Muslims in US Urged to Support Native Americans Fighting for Their Lands

The campaign urges all Muslims across the country to flock to Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Cannonball, North Dakota on October 10, 2016 in gesture of solidarity with Native Americans as they protest the construction of a multi-billion dollar oil pipeline.

Native Americans are challenging the US Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant permits for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners' Dakota Access pipeline, which crosses the Dakotas and Iowa to Illinois, including near the reservation in southern North Dakota. A federal judge will rule before Sept. 9 whether construction can be halted on the Dakota Access pipeline.

Native Americans are worried that the pipeline will negatively impact water quality on their reservation and imperil cultural heritage sites.

The months-long protests which have seen the largest gathering of Native Americans in more than 100 years, turned violent on Saturday as protesters confronted construction crews at the site just outside the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.

Sumiyeh Saiedi, who launched the Facebook campaign, urged Muslims on Sunday to attend the “protests in North Dakota, to show support and solidarity for the Native Americans who are fighting for their water and environment.”

The full text of her statement is as follows:

I know that we have all participated in the efforts to bring greater awareness of the crimes of the Apartheid regime against Palestinians. What might not have been discussed in your local Islamic communities, though, is that Native Americans are the original victims of apartheid. In my area, organizers have begun outreach efforts to all the disenfranchised communities—people of color, Native Americans, Muslims—to stand together on the same team, seeking justice together.

My husband and I began with a small step: attending the National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, Massachusetts last year. We are in contact with that community now and hope to remain active in their attempts to correct the effects of--or at least draw attention to--the colonialist origins of this country.

So what is my campaign? I have already spoken to a few members of the DC community about traveling as a Muslim group to the site of the protests in North Dakota, to show support and solidarity for the Native Americans who are fighting for their water and environment. I consider this action to be the same as the Palestinians who reached out to African Americans in the early days of the Ferguson protests.

Why do I reach out to you?

*Because post-9/11, too many Muslims in America have taken a fearful view from the sidelines, too apprehensive to fight for their own rights or the rights of anyone else.

*Because Muslims have not yet effectively joined the greater struggles of oppressed peoples and we need to do so.

*Because we are seeking the participation of Muslim communities from all over the US. (If you are located closer to North Dakota than I am, you might be able to provide me with important logistical details about traveling there.)

My plan is to be at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Cannonball, North Dakota on October 10, 2016—yes, how appropriate to be there on “Columbus/Genocide Day”. It’s a long drive for folks from the east coast and we might only be able to stay one or two days at the most. But I want to go and tell them that the Muslim community sees your struggle, we recognize you as brothers, and if possible be able to give a small donation. At the very least, we can begin to publicize their struggles among our Muslim communities and create greater awareness.

If there is ANYTHING that you can contribute to this campaign, I’d be very happy to receive it! If you already know of participation from the Muslims in your area regarding this issue, PLEASE put me in touch with them.

Your sister in Islam, in the Struggle for Justice,

Sumiyeh Saiedi