Rapid City, SD––Today the Oglala Sioux Tribe announced that it has filed suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to halt the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The Tribe filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asserting that the Corps has violated its treaty rights, the federal trust responsibility, and federal environmental law.

Oglala Sioux Tribe President Troy "Scott" Weston said, "After the Corps granted the easement for the DAPL to cross under Lake Oahe and stopped the Environmental Impact Statement process, we really had no choice but to go to court to protect our rights under the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties to safe drinking water." President Weston stated that the Tribe had worked for months with its fellow Sioux Tribes to seek a resolution through the administrative process, which ultimately resulted in the Corps deciding to perform a full Environmental Impact Statement for the DAPL. He said, however, that the Corps' latest actions demonstrated that the agency would not honor the Tribe's treaties by protecting the Missouri River and the Tribe from the threat of an oil spill.

In addition to the Tribe's treaty-protected water rights in the Missouri River, the Tribe operates the Mni Wiconi Project, which is a rural water supply project established by the Mni Wiconi Project Act of 1988. The Mni Wiconi Project provides safe drinking water to the Pine Ridge Reservation in addition to the Rosebud Reservation, Lower Brule Reservation, and the non-Indian West River/Lyman Jones water district in South Dakota. The Tribal components of the Mni Wiconi Project are held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the tribes.

President Weston said "the Dakota Access Pipeline was approved without even considering impacts to our water rights and our drinking water. The Oglala Sioux Tribe will continue to do everything we can to stop the pipeline and to protect the water protectors who are defending the sacred waters of the Missouri River."

There were police officers and National Guards standing around casually eating pizza and joking with each other. From my window I had a view of the cage where they were holding the men. I could hear them singing and chanting #mniwiconi to keep their spirits up. It felt good to hear that, I felt connected to them even though they were outside of the bus we were on because we are all one heart, one mind and one prayer.

As we were looking out the window, someone pointed out that 2 National Guard officers were taking selfies with their personal phones with a view of the men in the cage behind them. Sure enough, there they were smiling and laughing as they posed and snapped pictures of our Water Protector brothers in cages behind them who were doing their best to hold each other's spirits up. It was disgusting to see them take such pleasure in it.

We sat on the bus for hours and most of us had to pee so bad but our requests to use the bathroom were denied. At one point the female guard said "ok, stand up if you have to go bathroom and can't hold it" so we all stood up. She laughed and walked off the bus. I was in the very back of the bus and a young woman who was in the seat across the aisle couldn't hold it anymore and pee'd in her pants then jumped out of the back of the bus with zip ties still on. I assume they took her to get cleaned up but I never saw her again after that. When they had our bags labeled there was a Jane Doe bag that none of us recognized so it may have been hers.

My zip ties were hurting so bad and my hands were swollen. My right eye was hurting and I couldnt see out of it but I just tried to meditate through all of that because I knew it wouldn't do any good to ask for help. My nose and mouth still had dried mud on it and my friend Tiffany kept offering to let me wipe it on her scarf but I felt bad doing that so I just let it be. Eventually they started taking us off the bus to do mug shots and bag our clothes before we went into the kennels. When it was my turn I lilililiiii 'd towards the men's cage so my brothers would feel my love and they responded with Akiša's, war cries and shouts of "I love you!"

I hadn't slept for so long and tried to lay on the concrete inside the cage to sleep but all it did was chill me to the bone so I just sat up and waited for what felt like hours more until they took us up to our jail cells. A reporter was in there with us and she asked the jailer for her phone call but he flipped out on her and basically said we shouldn't push his kindness, like it was a gift to us.

They told us that they were going to be shipping our brothers and sisters off to several different locations and my heart sank for them. I had no idea in that moment the torture they would endure during their transfer but I already hurt for them.

There's so much running through my mind constantly.. memories of what happened and images of people I love being hurt. Some things I may never share with anyone aside from those who already know because they lived it with me. I'm trying not to let these things break my heart. It's my burden to carry and I pray for strength to do it gracefully and not let it harden my heart.