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Marchers Rally In Support of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

A hundred people marched, chanting, around Cortez’s City Park Sunday afternoon to show solidarity with protesters battling a pipeline in North Dakota.

The pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation would burrow under the Missouri River. Opponents say it threatens water quality and cultural sites. Hundreds of protesters have massed in the area. The Obama administration recently called a temporary halt to construction of that portion of the $3.7 billion project. On Sunday in Cortez, Ute Mountain Ute elder Betty Howe said greed is behind the pipeline, adding, “Because of money and power, they take and take from Mother Earth.” Protester Elena AmericanHorse of Towaoc and her young son Elijah carried a sign showing Elijah’s brother, Dale AmericanHorse, Junior, nicknamed “Happy,” who was arrested and jailed for chaining himself to heavy equipment at the Dakota Access Pipeline site. Happy can be seen in a video of Neil Young’s new song about the protests, “Indian Givers.” Speakers in Cortez emphasized the importance of water. Ute Mountain Ute Vice Chair Juanita PlentyHoles said, “Water sustains and gives life.” Protest organizer Adrianne Chalepah urged the crowd to register and vote. She said the sheriff at the North Dakota protest site has lied about what’s happening there and noted he is an elected official. She said it’s important to elect people who will tell the truth.

Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
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