Trump’s AI National Policy Framework: An Attack on States’ Rights?
At least 11 states and many cities across the U.S. have temporarily banned or placed restrictions on the development of AI data centers.
Tag: south dakota
🦄 Prison
Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier Granted Clemency After Decades in Prison
Indigenous rights activist Leonard Peltier was a political prisoner for nearly half a century until he had his life sentence commuted on Jan 20, 2025, to serve the remainder of this sentence at home, effective February 18, 2025. The 80-year-old member of the Turtle Mountain…
🦄 Police
Sioux Falls Native Community Rallies for Justice in Police Killing of Lakota Youth Jacob James
Sioux Falls, SD – Native American communities and grieving family members have been organizing ongoing protests to demand justice for Jacob James, who was shot and killed by police last summer in Sioux Falls. A march took place on Sept. 9, 2022 calling for accountability.…
Forest Service Finds ‘No Significant Impact’ in F3 Gold’s Proposed Exploration in Black Hills
Black Hills National Forest, SD – On Thursday, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) released their draft decision and findings on a new gold exploration project by Minneapolis-based F3 Gold. Jim Gubbels, the Mystic District Ranger in the Black Hills, compiled the 29-page report summarizing the…
“End Gold Mining” Banners Dropped Near Proposed Black Hills Exploration Site
Silver City, SD – Early Monday morning, water protectors dropped banners at the Pactola Reservoir island in opposition to new proposed gold exploration in the Black Hills, or He Sapa. F3 Gold, a Minneapolis-based prospecting company, is waiting on one last permit approval before they…
🦄 Prison
Slain Oglala Lakota Woman’s Convicted Murderer Granted Parole, Release Delayed
Sacramento, CA – An Oglala Lakota woman’s convicted killer had his sentence commuted earlier this year by California Governor Gavin Newsom, which made him eligible for parole seven years earlier than his original sentence. Rodney “Patrick” McNeal was found guilty of second-degree murder and on…
Standing Rock’s Wind Farm to Prioritize People, Land, and Nature Over Profit
Standing Rock Reservation – The tribe that led the fight against Energy Transfer Partner’s Dakota Access Pipeline is expanding its commitment as a leader in addressing climate change with the creation of a public power authority to develop a 235-megawatt (MW) wind farm.
Anpetu Wi…
Over 100 Protesters Block Road to Mt. Rushmore During July 4th Festivities
Keystone, SD – [UPDATE July 4, 2021] In late March 2021, the 21 total arrestees from the July 3, 2020 protest had their charges dropped. Nick Tilsen, NDN Collective President and CEO, maintained one felony charge, yet struck a deal to get it dropped if…
Indigenous Activists Assert Right to Unceded Land At Anti-Trump Protest
Keystone, SD – Thousands of Trump supporters, as well as counter-protesters, are expected to converge today in a small town in South Dakota’s Black Hills for the Trump/Pence 2020 rally scheduled to take place this afternoon. Keystone is near Mount Rushmore, a monument to Presidents…
Coronavirus Concerns End St. Paul Educators Strike, Close Many Public Schools
St. Paul, MN – After a 19+ hour negotiating session beginning at 8:00 a.m. Thursday morning, a tentative agreement was reached between Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) and the St. Paul educators’ union around 3:30 a.m. on Friday, March 13 — the same day Minnesota…
EPA to Hear Public Comments in Proposed Uranium Mine in Black Hills
Hot Springs, SD – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is holding a public comment hearing on their two updated draft permits concerning the Dewey Burdock proposed in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mine and its proposed disposal of treated uranium mining waste fluids into the Minnelusa…
Inside the American Identity Movement’s Rocky Mountain Chapter
Denver, CO – Newly leaked chats provide a glimpse inside the Colorado and Rocky Mountain region chapters of Identity Evropa, the neo-nazi alt-right group that recently renamed itself the American Identity Movement.
The chats obtained by Unicorn Riot stretch from March into May 2019 and…
Multi-Agency Task Force Prepares “Rules of Engagement” For Line 3 Protests
MINNESOTA – Unicorn Riot has uncovered documents revealing the creation of a task force stockpiling equipment and training police in preparation for Line 3 pipeline protests across the state. The documents show coordination between various law enforcement agencies from states across the region including Minnesota,…
🦄 Prison
Federal Prosecutions From #NoDAPL Movement Continue
Bismarck, ND – Almost two years after the eviction of indigenous encampments resisting the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), federal prosecutions have continued to crack down on some of those involved.
