Councilwoman From East Bay Heads To Dakota Access Pipeline Protest

EAST BAY, CA – Oakland City Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan will spend a week at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota to support tribal rights and access to clean water, her office announced Friday.

Kaplan, who was recently reelected, has taken a stance against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, as she recently participated in a rally opposing the pipeline outside of Oakland City Hall.

"We must defend the water, land and the people. I am proud to be part of a city that stands up for justice. Together, we have a moral obligation to say no to poisoning our water, no to violence against those being harmed here in North Dakota, and to honor our First Nation's peoples and represent treaty rights," Kaplan said in a statement.

Activists have been protesting in Standing Rock since earlier this year to oppose the pipeline, which opponents say could pollute drinking water on land occupied by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The area is also considered to be sacred tribal burial grounds.

Earlier this week, the activists were fired on with rubber bullets and pepper spray and doused with water in subfreezing temperatures, according to Kaplan's office.

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--Bay City News/Image courtesy of Rebecca Kaplan‏@Kaplan4Oakland