Why Indigenous People are Always the Ones Sacrificing?

Picture from Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

The American government should be in front of those tanks, not the people caring for the land. Watching video clips of protests in North Dakota of Native Americans and journalists standing in front of the tanks and being attacked by the armies with paper sprays, guns and other military forces is terrible. I am furious and stunned to see that the U.S. government is fighting against their own people who are for the interests of the land. The U.S government should align with the well-being of the Native Americans and the land not greedy companies.

Taiwan has a similar situation in that the government is destroying the only natural land in Taiwan for so called “development.” The indigenous people living in Hualien which is famous for its natural landscapes and houses many indigenous people, is plundered by the big government. The government exploits lands and violates indigenous people’s human rights for more tourism —— money. It is heartbreaking to say that Taiwan’s indigenous people were not able to protect the land after all.

It makes me wonder why indigenous people are always the ones sacrificing while protecting lands? Native American are exploited for a long time since the Mayflower docked at the Plymouth. The Europeans came and “developed” the land, however, it is not only history. The U.S government is still doing this, regardless of potential impacts imposed on the indigenous people.

I really don’t understand the logic of building more pipelines when the world is facing such a serious climate change issue. At this critical moment, what the American government should do is to develop more clean energies and reduce people’s reliances on the fossil fuels that are consuming our planet. However, it is clear that American government is doing the opposite for the interest of big companies. In other words, they are the accomplice of climate change. 

I am here advocating for people to stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline Construction. I am not an American but I care. This is America’s domestic affair no more; this is an international affair when considering climate change. We can write to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to express our gratitude toward their braveness. By writing to these gladiators, we are raising the global awareness of the issue and calling the government's attention to tackle this problem and aligning  with the people who care.