We spoke to protesters at the Standing Rock rally in Oakland
‘They basically said, ‘We care about these people less.”
A small group of about 30 people gathered at Dippy the Dinosaur near the Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History to raise awareness for Standing Rock and the Dakota Access Pipeline on Saturday.
Most protesters were younger side, from small kids with their parents to college students. They stood on the corner of Forbes, flashing signs at passing cars and handing out flyers to pedestrians.
We spoke to Jenna Arthur-Tomor, who organized the event with her wife Jennifer. Originally, she planned to hold the protest downtown, but ultimately decided that Oakland was a better environment to spread the word, calling the college hub a place where “a lot of people are interested in this movement and more aware.”
Ultimately, the purpose was to raise awareness for the events occurring at Standing Rock. She said, “We want people to be aware. Water is a universal language. We’re fighting for the water keepers, but also for us, our children, our children’s children. We shouldn’t be using rubber cannons on people. As humans, we need to do better. ”
We asked some of the protesters why they were there:
Alex Wood, 31
“I’m here to show solidarity with the water protectors, to support our brothers and sisters against oppressors. It’s a multi-racial struggle and we can come together for social justice and environmental justice.”
Jocelyn Owens, 24
“It’s a horrible act of environmental injustice. I’m actually from Darlington, PA, and I’m here to gather supplies to send out to everyone out at Standing Rock.”
Connor
“It’s not getting the attention it deserves in our government or in the media. This is wrong, and it’s easy to see that it’s wrong. On Facebook, I was just talking to people who more or less agree with me, so I needed to get out and show support to people who may not.”
Cassidy, Jamie, Alex, Javie, and Julian
“We’re out here to protest the police brutality and inherent racism in how the events at Standing Rock are being handled. When they moved the pipeline to Native American land, they basically said, ‘We care about these people less.’ You can’t just post about this on Facebook. Talk about it to your parents. Talk about it to people in person.”
One woman who had been to Standing Rock taught the protesters a song: “Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath, and fire my spirit.”
Since the protest, the Army has refused the North Dakota pipeline access.