Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, ND – On Tuesday, August 17th, protesters gathered at the entrance to the construction site to begin their daily prayers.

Day 7 #NoDapl protesters pray at the gates to #DefendWater. Police & workers did not show up in the morning. pic.twitter.com/hLAwnbcfAn

— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) August 16, 2016

Despite workers and police not showing up to the construction site, hundreds of people gathered at the entrance; they prayed and sang throughout the day.

Songs & prayer continue at #NoDapl protests no workers or police in sight. pic.twitter.com/Jm99PlihOC

— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) August 16, 2016

With no police in sight, tribal members worked to keep traffic flowing past the entrance to the construction site. Each end featured people in yellow vests guiding traffic through a gauntlet of parked vehicles and people walking across the roadway. Traffic was kept open on North Dakota Highway 1806 throughout the day without incident.

More tribes joined the protests and flags were added to those already attached on the fences. Unicorn Riot was told that each flag represented a tribe that stands in solidarity with the Standing Rock Nation, in defense of the water.

As people flood in more flags go up on fence around construction site. #NoDapl pic.twitter.com/J5XdVfPfFy

— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) August 16, 2016

We were able to speak to Dana Yellow Fat, a Standing Rock Councilman, who was arrested when he joined the protests. His name is mentioned in the lawsuit Dakota Access LLC leveled against demonstrators for impeding work.

Interview with #StandingRock Councilman Dana Yellow Fat on how their prayers as working. #NoDAPL pic.twitter.com/lOBRerzw0O

— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) August 16, 2016

Despite a recent temporary restraining order granted by a federal judge against anyone stopping work on the construction site, a new camp called the Red Warrior Camp has been erected.

The camp quickly expanded, and is now home to hundreds more Indigenous warriors, prepared to defend the land and water at any moment. The multiple camps have already taken part in a series of non-violent trainings and direct actions to defend the Missouri River and surrounding communities from the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Day 8 – No workers show at the morning prayers. Hundreds set up “Red Warrior Camp.” #NoDapl #DakotaAccessPipeline pic.twitter.com/0svoVW2uu6

— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) August 17, 2016

The pipeline protests are unfolding against a backdrop of economic calamity, as Bakken oilfield activity has plummeted due to a global price collapse, which also has spurred a huge wave of lawsuits within the industry; Winona LaDuke compares Enbridge, a new investor in the Dakota Access Pipeline, and collapsing oil company activity to the infamous Enron implosion in a new analysis. She notes that oil companies have been installing defective parts in pipelines while trying to cut costs, a major reason that more pipeline failures are expected in the near future.

Also, the Bismarck Tribune reported that Fort Lincoln State Park, north of the protest area, has been used as a command site by state authorities. That park commemorates the fort where Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer departed from, heading to his ultimate defeat by Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors in 1876.

For more information and context, we have followed this struggle since April 1st, 2016.

In April, a caravan of over 200 supporters, led by forty riders on horse, left Fort Yates for a thirty mile trek to the camp located just north of Cannonball.

For our coverage this spring of the Sacred Stone Camp, with many photos and videos, see May 27th report, “Dakota Access Pipeline Blockade Enters 2nd Month“; May 5th, “Sacred Stone Camp Resists Dakota Access Pipeline“; April 3rd, “Tribal Citizens Build Camp in Path of Oil Pipeline“; March 29th, “Tribal Citizens Prepare to Blockade Bakken Oil Pipeline“.

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