OPEN LETTER: September 1, 2017
ATTN: American Indian Camp Sponsors & Resistance Organizers
RE: “Red Warriors” are Non-Indian Anarchists Exploiting the Indigenous Rights Movement
Dear American Indian Camp Sponsors & Indigenous Resistance Organizers:
Please be aware that the so-called “Red Warrior” group is NOT an indigenous organization.
The Red Warriors were founded by a group of activist Lakota. Initially when I exposed that the Red Warriors were infact engaged in pursing an Insurrectionary Anarchist agenda, I showed compassion (as is Lakota custom) to these founders by not outing their willing collusion with these people. Lakota do this to give others the chance to do the right thing without publicly humiliating them. Sadly, the Lakota in question have chosen to not disavow themselves. I have been told by Lakota close to persons associated with these founders’ Tiospayes (extended families), that they knowingly entered into this allegiance with Insurrectionary Anarchists & that this allegiance was expedited/overseen by another organization claiming to represent the interests of American Indian Traditionals. These founders (in their misguided thinking) still don’t see that their poor choices, failure to control these non-Indian Anarchists and their refusal to respect the wishes of the Standing Rock/Cheyenne River Lakota…has brought the DAPL into being.
The Red Warrior membership actually consists of mostly white and Latino Anarchists of the “Insurrectionary Anarchist” school who utilize “Black Bloc” Anarchist techniques. These non-Indians didn’t respect the wishes of traditional Lakota, who made participation in the Standing Rock NO-DAPL resistance contingent on all groups abiding by the tenets of non-violence. In conjunction with wrong-headed Indians, they often initiated violence via stealth with white law enforcement. At least one staged provocation (which I will discuss more below) and the violence that ensued, is what finally gave the Army Corps of Engineers and the Feds the leverage they needed to close the camps. As they did so, the Feds pressured the Standing Rock Tribal Council to almost openly collude with them and to intimidate the true traditional elders into silence.
The agenda of non-Indian Anarchists dominating the Red Warrior membership was NOT to stop the DAPL pipeline. For those who don’t know, the desire that unites all Anarchists is the destruction of the state aka all forms of government. “Insurrectionary Anarchists” believe that the only way to do this is through violence that they hope will lead to an “insurrection”. They often use “Black Bloc” techniques. These are techniques to disguise their appearance when engaging in violent acts to decrease the likelihood of being caught. This is why the Lakota elders at Standing Rock asked everyone NOT to conceal their faces.
The larger goal of Insurrectionary Anarchists is to create a cycle of violent interactions with police in as many localities as possible. As order collapses and police response becomes more repressive, critical mass may be achieved and a violent revolution will begin. The more violence, the more momentum and hopefully a revolution. Basically, we Lakota were seen as expendable pawns who could be lied to, exploited and sacrificed as necessary stepping stones in the pursuit of this Anarchist revolution.
And we (the Lakota) were sacrificed. If all the camp participants had listened to the Traditional Lakota Elders and kept our movement non-violent…we would still likely be encamped near the DAPL pipeline blocking its completion. They would have never been able to shut us down. But the actions of these mostly white “Red Warriors” infiltrators feed right into the narrative sought by the feds and ETP. The corporate enemy was saying we were “Violent Indian militants, working with violent, non-Indian, radical agitators and were terrifying poor local white men, women and children. As a result we were standing in the way of energy independence & progress.” Basically a modern re-tooling of the Manifest Destiny narrative. And the Red Warriors gave it to them. They didn’t defend minorities from toxic water, they actually brought it upon us.
Lakota Akichita (Soldier/Warrior) tradition is this, “We always seek a peaceful resolution to every situation until no other option is available.” We remain non-violent and seek peace until it is no longer possible. This is what the elders were trying to do. This is why they demanded non-violent direct actions. However, the point of “…no other option available…” did arrive. This is when we controlled the North Camp (in the direct path of the pipeline) and also held the strategic ground where the Drill Pad would be established. I was there. I saw the Red Warriors take the Drill Pad location. But after I was arrested and finally released after seven days, I discovered that the Red Warriors had done nothing to hold that ground and it was then in ETP’s hand. If Lakota Akichita were going to take a stand like our warriors did at Wounded Knee in 1973, this was the place. And we thought the Red Warriors had decided to do this because they had muscled in and took the Drill Pad land. Please note that I am a real Akichita, a member of an old Lakota warrior society and was made an Akichita in the traditional way. This is why I am exposing the Red Warriors. It is my duty as a protector of the Oyate (aka the Lakota Nation/People). I also want to protect other tribes from this exploitation.
