Texan Mosaic

by TOVI OYERVIDEZ//Photo Editor

Water is life. You can’t eat money.

The $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline will be put through Native American land in North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois, without their consent. This has been occurring since the beginning of summer and has received little or to no attention nationally whatsoever.  This is a very serious issue that needs to be discussed, but the mainstream media wants to be very selective with what they put out for viewers to see. The Government, politicians and money control what main news stations say or do. If there is a subject that needs less attention, money talks. In reality, the protesting occurring at the DAPL needs coverage and attention.

What the Government is doing is not only wrong, but it’s illegal to violate the National Historic Preservation Act.  The pipeline will be going through sacred land and culturally important landscapes.

When Columbus came over to “discover” America (which he didn’t), he stole the land of millions of Native Americans who where here first, believe it or not, acting as if this land was up for grabs.

This pipeline is not only against the law, it’s also very dangerous. We all know what happened with the British Petroleum oil spill. To this day, we are still affected by it, as it has really harmed our oceans and creatures living in it.

Why are we still depending on fossil fuels when we should be avoiding the idea? I hate to break it to everyone, but oil isn’t going to last forever. We should be focusing on another way to have renewable energy, because fracking and the lack of planning that is happening is only going to hurt future generations.

Many protesters and journalists have been arrested near the DAPL site for no valid reason. Actress Shailene Woodley was recently arrested for peacefully protesting and recording live footage on Facebook, which has received more than 40,000 views. This is absolutely absurd! They knew she was well known, and her being there wasn’t good, because they knew her being known would bring attention to the site, which is opposite from what they want.

I love the county I live in, which makes me grateful that I can express how I feel about this topic. However, this country needs to respect all indigenous cultures for what is rightfully theirs. Instead of building a pipeline, we should be adding more solar panels, hydroelectric power and windmills for future generations.

This topic needs to be covered more and more every day. People need to be aware of what is really going on and not be blind from the truth the government is tying to hide.