The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
#DefundDAPL movement goes local; focuses on Wells Fargo and Bank of the West patrons
by Crystal Kotowski
Local water protectors will rally at Bank of the West in Crested Butte at 3 p.m. and Wells Fargo in Gunnison at 4 p.m. this Friday, March 3 in hopes of spurring divestment from institutions financing the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
Immediately following the divestment rally, there will be an open house educational event and fundraiser for Standing Rock at the Local Market in downtown Gunnison at 5 p.m.
The group of Western State Colorado University students who traveled to Oceti Sakowin organized the event and will be showcasing photographs they took documenting the movement and resistance camps. There will be a silent auction of local art and gifts to raise funds.
According to the Defund DAPL website, $72,132,910.22 from personal accounts and $4,071,000,000 from city accounts have been divested from banks directly financing DAPL and providing lines of credit as of February 21.
Gunnison County locals decided to organize this event in response to the leadership council at Standing Rock putting out the call for such divestment—and after seeing how effective it has been for other communities, including Santa Monica and Seattle. The goal is not to target and harm the banks and the people who work there, but rather to give customers information to make an informed choice upon knowing the bank’s policies.
“What we are doing is staging a collective action for people who are willing to divest their finances away from institutions that are invested in the DAPL,” said organizer Landan Schaller.
“With the current situation of Standing Rock—camps being shut down, administration and government running rough-shod over the Constitution, human rights, civil rights, and environmental necessities—one of the only truly effective ways that us common people can combat DAPL is to yank as many funds from under it as possible,” continued Schaller. “Also, from the perspective of an effective social movement, this gathers a lot of attention and actively forces the hand of investors to become more cognizant of the public’s desires. These are my goals, that people will see us and become aware of how to reclaim the political voice of their own money.”
Researchers with the nonprofit Food & Water Watch found that 38 banking institutions are involved in financing the proposed pipeline. Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, recently wrote an article for YES! suggesting that banks are more susceptible to public pressure than are the oil and gas giants, which depend on bank loans and lines of credit to build their pipelines. “It’s probably sustained public pressure that will do the most good,” McKibben wrote.
Schaller agrees. “This is more of a rally for divestment and public education than anything else,” he said of Friday’s actions. “I would like to see this event raise consciousness about the way that the seemingly benign funds we put into bank accounts actually have an effect in the world and therefore a political voice.
“Norwegian citizens pressured their banks this way, and it resulted in a significant investment being withdrawn from the DAPL funding. Likewise, the various cities and universities in the U.S. that have been divesting from Wells Fargo and BNP Paribas (Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas) are taking millions of dollars away from DAPL funders, and, perhaps more important, sending a clear message politically that the people of these communities do not want to continue earth-damaging business practices,” continued Schaller.
“On a personal level,” Schaller said, “I have another commitment to this event, which is specifically to see it not turn into a protest. I have been doing a lot of soul-searching throughout the Standing Rock ordeal, and one of my biggest concerns is that we keep our unity and keep this movement peaceful and prayerful.
“I’ve been to some protests, at Standing Rock and otherwise, and I think it often escalates into a confrontation that is more about venting frustrations than about demonstrating what is right. I am going to the event on Friday to drum and sing some sacred Lakota songs; I don’t have any funds to divest, so I’m just going to be there to keep the mood in the right place. To honor the efforts of the water protectors, to honor the Lakota people and the indigenous worldview that began this whole process, it is paramount that we do every action with the spirit of love and kindness as our vanguard. This is what it means to walk in prayer; it doesn’t have to be religious, just full of the right kind of spirit.”
To learn more about the Defund DAPL movement, including the full list of banks financing DAPL, visit www.defunddapl.org/defund.
