The Standing Rock Sioux and the activists protecting the Missouri River in North Dakota from the access pipeline won a victory earlier this week when the Army Corps of engineers denied an easement for the pipeline. It will now have to be rerouted around the river, and while the Sioux are optimistic it’s unclear whether the easement will be sustained under Trump or whether the companies in charge of the pipeline will comply with the order. (They have vowed not to.) Although many people will stick around to guard the river, some activists are leaving the encampment and just in time to avoid the even harsher winter conditions in the area. They have plenty of donated supplies, including a bunch of bottled water they no longer need. They’re planning on donating it to Flint, Michigan where residents are still despicably without clean running water in their homes. Musician Dave Matthews is among the activists traveling from Standing Rock to Flint to donate the water and help bring awareness to the ongoing water crisis there:

Musician Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews Band says he is ready to come to Flint to help out with water crisis efforts with North Dakota activist.

Matthews who was in North Dakota supporting the water protectors as they fought against a pipeline project to run under a lake near a Native American reservation said he is working with a group to bring bottled water to Flint.

“The case of Flint and the case here in Standing Rock is a real problem that doesn’t fit the narrative of what big media is,” said Matthews. “It fails because it doesn’t make people feel good. It’s irresponsible journalism. It’s irresponsible leadership because it affects all of us.”

The North Dakota pipeline battle may be over but veterans and community activists supporting the opposition of the project say their fight isn’t finished and the Flint water crisis is next on their list.

Matthews said he along with a group of people from North Dakota started hashing out details on Dec. 3 as to what to do with bottled water donations sent to Standing Rock.

With this weekend’s end to the Standing Rock standoff, Matthews and his group are working on getting trucks to load up water to bring to Flint.

“You don’t hear about Flint anymore but they didn’t clean up those pipes,” said Matthews. “The problem is still here.”

The Flint water crisis gained national attention January 2016. Residents had struggled with water issues including boil advisory alerts after the city switched from using Detroit for their water system in 2014 to tap into the Flint River for Flint’s water supply…

“In my opinion it’s unforgivable,” said Matthews of both the Flint water crisis and the North Dakota pipeline fight. “It’s shameful to show in a county that has so much that there can be people disregarded because of their place or there situation because of their lack of access. It’s shameful. It’s terrible.”

[From Mlive]

It’s shocking and sad that people in Flint are still dealing with this terrible hardship. But how fitting that the water protectors in Standing Rock are helping out the water victims in Flint. We’ve seen Shailene Woodley, Mark Ruffalo, Jane Fonda and Susan Sarandon lend their celebrity to Standing Rock and that’s important because it helps these important causes get more coverage. Who will join the people of Flint to stand in solidarity with them? Dave Matthews is a good start, but I’d like to hear about some bigger names there too.

Ooh I didn’t know Ben and Jerrys was a sponsor! This is the perfect excuse to get a pint of salted caramel core.

We are live! Watch the Stand With Standing Rock concert live stream NOW: http://concert.standwithstandingrock.net

A photo posted by Dave Matthews Band (@davematthewsband) on Nov 27, 2016 at 6:48am PST

photos credit: WENN and Fame