The Sovereign Voice Issue 5 | Page 88

of the environment. All of these protests seem to have been placed in the media spotlight, at least to some extent. However, there is one specific protest which has largely been ignored by corporate media, and there may be a very specific reason as to why. To a large degree, the topics of human rights and environmental responsibility have been overlooked in corporate media. It seems that unless an issue is useful in creating dramatic appeal and boosting ratings, it receives little or no attention. It seems that any coverage for such important issues as human rights is completely devoid of actual humanity, and the true motive of these reports is only exploitation of the plight of those in need. One specific story seems to be all but completely blacked out from the corporate media. This is, of course, the protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline. THE RIGHT TO EXIST For the majority of the world's population, the general right to life is an absolute fact. By common definition of the any valid constitution (whether written or implied), the general right to live and to prosper has been a mainstay from ancient to modern times. However, in modern day America, this right has been habitually and increasingly denied. Here in the United States we find a government that only feigns the statutes of freedom, justice, and equality. This acting governance has historically violated and dismissed the rights of the people both domestically and abroad—using corporate wealth as a weapon against the impoverished. THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE STANDING ROCK OYATE In third world countries across the world, this American governance has played accomplice to the crooked money launderers and corporate thieves of the world, standing by as these financial powers robbed the poor of what little livelihood they had. From Brazil to Venezuela to Syria and Ukraine, the American governance has overseen the financial ruin of millions of people, and assisted in the destruction of millions of hectares. This governance has stayed true to this assault upon human rights in the case of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The situation in North Dakota is significant not simply for one tribe of Natives, but for the entire United States, as well as all of those which government powers have exploited and abused. However, before we get to the details, let's gain a general understanding of the situation. U.S. GOVERNMENT BANS NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBE FROM PROTESTING ON THEIR OWN LAND – SEND IN POLICE TO REMOVE PROTESTERS Since April of this year, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe—along with a steadily growing congregation of supporters from other tribes—have taken up the resistance against a government which has historically and consistently abused and killed the ancestors of these people. This unified support from around the country consists of hundreds of members from numerous tribes, all who have pledged to protect the land from those who control the American government. These acting authorities seem to see this land as nothing more than a business venture—that which only exists to be used, abused, and exploited. DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE THREAT: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW The issues of this controversy go deep. However, despite the wide range of issues there are to the story, TheSovereignVoice.Org