WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sarah Young Bear-Brown, a citizen of the Meskwaki Nation, addresses the #ShutDownDAPL​ and #StopLine3​ rally on April 1, 2021.

Young Bear-Brown, who traveled to the rally with her family from the Meskwaki Settlement in Iowa, delivered her remarks in American Sign Language. She called on the Biden administration to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline and reject the proposed Line 3 Pipeline due to threats posed to tribes and their citizens.

“The pipelines always break. We need to stop these pipelines,” Young Bear-Brown signed outside of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters in the nation’s capital.

“Kill the black snake,” Young Bear-Brown said in leading the crowd in a chant against pipelines.

Wanted to shout out for Indigenous Environment Network and DC BLM for their help by recruits the awesome BIPOC ASL interpreters for the rallies and my speech in Washington DC. Our communication access was 100 percent! MY HEART IS HAPPY. 🤟🏾❤️🤟🏾❤️@IENearth
PC: @indianz pic.twitter.com/EcW3m4jFHm

— Sarah A. Young Bear-Brown (@SarahYoungBear1) April 3, 2021

The federal courts have determined that the final portion of the Dakota Access Pipeline was approved illegally. However, oil continues to flow through the pipeline, which runs through Sioux Nation treaty territory near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota.

The proposed Line 3 Pipeline would run oil though Ojibwe territory in northern Minnesota. Tribes in the region oppose the project.

‘Shut down DAPL’: Lakota youth bring black snake to Biden’s front door (April 2, 2021)