Costs Grow for Tribal Members in Their Protest of North Dakota Pipeline

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The protest led by Native Americans against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota has turned into a huge financial challenge for the protesters. Money is being raised and spent and approaching winter will present another kind of challenge for those fighting the $3.8 billion pipeline being built by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners.

A fund to feed the protesters, many from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, has topped $1 million.  More than $200,000 was donated late last week after police moved in and started removing some of the protesters from private land.

But it’s not lasting long. And the protesters are finding their fight is anything but cheap. It’s not a matter of carrying a sign and chanting against police.

“The money goes as quickly as it comes, but without it having been as much as it is, we certainly wouldn’t have been able to be as productive as we have been in the fight,” said Ho Waste Wakiya Wicasa, the protester who set up the GoFundMe account.

While the protesters are spending thousands on grocery store trips, they’ve also spent $160,000 on yurts or tents, thousands on bail money, composting toilets, tepees, and even generators powered by solar panels and wind.

Another online legal defense fund has raised more than $655,000. The tribe also is reported to be using at least $1.3 million in direct donations for the legal fight. But Standing Rock Sioux chairman Dave Archambault won’t say how much tribal leaders have spent so far.