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Milwaukeeans Support Protests in 'Standing Rock, Take Me from the River'

Denny Rauen
Dennis Banks leading the prayer group at Standing Rock

More six months of protests over the Dakota Access pipeline ended in February following a law enforcement crackdown on protesters.  A federal court also denied a final request to block the last link of the pipeline. The pipeline is now operational, carrying oil from North Dakota to Illinois. Some landowners and area tribes, including the Standing Rock Sioux, opposed the pipeline’s development, on environmental and religious grounds.

The protests brought people from around the country and the world to join with the Standing Rock community.  Among them were three Milwaukeeans - including filmmaker Denny Rauen, Lane Hall and Michael Bootzin.  Rauen’s new film is called Standing Rock, Take Me from the River.

Rauen, who is better known for work building, repairing, and restoring guitars, explains how he took on this project. "I've been doing filmmaking for quite a few years," he explains. "I make these small 'mini-docs' I call them, one or two minute films of events or things that are going on in the city or in the capitol, to just inform people."

"It's the way we do it these days," he adds. "These little guerrilla-style films are a way for people to get information. It's hard to say something is fake when someone is there." He says the Standing Rock issue came up on short notice, and he thought, "you know, this one feels like I need to be there."

The film will show Thursday November 16, 2017 at 7:00 P.M. at Anodyne Coffee in Walker’s Point.

Bonnie North
Bonnie joined WUWM in March 2006 as the Arts Producer of the locally produced weekday magazine program Lake Effect.