Action Items for Those at a Loss

by Kelsey Hamlin

Over the past few weeks, people have come to me asking what they should do in the face of distress. I've listened to a sea of community members talk about being trapped in a state of limbo, though desperately wanting to act.

Unfortunately, all of this is happening as a result of U.S. president-elect, Donald Trump, winning office despite running a campaign short on substantive policies and heavy on hateful rhetoric. Specific jobs, movements, identities, and people have already been targeted by his campaign and many fear it will only get worse. But what can people do? What can allies do?

Well, here's one list of action items — I plan to make separate lists for how best to support undocumented immigrants, Muslims, journalism/journalists, LGBTQIA+, marginalized communities, Black Lives Matter, women's rights, environmental concerns, and Flint, Mich. Stay posted.

Standing Rock, North Dakota (DAPL)

Call list

Officials

• Mandan PD Chief Jason Ziegler (701) 667-3250
  
• Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier (701) 667-3330
• The White House (202) 456-1111 or (202) 456-1414
• North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple (701) 328-2200
• Army Corp of Engineers (202) 761-5903
• Executives of Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), L.P.
  • Lee Hanse, EVP (210) 403-6455
  • Green Emery, VP (210) 403-6762
  • Michael (Cliff) Waters, lead analyst (713) 989-2404

Organizations

• North Dakota's Department of Labor and Human Rights
  • Human rights discrimination intake questionnaire/form
  • Complaint inquiry forms can be filled out against specific officers, privately hired DAPL personnel, etc. if they cause unjust harm or use excessive force
• Department of Justice
  • File a complaint, ask for an investigation on the department
• The United Nations
  • Ask the UNDP to investigate
  • Take a look at their Human Rights division, and file something

Companies invested in DAPL

• Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan (866) 249-3302
• Citibank / CitiGroup CEO Michael Corbat (212) 793-1201
• Citizens Bank (781) 471-1454
• DNB First Bank CEO and President William Hieb (610) 269-1040
• ING Bank office (646) 424-6000
• TD Securities office (212) 827-7000
• Natixis office (617) 449-2100
• Societe General office (212) 278-6000
• BNP Paribas CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafe (212) 841-3000
• SunTrust Communications Officer Sue Mallino (404) 813-0463
• The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ office (212) 782-4000
• Mizuho Bank office (212) 282-3000
• S. Bank brand, corporate social responsibility, and sponsorship manager Susan Beatty (612) 303-9229
• JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon (212) 270-1111
• Bank of America Executive Relations, office of the CEO (813) 805-4873
• Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman (212) 761-4000
• Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein (917) 743-0939 or (212) 902-0593

Donations

Journalism / coverage, the public's right to accurate, on-the-ground coverage

• Support Unicorn Riot, an alternative media outlet that has someone on the ground constantly
• Support the Indigenous Environmental Network, an environmental media outlet that has a permanent spot located in the campsite and is run by Indigenous Peoples (There's a PayPal "donate" button at the very bottom of their page!)
• Support Democracy Now!, a nonprofit news organization that's been doing great coverage of DAPL and the protectors.
  • You can even specify that it's in honor of someone [feel free to choose from the list of names above, and grab their email to let them know you donated in their name]

Help pay legal fees

• Purchase a poster from freelance photojournalist Alex Garland, money goes to the Water Protector Legal Collective
• Help protectors pay for legal fees (like bail, towing, etc) via this Legal Defense Fund
• The Standing Rock Sioux tribe is explicitly seeking paypal donations that will go toward emergency, sanitary, and legal purposes

Winterizing

• Send these items to this address

Oceti Sakowin Camp, P.O. Box 298
Cannon Ball, North Dakota 58528

• Another wish list to look at for donation items

Broad donations

• The Sacred Stone Camp's GoFundMe
• The Red Warrior Camp's GoFundMe
• One young woman's GoFundMe where donations go toward winterizing and also equipment (chemical resistant goggles, ear plugs, gas masks) to prevent harm done to protectors
• Honor The Earth is an organization that has been helping water protectors
• The Oceti Sakowin Camp's Donate Page

Educate

• Here's the Standing Rock Syllabus for those looking to actively teach students. It also contains a very detailed timeline dating back to the 1400s.
• If you're going, read the camp guidelines:
  • The Sacred Stone Camp's
• Check your teaching curriculum, see if it isn't inclusive or up-to-date.
• Here's a worksheet from the National Museum of the American Indian for choosing children's literature on the matter.
• Here's more recommended books from Teaching for Change
• Check #StepUpScholastic, a campaign to get accurate representation in the books Scholastic chooses
• Here's some things to bring up surrounding history and human rights, a timeline, from the Zinn Education Project

Volunteer

• If you have media, legal, or doctor skills: email sacredstonecamp@gmail.com, or call (701) 301-2238.
• Fly over to North Dakota (approximately $600 round-trip)
• Talk to other people about what's going on. People in rural areas [even in Washington] still aren't familiar with DAPL and the protectors.

How to stay updated

• Follow the Standing Rock Asheville Council's Facebook page for what's most needed at any given moment
• Follow Dallas Goldtooth on Twitter @dallasgoldtooth
• Follow Unicorn Riot on Twitter @UR_Ninja (and follow them on Facebook)
• Follow Democracy Now! on Twitter @democracynow
• Follow reporter Ruth Hopkins @RuthHHopkins
• Follow freelance photographer Alex Garland on Facebook
• Get to know your local organizers, like Matt Remle
• Follow Standing Rock Rising on Facebook

Currently, there's been some back-and-forth about ordering water protectors to evacuate their campsites by a specific day. Keep an eye on this.

Kelsey Hamlin is a reporter with South Seattle Emerald, and interned with the publication this summer. She has worked with various Seattle publications. Currently, Hamlin is a University of Washington student, and the President of the UW Chapter's Society of Professional Journalists. Hamlin is a journalism major at the University of Washington with interdisciplinary Honors, and a minor in Law, Societies & Justice. Find her on Twitter @ItsKelseyHamlin or see her other work on her website.

Featured image by Alex Garland