While the news that the Army Corps of Engineers denied the final permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline and will be producing an environmental-impact statement is a huge victory for the water protectors, this is not over yet. We have less than 7 weeks - not including the upcoming slew of Federal holidays - to push President Obama to make Standing Rock a national monument through the power of the Antiquities Act. 

A proclamation under the Antiquities Act is not the same as an Executive Order, which could be easily undone by Trump. Congress would have to pass a bill abolishing the monument, Trump would have to sign the bill into law, and then the courts would have the final say. The courts have a long history of supporting the Antiquities Act when challenged, but at the very least the legal battle would take time.

Every day has been harder and colder for the heroic water protectors in North Dakota, who have been viciously and unjustly attacked while they remain unarmed. Meanwhile, President Obama could end all of this and come out on the right side of history with the stroke of a pen.

If you’ve been joining the demonstrations of thousands across the country in support of Standing Rock, it’s easy to feel like everyone is paying attention. Let me assure you they are not. The media is still distracted by the inflammatory tweets of the same man that has captured them like a cat with a laser pointer for the last year. By all means, we must keep getting out in the streets, but let’s also spend time urging our outgoing president to wield a valuable tool at his disposal that he has already used more than any other president in history. 

So, pick up your phone and call the White House today to tell President Obama to protect the water that millions rely on by making Standing Rock a national monument. The number to call the White House with your comments is 202-456-1111. 

We also urge you to email the President by going to the contact page of whitehouse.gov and to write and mail hand-written letters to the president. We know that he reads 10 of the public’s letters every night that his team selects as representative of all the emails and letters that come in the door. Let’s make sure he is getting letters about his moral obligation to make Standing Rock a national monument every…single…night. 

So if protecting our water from Big Oil is important to you, then be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about Calling on President Obama to Make Standing Rock a National Monument via social media so that others in your network can take action too.

Stand up. Fight back. There is no time to lose.

TAKE ACTION 

Call the White House comments line at 202-456-1111

Get the info to write to the President by visiting the contact page on whitehouse.gov

EDUCATE YOURSELF

The Historic Victory at Standing Rock (The Atlantic)

Standing Rock: Tulsi Gabbard on What the Dakota Pipeline Decision Means (Rolling Stone) 

FAQ: The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's Litigation on the Dakota Access Pipeline (Earth Justice)

President Obama: Declare a "Standing Rock" national monument to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline (Our Revolution)

Posted December 6, 2016, written by Best of the Left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman.

Hear this segment in the context of the latest Best of the Left Edition #1062: Defend the Sacred Dakota Access Pipeline