Rowan Blanchard Talks DAPL, Native American Genocide on Thanksgiving
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Our favorite young activist, Rowan Blanchard, is never afraid to speak up about a controversial issue.
This week, in the run-up to Thanksgiving, while most people are thinking turkey, Rowan was thinking about the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Native American Genocide.
The Dakota Access Pipeline has been a major issue in recent weeks.
The pipeline, which has been under construction for a while, has recently come under fire for building on land that some Native American tribes believe is theirs.
Although President Obama has ordered the pipeline construction halted, the company behind it has gone ahead and ignored the requests.
The result was that the Native American tribes, along with many activists from across the country, have been protesting for weeks. Recently, however, the protests have turned violent, with police and protestors clashing.
The police argue that the protestors attacked them; however, most evidence suggests that the protestors were attacked. Several protestors have been injured or maimed in the conflict.
Now, however, Rowan Blanchard is speaking up about the issue. She recently posted a change.org petition about it, and has since said this:
We CANNOT be silent about this! #NODAPL Down w the pipeline, down w colonialism, down w Native American genocide https://t.co/xNnPbzjoT6 RT
-- Rowan Blanchard (@rowblanchard) November 22, 2016
Since then, Rowan has asked her followers to call and speak out the about the issue.
The reference to "Native American genocide" has drawn controversy, with some making genuine points about the issue:
@rowblanchard wtf! When was the last time their was a Native American genocide!!!!!???? I get the other stuff, that's my friends tribe but..
-- Stephen Kaleb Smith (@StephenKalebSm) November 23, 2016
Others, however, have had obnoxious or just plain racist responses to Rowan.
On Instagram, meanwhile, she said this:
Nevertheless, Rowan has had the courage to speak up, which is especially important on a day when we are supposed to be celebrating the kinship between settlers and Native Americans.
The Dakota Access Pipeline, and the injuries related to the protests, are a significant and underreported issue. Rowan reminded us of that this week.
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