On Monday evening, November 21, at 7 p.m.,  three local activists recently returned from  Standing Rock, North Dakota, recounted their on-site experiences and shared images of the  current crisis there. The program, which was held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship was free and open to the public.

For months the  human rights violations and  environmental  harm being done in the area of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) have been all but suppressed by mainstream media. Despite this, a major international campaign has grown from the original grassroots movement. Last month committed Robin and Eddie Mahonen and Rev. Thomas Schmidt  of St. Augustine  traveled to the site to lend support for the movement and to  report back to our community on what they have witnessed with their own eyes. 

 The pipeline company  reports that the  project is continuing “full throttle” through sacred burial sites and that it intends to continue tunneling under the Missouri River, which provides drinking water for 17 million people downstream.  Unarmed “water protectors” have met with a strong militarized police response. Petitions, letters, and actions were available for signing during a later reception.  

 For information, call Jo Anne Engelbert 904-460-1190.  Sponsored by Amnesty International, Compassionate St. Augustine,  and the UU Fellowship of St. Augustine.