Central ND News

As the legal battle over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) continues, a new chapter is unfolding in North Dakota. The state’s lawsuit to recover $38 million in cleanup costs highlights the ongoing impact of the demonstrations on local communities. 

For residents like Amy Dahl, a 45-year-old mother from Huff, the impact of the protests is still being felt.

Dahl, whose husband’s family has lived in North Dakota for generations, was directly affected by the unrest. She described how the protests created deep tensions in her community.

“The general impact on the community of the protests and protesters really divided our community into town folks versus protesters and their supporters," Dahl told Central ND News. “The protesters really stood out in town with their Woodstock Era fashion and general no shower campfire smell. It felt as if a lot of effort to stand out was made. It created a lot of trouble in the two towns of Bismark and Mandan.”

For Dahl, the presence of protesters created a sense of anxiety for local residents.

"It created a general unease and distrust because when you saw a group, you didn’t know what trouble was about to happen,” she said. “They were not peaceful, and the general air was they were there to make our community as uncomfortable as possible."

Dahl's comments reflect a frustration felt by many residents who saw much of the unrest as an outsider-driven movement.

"Most were not local, via their license plates it was known they traveled in from other states and some were bussed in," she said. "They did not stay at the DAPL site; they terrorized businesses and the ranching community outside of town."

One incident involved a teenage girl, who was reportedly accosted by a protester while riding her horse.

"A young teenage neighbor girl out riding her horse was verbally accosted by a protester from New York City who was 'sageing' our road while yelling at her that her family 'stole' this land," Dahl said. "She was severely frightened by this experience, and my husband had to go block this woman from wandering up the road until law enforcement could arrive."

Beyond the protesters’ actions, Dahl also spoke about the lack of support from higher levels of government, which led locals to pitch in to support law enforcement efforts.

“The other important impact that stood out the most was our community's support of Law Enforcement,” she said. “Due to the lack of support & response by the Obama administration & The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reign in the destructive riotous ‘protests’ happening on federal land, many communities and neighboring states lent us Law Enforcement officers to help mitigate the chaos we were being subjected to. We gathered food, drinks and many homemade goods to keep these officers as comfortable as possible. Many opened their homes for lodging.”

In response to the rising tensions, local communities banded together and created Facebook groups to keep residents informed and prepared for the possibility of protests turning violent. Dahl often found herself picking up her children early from school to avoid potential conflicts.

“I was caught unaware twice with protests,” she said. “The first was at the Law Enforcement blockade just south of the Veterans Cemetery on Hwy 1806. I was traveling North to Mandan to pick up my children 5 and 9 at the time, I came near the blockade and was stopped by at least 50-60 protesters who swarmed my vehicle. They were waving signs at me and dangling smoking coffee cans hanging from sticks over my vehicle.” 

According to Dahl, the second encounter was even more traumatic. 

“The second and most heinous time was on Thanksgiving Day,” she said. “While traveling we were stopped where hundreds of protesters had gathered in the middle of an intersection in Mandan. Both my children witnessed first hand the depravity of this. One protester was wielding on a post a severed hogs head and many were waving signs that read ‘Death to the Pilgrims,’ ‘Die cops’ and many other derogatory hateful and violent signs. More hate to LEOs and White people than environmental concerns were represented that day.”

Dahl was particularly disturbed by what she described as the exploitation and mistreatment of women at the encampments.

“The illegal DAPL encampment had an unwritten rule that non-native American women had to wear skirts in order to camp there,” she said. “There were many reports of rape and gross sexual misconduct. I witnessed many young female protesters in town dirty and unkept crying in the parking lots several times. A news article reported someone had tied their grandmother up in a TP and left her there for several days without care. Again none of this had to do with Water or Environmental concerns.” 

The most lasting impact, however, was the cleanup effort following the dismantling of the camps.

“The most notable and lasting impact happened right after the camp was finally cleared,” Dahl said. “The cleanup. Living near the Highway that led to the illegal encampment I witnessed dozens of County dump trucks hauling load after load of trash for days. For so-called environmentalists they left a massive cleanup project on the federal land they were illegally allowed to inhabit.”

Dahl also noted the condition left behind after the camp was cleared.

“Tents, structures, vehicles,environmentally catastrophic human waste, dead animals, fuel cans, oil, personal belongings & garbage of every sort,” Dahl said. “After terrorizing our communities and our law enforcement for months, we the taxpayers, the stewards of the land footed the entire cleanup bill for the very land that they were viciously ‘protecting’ land that we as residents can't even ride an atv on without the threat of a citation and fine.”