The Sixty-Five Million Dollar Letter

A decade ago, a public letter from over 500 organisations (“the #NoDAPL 500”) asked banks to pause funding the Dakota Access Pipeline. This letter triggered two massive SLAPP suits. The first targeted BankTrack, which organised the sign-on letter;Greenpeace organisations, individual activists, and others. After this case failed, another SLAPP was filed in North Dakota state court, where three Greenpeace organisations were held liable for $345 million as a result of their efforts to speak out and show solidarity for the Indigenous-led resistance at Standing Rock. This event brings together people and organisations who spoke up and joined together to send the letter expressing concerns to the banks that financed the project. They will share their thoughts on the impact of the bullying lawsuits and how as a movement we can fight back attempts by the fossil fuel industry to silence advocacy in support of Indigenous Peoples rights, water and climate protection.