a third driver left his machine, which marked the procession’s final stop.
Monkton landowner Jane Palmer noted Vermont’s dry summer. “I cherish our water, [and] lately our water and air and soil have been assaulted,” she told the protesters.
Senowa Mize-Fox, 26, of Burlington, identifies as a racial, climate and labor justice organizer. “Actions like this,” she said, “[show] the interconnectedness of our struggles.” Mize-Fox is an active member of the Burlington Black Lives Matter contingent, and said that while African Americans have been oppressed in this country for hundreds of years, “indigenous people have been oppressed for even longer.”
Peggy Benoit, 63, of Rutland is part Mohawk and carried a pole bearing two flags. One she explained, was the purple six-nation Iroquois flag, and the other featured a Mohawk warrior and represented the unity of First Nations people. In September of 2015, Benoit was arrested while protesting at the Williston offices of Vermont Gas. When asked how long she planned to stay Tuesday, she answered “As long as I need to.”
For others, arrest was not part of the plan. Mize-Fox stated that she avoids arrest because of “the consequences of that come with being arrested as a person of color.”
By noon, at least four state police vehicles were parked near the construction site’s entrance, and police were not allowing additional protesters to enter, though a handful raised their signs from the road.
According to Prolman, 11 people were arrested later in the afternoon.
“We’re really pleased that today’s event remained peaceful and ended safely,” said Beth Parent, a spokeswoman for Vermont Gas. “We were prepared for the minor disruption and … our crews were able to move quickly to another location to continue their work.”
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We are always peaceful, Beth Parent. What is violent is the scarring of Vermont and the flagrant disrespect for Vermonters.
“Our crews were able to move quickly to another location to do their work.” I don’t know what work they were doing at the Junction store but that’s where they were. Cut the bull, Beth. The public isn’t stupid.
Somehow, the bottom picture of Sarah Gunter trivializes the entire event.
A message from Jill 2016
In Vermont, Dr. Jill Stein Calls for a Sustained Political Revolution to Enact the Changes We Need for a Just and Livable World
ROYALTON, VERMONT (Sept 13) – Green Party presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein kicked off her Northeast campus tour today today in Bernie Sanders’ home state of Vermont, calling for a sustained political revolution that transcends traditional politics and politicians. She called for Americans everywhere to demand solutions to the urgent problems facing the nation.
Stein noted that: “A real political revolution will require a sustained effort by millions of people engaging in independent political action at the local, state and federal level. Solutions exist to every problem we face, but they are not implemented because the establishment parties have sold us out to the corporations and billionaires who fund them both.”
Today is a powerful national day of action in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux to oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline. The action in Vermont will be along the pipeline route, where forests, fields and hillsides have been razed to install the pipeline. Activist Elizabeth Parker declared: “Vermonters stand in solidarity with the people at Standing Rock. We know your pain. Our land is also being torn apart. It is time to end the construction of pipelines for fossil fuel.”
The Stein/Baraka campaign looks to the growing social movements for leadership, insight, and concrete proposals that will ensure a just and sustainable future. Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka recognize that real leadership does not come from within a bubble inhabited by the rich and powerful, but from the American people, especially those on the front lines.
For more information or to order a Yard Sign go to Jill 2016.com and JillVT.com or call 857-244-1027