Highway 55 Protesters Try Different Tactics
12/26/98
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Opponents of Highway Re-Route Attach Themselves to Trees,
Picket Governor's Mansion
Source: The Associated Press
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: December 26 1998
MINNEAPOLIS -- Foes of the rerouting of Highway 55 are trying a
different tactic in attempting to stop the highway project; they
chained themselves to four trees that some American Indians say are
sacred.
The protesters, who began their occupation Thursday morning, said
they will take shifts in the icy weather to guard the trees. The
group varied in size on Thursday from six to 20.
On Friday, about a half-dozen other protesters tried still another
tactic; they picketed in front of the governor's mansion in St. Paul.
Meanwhile, attorneys for the protesters have filed state and federal
lawsuits aimed at protecting the trees and stopping the road. The
suits ask for more studies of the area's cultural and environmental
significance before the project proceeds.
Several weeks ago, the road opponents asked state and federal highway
officials to order supplemental environmental studies, arguing the
project would disrupt sites sacred to the Dakota Indians.
Members of the group Earth First! and Indian activists occupied seven
houses two blocks north of the four trees. They were thrown out
Sunday in a raid by more than 600 state and local law enforcement
officers. About three dozen people were arrested. (Full Story)
"They're trespassing again, and they're subject to arrest," said Bob
McFarlin, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Officials have no imminent plans to cut down trees that lie in the
road's path, he said.
The area where the trees stand, one block outside the city limits, is
a focal point of the road dispute. The Dakota have said the four
trees in a diamond pattern were used as a burial platform and for
prayer by their ancestors.
The University of Minnesota, however, measured the age of similar-
sized trees in the area, and state officials said that proved that
the trees are too young to have been used that way.
The four "sacred trees" are among some 40 oaks expected to be cleared
to make way for the latest segment of a four-lane parkway that will
connect the airport to downtown. Construction in the disputed area is
scheduled to begin next summer.