How Facebook is helping Native Americans protect their land

People have been using Facebook to 'check in' to the location. Dozens of Ghanaians have also been part on the action.

The action is in response to a viral post claiming that doing so would help protect activists in North Dakota from police surveillance.

Facebook users have been sharing a status update to encourage other users to check in to the location, no matter where they are in the world, in order to “overwhelm and confuse” law enforcement, though police deny tracking activists on social media.

Protesters from more than 90 Native American nations have been camping out at the site since April. In recent months that have been joined by other protesters in support.

They are against the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, saying it would jeopardize the tribe’s water supply and threaten sacred tribal sites.

Early on Monday, a Facebook post said that the Morton County sheriff’s department was using Facebook check-ins to target people at the protest camp.

“Water Protecters are calling on EVERYONE to check-in at Standing Rock, ND to overwhelm and confuse them,” the post said, going on to urge that everyone copy and share the text along with their check-in.

While the origin of the text is not known, the message spread quickly with people in solidarity of the protesters copying the status and then taking the action themselves.

The pipeline’s proposed route, to transport fracked crude oil from the Bakken oilfield in North Dakota to a refinery near Chicago, would cross the Missouri river just upstream of the reservation.

The action has been dominating American and international news, with thousands of people camping out on land in the area. Celebrities have lent their weight to the cause and hundreds of protesters have been arrested in a number of clashes with the police.

Actor Mark Ruffalo, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, US TV anchor Amy Goodman are some of the bigger names to support the protest.

On Facebook, people checking-in to Standing Rock have left reviews and comments why they are there.

Kathya Borjas wrote “I stand in solidarity with the respect to our native tribes, as well as the well-being of our nation and citizens.”

Robert Krinsky posted “My prayers are with you in your struggle to be free. May the selfish people see the harm they have committed and change their ways.”

From Italy, Shoshanna Zuckerman said “With you in spirit from Bologna, Italy. We will, we must protect and defend our Mother.”

However, conspiracy and rumour-busting website Snopes have been investigating the viral post and action. They say the post is likely a hoax.

And on its Facebook page, the Morton County sheriff’s department says it was “not monitoring Facebook check-ins for the protest camp or any location for that matter. These rumors/claims are completely false.”

Despite this, those on site have spoken to international media outlets and on social media saying the posts draw attention to the cause and show solidarity regardless.

Meanwhile, a United Nations human rights expert has called on the United States to halt the construction of the oil pipeline, citing significant risks to the drinking water of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the potential destruction of their burial grounds and sacred sites.

“The tribe was denied access to information and excluded from consultations at the planning stage of the project and environmental assessments failed to disclose the presence and proximity of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation,” said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, in a press release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The Special Rapporteur’s call comes after a temporary halt to construction and the recognition of the need to hold “government-to-government consultations” made by the US Departments of the Army, Justice and of the Interior. The 1,172 mile (1,890 kilometres) pipeline is being built by the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Energy Transfer LLC Corporation.

The Special Rapporteur also warned that tribal leaders and community members who have turned to peaceful protests to halt the pipeline’s construction have been reportedly intimidated, harassed and prosecuted. “The U.S. authorities should fully protect and facilitate the right to freedom of peaceful assembly of indigenous peoples, which plays a key role in empowering their ability to claim other rights,” she highlighted.

The expert urged the United States Government to undertake a “thorough review” of its compliance with international standards regarding the obligation to consult with indigenous peoples and obtain their free and informed consent.