"Divest, invest, protect: Indigenous women lead divestment campaign," February 2018

As a continuation of the Standing Rock fight against extreme resource extraction and human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples, a divestment delegation led by Indigenous women traveled to Europe in the spring and fall of 2017 to meet with European financial leaders. Called the DIVEST, INVEST, PROTECT Campaign, the delegation seeks to protect the climate and defend human, Indigenous, and environmental rights through education, advocacy, and action that challenges financial institutions and injustices. The campaign is organized as a partnership between Indigenous women leaders and the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International. The delegations visited Switzerland, Germany, and Norway to urge financial institutions, including the Bank of Norway (DNB), Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank to divest from corporations and projects that cause Indigenous human rights violations all over the world. The delegations called for divestment at the corporate level from ongoing extractive fossil fuel projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline, Line 3, and Keystone XL, all of which pose severe threats to Indigenous rights, sovereignty, lands, and ways of life.

... [T]he delegates were instrumental in helping to persuade DNB to sell its $331 million stake in the Dakota Access pipeline. Upon hearing the news of DNB’s divestment decision, [Wasté Win] Young [Ihunktowanna/Hunkpapa of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe] said, “We are thankful that in Norway, DNB announced that it will financially divest from the Dakota Access Pipeline [DAPL]. While this is a step in the right direction, we continue to push the Norwegian Oil Fund and other financial institutions to divest from DAPL because of the human and civil rights violations that have occurred against the people and Indigenous communities at Standing Rock."