Water Protector Legal Collective

6 days ago

Great result in Morton County Court today as Olive Bias was acquitted after trial on a Criminal Trespass charge stemming from their visit to Turtle Hill, a site regarded as sacred to Native people. All of the state's witnesses acknowledged that Turtle Hill is a sacred site. A second charge of Engaging in a Riot was dismissed before trial.

Olive was represented by WPLC Staff Attorney Moira Meltzer-Cohen, who argued that access to that site should be considered protected by the First Amendment, the North Dakota State Constitution, and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.

Judge Grinsteiner ruled after the close of the state's case that they had failed to meet their burden of proof that trespass notice had been communicated to Olive.

“Nonviolent direct action is like when I offer my flesh for Sundance. Prayer must be proactive to not be mere sentiment. Sacred sites and ceremony were outlawed for hundreds of years, and still today Natives are punished for accessing our traditional knowledge and sites. Many arrests that occurred in camp were of Native people involved in ceremony, including mine,” Olive said after court today.

Photo: Olive (left) with their attorney, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, after winning their trial today. ... See MoreSee Less

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