All of the federal #NoDAPL cases stem around events on October 27, 2016, when a…
🦄 Prison
#NoDAPL Water Protector Michael ‘Rattler’ Markus Sentenced to Federal Prison
Bismarck, ND – A third federal defendant has been sentenced to prison as the US Attorney’s office continues to prosecute indigenous people involved in defending protest encampments opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in fall 2016.
Last Thursday, September 28, Michael Markus, also known as…
🦄 DAPL, Investigative, Police
Sheriffs’ Association Secretly Waged “Information War” on #NoDAPL Movement
Morton County, ND – A new investigation by DeSmog and Muckrock reveals the behind-the-scenes role played by the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) in crafting narratives for law enforcement tasked with protecting the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) from resistance by indigenous peoples and their allies.
Emails…
Dakota Access Pipeline Begins Commercial Operations
Dallas, TX – Energy Transfer Partners (who recently completed their official merger with Sunoco Logistics) announced today that the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is now operational, carrying oil from the Bakken shale fields in North Dakota to its end terminal in Patoka, Illinois. This news…
DAPL Security Leak Shows Coordinated Surveillance and Repression of Water Protectors
Bismarck, ND – Leaked documents created by military intelligence contractor TigerSwan, recently obtained and published by The Intercept, provide a previously unseen look inside the operations taken by Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) security contractors against the #NoDAPL movement. TigerSwan was contracted to coordinate DAPL security…
Dakota Access Pipeline Spills at South Dakota Pump Station
UPDATE (May 22, 2017): Since the initial news of its April 4 spill in South Dakota, reports have emerged that the Dakota Access Pipeline spilled twice in North Dakota on March 3 and March 5 of this year. The AP reports:
Bismarck, N.D. – (AP)…
North Dakota Sheriff Advising South Dakota and Nebraska on Keystone XL
Omaha, NE – The Omaha World-Herald is reporting that Kyle Kirchmeier, the sheriff of Morton County, North Dakota, is providing consultation services to law enforcement in areas where the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline (KXL) is expected to be built.
Kirchmeier is known for commanding…
Dakota Access Pipeline Sabotaged in Several States, Authorities Claim
Mahaska County, IA & Lincoln County, SD – Authorities in both South Dakota and Iowa have confirmed that alleged acts of sabotage against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) are being investigated in both states.
The Associated Press reports:
Authorities in South Dakota and Iowa confirmed…
Water Protectors Plant Trees on DAPL Construction Site
Cannon Ball, ND – This morning more than 100 water protectors entered a Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) construction site.
A live video posted to Facebook shows a crowd gathered in an area where land had been cleared. Welded sections of pipe were laid out on…
Pipeline Resistance Encampment Swells; Prepares for More Action
Standing Rock Reservation, ND – It’s been four days since construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline Missouri River crossing was slated to begin. The first three days were punctuated by constant and growing protests. On the fourth day, no workers or police showed up, though…
Fight to Protect Land & Water Intensifies Around Construction of Dakota Access Pipeline
Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, ND – A day after a dozen or so arrests, tribal members and others continue blockading construction entrance sites on day three of the stepped up direct action, leading to more arrests.
Many people from across the region heard the call…
Arrests Made as Citizens Block Dakota Access Pipeline Construction
Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, ND – Nearly a dozen arrests have been made as Indigenous tribal members and allies stand firm in their attempt to block the Dakota Access Pipeline from being built.
As the sun rose on the second day the occupation of the…
Standing Rock Tribal Members & Allies Block Entrance to Pipeline Construction Site
Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, ND – On August 10th, resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline (#DAPL, also known as the Bakken Pipeline) entered a new phase as the Army Corps of Engineers approved construction of the pipeline under the Missouri River.
Unicorn Riot has returned…
Liberation Day Honors Resistance at Wounded Knee
Pine Ridge, SD – On February 27th, 2016 Unicorn Riot attended the 43rd annual Liberation Day on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The day began with a “Four Directions Walk & Caravan” led by participants holding Medicine Staffs and American Indian Movement flags…
Pine Ridge Community Resists Genocide, Marches on Whiteclay
Local community members and allies led by “American Indian Movement” flags marched from Pine Ridge reservation into Nebraska to protest the continued funneling of alcohol from the unincorporated town of Whiteclay.
Members of the Oglala Lakota tribe, which inhabit Pine Ridge, have stated to Unicorn…