Unicorn Riot closely covered the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock. Our free full-length documentary: Black Snake Killaz: A #NoDAPL Story (2017). See also the DAPL and standing rock tags for coverage.
Oceti Sakowin, ND – At approximately 3 a.m. November 16th, 2016, independent media makers from Digital Smoke Signals spotted a horizontal drill at the highly militarized drill site next to the Missouri River.
This sighting comes two days after the Army Corps statement made on…
Mandan, ND – Early Tuesday morning, a caravan of dozens of water protectors left the Oceti Sakowin encampment and drove to a Dakota Access Pipeline site on the outskirts of Mandan that served as a “man camp” and equipment yard.
The demonstration had a message…
Washington, DC – On Monday, November 14, the Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement that “additional discussion and analysis” was “warranted” before they could grant an easement needed by Dakota Access Pipeline to start construction on land near Lake Oahe.
UPDATE: Army Corps…
Boone, IA – On Thursday, November 10th, 2016, three water protectors from Iowa’s “Mississippi Stand” occupied the inside of the Dakota Access Pipeline to stop construction at their bore site near the Des Moines River.
3 water protectors are occupying inside of DAPL pipeline. DAPL…
Bismarck, ND – On Monday morning, hundreds of water protectors began a day of action by departing in four different caravans, corresponding to the four directions, to hold actions and demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
One group of water protectors entered a pipeline easement…
Morton County, ND – Early Friday morning, a group of water protectors left the main Oceti Sakowin encampment and drove in a caravan to a Dakota Access Pipeline construction site on Highway 6 south of Mandan.
This site was the location of a previous lockdown…
Oceti Sakowin, ND – As water protectors dig in for the winter near construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), many rumors have been circulating about whether DAPL was in fact going to halt construction, as had been requested by the Department of Justice and…
North Dakota – On Sunday, November 6, people protecting the water from the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) held actions of varying militancy at three different locations.
Around 10 a.m. on Sunday, a group of several dozen water protectors drove into Bismarck and held a demonstration…
Oceti Sakowin, ND – Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) within Morton County, North Dakota is almost complete. The pipeline has now reportedly progressed to within half a mile of land owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers, which would require permits that…
Oceti Sakowin, ND – Since last Thursday’s violent police raid, which established a militarized zone around Dakota Access Pipeline construction areas, the Morton County Sheriff and supporting agencies have fanned out into the area surrounding the Oceti Sakowin camp.
Groups of police vehicles have parked…
Oceti Sakowin, ND – Since last Thursday’s standoff with police, which ended in nearly 150 arrests, the global community responded with a massive outcry of support. In recent days, organized solidarity events have taken place around the world, demonstrating support everywhere from Vancouver, B.C. to…
Minneapolis, MN – An estimated one thousand people rallied at Minneapolis City Hall on Friday, October 28th, to protest Hennepin County’s resources and deputies being deployed by Sheriff Rich Stanek to suppress water protectors opposing Dakota Access Pipeline construction near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation,…
Morton County, ND – Over two hundred multi-state law enforcement and National Guard personnel attacked water protectors gathered on unceded 1851 Oceti Sakowin treaty land just north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in the late morning of Thursday, October 27th.
Updated on Nov. 1,…
Oceti Sakowin, ND – On Sunday, October 23rd, water protectors extended camp beyond the overflow site, just north of the Standing Rock reservation, to the pipeline easement line. The Oceti Sakowin declared eminent domain on land bought by Dakota Access and set up their new…
Minneapolis, MN – As the Oceti Sakowin Camp takes back unceded 1851 Treaty land in North Dakota, hundreds of people in Minneapolis protested the decision of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office (HSCO) to send equipment and vehicles to North Dakota to aid in the suppression…
Lee County, IA – On Sunday, October 23, Mississippi Stand, the direct action campaign in Iowa against the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL), blockaded the access road to a site used to service the drill currently being used to bore under the Mississippi River.
Earlier in…
Morton County, ND – Law enforcement attacked private drones with gunfire near the Dakota Access Pipeline camps on Sunday, October 23rd. Shooting ammunition at drones demonstrates continued escalation and provocation by police forces towards #NoDAPL water protectors as well as against media, as the drones…
Morton County, ND – Early on Saturday, October 22nd, water protectors from the camps near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation blockaded roads by locking themselves to cars and set out on foot to confront construction that threatens to destroy more sacred burial sites.
[Updated as…
IA, RI, ND – As construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) continues, water protectors are regularly engaging in direct actions in attempts to halt the progress of the pipeline. Simultaneously, during the week of October 17th, solidarity actions have been held in several states…
Bismarck-Mandan, ND – Around noon on Monday, a group of over 100 water protectors from the pipeline resistance encampments converged to blockade the Memorial Bridge, a piece of highway connecting the cities of Bismarck and Mandan.
Happening now: water protectors block highway bridge between Bismarck…
Since April 1st, 2016, Unicorn Riot has been covering the Sacred Stone Spirit Camp, and the subsequent #NoDAPL movement, to stop construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) underneath both the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
Over three hundred tribes have come together to say no…
Lee County, IA & Morton County, ND – During the weekend of Saturday, October 15th, direct actions to stop construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline continued in both Iowa and North Dakota.
Around noon on Friday, October 14th, Cameron Kennedy, 27, of Minneapolis, locked himself…
Bismarck, ND – Emails acquired by Unicorn Riot via public records request to the North Dakota Office of Budget and Management allow a small glimpse into the behind-the-scenes working of the state government around the date of a permitted protest rally against the Dakota Access…
Lee County, IA – Early Wednesday afternoon, a group of water protectors entered a Dakota Access Pipeline construction site where earth was being cleared. This is a different site than the drill bore area near the Mississippi River, where most actions in Iowa have taken…
Early this morning, five water protectors successfully shut down five pipelines across the northern United States that were delivering tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada. The action was in support of the call for International Days of Prayer and Action for Standing Rock.
The individuals…
Morton County, ND – Two people locked themselves to Dakota Access Pipeline construction equipment, early in the morning on Monday, October 10th. About two hours later that morning, a group of hundreds of indigenous water protectors converged on a DAPL work site a few miles…
Update – The Department of Justice, Department of the Army, and Department of the Interior released this joint statement on the morning of Monday, October 10:
We appreciate the D.C. Circuit’s opinion.
We continue to respect the right to peaceful protest and expect people to…
Lee County, IA – During two different direct actions on October 8th, water protectors blocked an access road leading to a Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) construction site where a horizontal directional drill is being used to bore under the Mississippi River.
Early in the afternoon,…
Sandusky, IA – Six people, including a Unicorn Riot journalist, were arrested during a direct action that halted construction crews for hours from boring underneath the Mississippi River to lay the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Mississippi Stand – Lee County, IA October 7th, 2016 from…
St. Anthony, ND – Over 150 indigenous water protectors convoyed once again to an area west of Highway 6 near St. Anthony, North Dakota where construction work continues on the Dakota Access pipeline.
We spoke with Dallas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network about their…