August 31st, 2016 - North Dakota - The #NoDAPL water protectors who have come to stand with Standing Rock Sioux Tribe took non-violent direct action by locking themselves to construction equipment. This is "Happy" American Horse from the Sicangu Nation, hailing from Rosebud.
A drawn-out legal battle, that has been ongoing since 2019, has come to a close, according to the North Dakota Monitor.
The state reached a final settlement of $28 million from the federal government over policing and cleanup costs from the 2016 and 2017 Dakota Access Pipeline protests. Indigenous activist Winona LaDuke said in testimony that the protesters could have cleaned up the camps if the state had given them more time.
This settlement is the same amount awarded by Judge Dan Traynor in 2025, and will prevent more taxpayer money being spent on legal fees, as the state spent $7.5 million. A.G. Wrigley says that will be covered by the settlement, and will pay off a state loan used to cover the initial protest expenses.
The Justice Department maintains that they disagree with Judge Dan Traynor’s original ruling, but admit that the federal government could have done more to reduce the impact on North Dakota.
Read Mary Steurer’s reporting for the North Dakota Monitor here.
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