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While Humboldt County is seeing hundreds of people come here to find work trimming cannabis, thousands of people are gathering at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation in North Dakota for a higher purpose. They’re protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. During our recent trip to Willow Creek to speak with trimmigrants, LoCO got the opportunity to hear from two women who attended the protest.

Mercedes Bennett and Celestina Fisher were headed to Junction City after a cross-country road trip from Michigan when they stopped at Happy Bear Gifts along Highway 299 in Willow Creek. We asked if they were in the area for “trimming season,” but the conversation immediately took a turn when the duo starting talking about their recent experience at the Dakota Access Pipeline Protest. 

If you’re not familiar, the Dakota Access Pipeline is a project by the Fortune 500 company Energy Transfer Partners. It would run more than 1,100 miles from North Dakota to Illinois, transporting around half a million barrels of crude oil per day. It would run within a half mile of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation and under the Missouri River. Concerns have sparked a massive protest to halt construction.

PREVIOUSLY

• (AUDIO) Hoopa Tribal Chair Ryan Jackson Talks About Standing Rock Protests, Local Tribal Support
• Local Tribes Rally in Support of Standing Rock Sioux’s Dakota Pipeline Battle
• (PHOTOS) More Humboldters Stand with Standing Rock