That shared, hindsight is always 20/20. Once we Traditional Lakota finally learned that the Red Warriors were basically controlled by a bunch of Insurrectionary Anarchists, their actions finally all made sense. They:
- Hid their faces and engaged in violent actions which worked AGAINST our narrative of non-violence and thus peacefully stopping the pipeline.
- When the opportunity to actually stop the pipeline came by taking the Drill Pad ground, they made everyone think they were going to, then suddenly abandoned it.
- Immediately following the loss of that ground, they again began to engage in unnecessary violence that undermined our narrative of non-violent resistance. This narrative was the only thing allowing us to keep the camp going and thereby able to maintain the threat posed by thousands of people rushing the Drill Pad if drilling began.
These non-Indian Anarchist members of the Red Warriors NEVER intended to make stopping the pipeline their priority. If they took the Drill Pad ground and made a stand, they would have been trapped there and likely would have gone to jail like many did at Wounded Knee in 1973. There was no way these white & Latino Anarchists were going to let their identities become known or serve long jail sentences. It would have prevented them from waging violent actions elsewhere to bring about their revolution.
But it doesn’t stop there. The Anarchist presence (both Red Warrior and other) at NO-DAPL was huge. Through a coordinated effort, Anarchists clandestinely infiltrated many essential services/departments and began to enact their agenda whenever possible. The best examples of this was their heavily infiltration of the Medic Center and the Legal Collective.
They utilized the Medic Center as a location for gathering intelligence from other activists (as patients) and as a secondary base to secretly plan prohibited violent direct actions outside the main Red Warrior encampment. Upon infiltrating, Red Warriors would seek to achieve the ability to clandestinely influence the selection of EMTs, First Responders & other. Through these actions they were able to ensure that Red Warriors w/ such qualifications would be chosen to fill these positions. They sometimes planned their prohibited direct actions during private meetings that they held in the large school bus parked at the Medic Center. They did this under the guise of having staff meetings. Red Warriors also hid out by providing low level volunteer work at the Legal Collective. Please be aware, that the Red Warriors & Anarchists often infiltrate by portraying themselves as persons who can provide essential services. They then take over targeted departments by placing their operatives in positions of power. They use these locations as secondary bases and as tools to clandestinely achieve their Anarchist agendas. Through these methods the Red Warriors maintained a presence at Standing Rock long after their official evacuation in early December 2016. To Resistance Camp organizers…monitor your Medic Centers, Donation Centers, Legal Services, temporary Schools, Security Details and Kitchen staff closely. If any of the volunteer personnel in any department are calling for closed door staff meetings, they may be planning violent direct actions in opposition to the will of your Elders.
Returning to our discussion, those of you who were at Standing Rock/No-DAPL saw for yourselves the private Red Warrior camp they created and staffed by their own security. It was clear to even the casual passerby, that the vast majority (perhaps 90%) of the membership was white. How on earth can a supposed indigenous organization be 90% white and still call itself Indigenous?
Once the reality gradually dawned on the true Traditional Lakota and the “Government Dog” Lakota that the Red Warriors were dominated by Insurrectionary Anarchists who were NOT willing to abide by our Elders non-violent stance…both wanted them out. Sadly, this brings me to the American Indian Movement’s (AIM’s) involvement in this.
This deeply saddens me, but it is clear that factions within AIM and individual AIM members are making introductions for “Red Warriors” (both as individuals and as groups) to assist them in their infiltration of our Indigenous resistance camps/actions throughout the US. The Red Warriors are using Indian and Latino members as liaisons during these initial interactions with tribal resistance organizers. This is yet another tactic employed by the them to hide the fact that their membership consists of mostly white Anarchists. Also, certain AIM factions absorbed Red Warriors when they officially disbanded their presence at Standing Rock in early December, 2016. What some people in AIM are thinking is beyond me, but it is happening and must be addressed. In the 1970’s, AIM made a similar mistake. At that time, AIM’s gradual movement away from traditional leadership like Fools Crow and towards alliances with violent, white, leftist groups contributed to many Traditional Lakota distancing themselves. As a result the movement began losing momentum. Russel Means had spoken about this (in part) publicly. Momentum in this era of the movement is already waning following the failure of NO-DAPL because of the obviously violent actions pursued by Red Warriors in direct defiance of Traditional Lakota. In addition, Honor the Earth and the Indigenous Environmental Network have previously stated allegiance with the Red Warriors.
