We're not seeing much about this in any of our local or national news, but since I still have friends who live near the DAPL protest site south of Bismarck, N.D., where I lived until a year ago, I have been receiving some pretty regular updates. I am just wondering where all the environmental protesting do-gooders are now, since cleanup work began last week.
The local television news in Bismarck aired a video of the clean-up efforts. It is estimated that it is going to take weeks and 250 garbage-hauling dump trucks to take away the abandoned tents, tepees, sleeping bags, blankets, camping gear, unused food items and donated supplies as well as human waste and garbage from the frozen ground of the sacred Oceti Sakowin camp. Oh, and someone gets to sift through all of the trash, to make sure nothing "toxic" or illegal ends up in the landfill.
Where are the environmental protesters now? Well, a few of them stayed, and were blocking Highway 1806 last week so that the garbage truck drivers couldn't go forward with their task. I guess these people who are so concerned about the environment would prefer the frozen heaps of trash that were left in the floodplain of the Missouri River banks (and it will flood this year) go for a ride down the river and sink to the bottom of Lake Oahe. If only protesters hadn't lit two vehicles on fire which closed the Backwater Bridge last fall, the route to the Bismarck landfill would be much shorter - another environmental "fail." But don't worry. You can help by making a donation to help with the estimated $200,000-$250,000 in cleanup costs on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's website.
Shawn Marie Brummer
Brainerd
