Water protectors from the Oceti Sakowin camp, the main protest camp at Standing Rock, have just issued an urgent message in the form of a short video. According to the two-minute clip, the camp has been surrounded by "heavily militarized law enforcement."
The news follows reports in early February that—following a Trump executive order—Army secretary Jack Speer had ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to allow construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline to resume under the stretch of the Missouri River adjacent to the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.
Over the course of months-long, ongoing protest efforts at Standing Rock, law enforcement have already used force against protesters several times, including water cannons, tear gas, and concussion grenades
"In the history of colonization, they've always given us two options," explains a protester in the video, "Give up our land or go to jail." Narrated and produced by women at the camp, the video is a call to actions for journalists and allies alike to come lend support:
"Protectors. Media. Get here by Feb. 21. The police have surrounded Oceti Sakowin Camp. Stand with us in peace and prayer to protevt the water and treaty rights. We are unarmed. Mni Wiconi. Water is life."