U.S. Bank, Port Angeles & Sequim

Saturday, March 4, 2017, 11 – noon

In response to the sudden announcement that the Trump administration plans to abrogate the Environmental Impact Statement process and bulldoze the sovereign rights of indigenous people at Standing Rock in order to push the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) through their ancestral lands, OCA, in partnership with the Clallam Progressives and the Racial Justice Collective, will picket outside the U.S. Bank branches in Port Angeles, 134 E. 7th St. (corner of Lincoln), and Sequim, 101 W. Washington St. (corner of Sequim Avenue).  Bring signs and dress for the weather.

U.S. Bank is among a number of banks financing DAPL, and a worldwide movement is calling to divest from these banks if they won’t withdraw their DAPL investments.  Seattle just passed a resolution to divest their accounts at Wells Fargo, another DAPL investor.  In Clallam County, several local governments bank with U.S. Bank.  Such demonstrations and divestment demands are being staged around the country.

This protest is not against our local bank branches, staffed by our neighbors and doing everyday community banking.  Rather, this protest is against their corporate executives, who often follow a very different agenda.  In coming weeks, we will start a dialogue about ethics and investments by individuals and institutions.

Here are messages from Sacred Stone Camp and the #NoDAPL 2017 Action Hub.  There the protesters are risking prosecution, jail, and worse to protect their sacred lands and water, and the water supply of millions.  We quite simply do not need any new pipelines, and the sooner we get onto clean energy, the better off we’ll all be.

Finally, a word from Arnold Schwarzenegger about an offer you can’t refuse!