If the Native sponsors of any camp knows that the Red Warriors are in-fact Anarchists and still want them there, then that is their choice. However, the mostly non-Indian membership of the Red Warriors have consistently attempted to hide this fact from Traditional American-Indians, fearful that they will lose their ability to infiltrate in a collective mass under the “Red Warrior” brand.
It is certain that individual anarchists will likely get in if the camps that are open to non-Indians, but for Insurrectionary Anarchists to effectively plan/execute violence, they must be able to 1) infiltrate in a large numbers and 2) be allowed to have a segregated location (aka a base) within the larger camp. This is why they had a segregated camp at NO-DAPL and this why they are pressing so hard all over Indian Country to be admitted into protest camps as the “Red Warriors”. This limiting fact is their great weakness and the great strength of Indian people. How so?
Indian Resistance Organizers MUST keep their Indigenous protest circles tight. The Apache-Oak Flats model is a great example of how to maintain a long term camp utilizing select American-Indian circles along with the contributions of trusted local whites who are well known to the local Native population. They do accept donations from the general public, but the Apache tightly control direct participation in the camp itself. By doing this they have been able to maintain this camp for three years. Though this camp is small, the feds know that they moment they attempt to raid it, thousands of Apache will mobilize in response. They have accomplished this and have successfully protected their sacred Holy Grounds by being completely non-violent. And isn’t this really the goal? Protecting American Indian holy sites, lands and waters rather than contributing to some vaguely envisioned larger movement? For certain, by us Lakota naively allowing the participation of groups into our NO-DAPL resistance camps without carefully vetting them first, we actually ended up bringing the very pipeline we dreaded upon ourselves. We opened the door and these exploiters ran right in. Especially the Red Warriors.
Before closing, I want to touch on the staged violent event that I noted earlier which gave the Corps of Engineers and the Feds the leverage they needed to close the camps. After the taking of North Camp on Oct. 27, 2016 and the violent events that followed, the elders asserted themselves and were able to shut down all potentially violent direct actions until the night of November 20, 2016. They instructed all newcomers to NOT listen to the Red Warriors or to other groups driving around in pick-up trucks with bull-horns, instructing random people to run off to unauthorized actions. Prior to this, most volunteers who came would get tricked into participating in these potentially violent actions by Red Warriors. Most were there for only a short time and didn’t understand the internal dynamics going on. The elders would announce real actions and negate fake ones through the Central Fire microphone system.
Indeed, on November 1, 2016, the Standing Rock Tribal Council (SRST) passed a motion to remove the Red Warrior and their encampment completely from the Oceti Sakowin camp. Though it is true that SRST Council had their own motives in doing so, it was common knowledge that Traditional Lakota Elders on Standing Rock and in the Oceti Sakowin camp wanted the Red Warriors gone due to concerns about their violence. The former Red Warrior spokesman Cody Hall verified this in a local news report. Here’s the link:
Given the imminent threat of forced removal, the Red Warriors thus opted to turn to a staged violent event to 1) promote their anarchist agenda and 2) presumably to generate funds from Go Fund Me donations. This event occurred on the night of November 20, 2016 and has now been dubbed the “Bridge Battle”. In the comments section of this Open Letter a former Red Warrior reveals that 1) the Red Warriors did indeed intentionally plan violent direct actions to, 2) generate income off of Go Fund Me donations, because 3) they use the mantra, “If it bleeds, it leads”. In addition he reveals that the Red Warriors have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of donations from the Lakota and also actively engaged in intimidation of other groups while at Standing Rock. Please click the link to the Comments section found at the top of this Open Letter to learn more.
“The Bridge Battle”: On the night of November 20, 2016 it was freezing cold. At approximately 10:30pm, after the Central Fire Mic system was shut down for the night and all the elders had gone to bed or went home…suddenly young men began running through the camp creating hysteria. They ran from kitchen to kitchen, camp to camp screaming at the top of their lungs that the Morton County Sheriffs and the National Guard were attempting to storm over the barricade on the Backwater Bridge to take the camp. Hundreds of people ran up there and the intense violence that everyone heard about unfolded. But here’s the truth.
The Camp Organizers and the Traditional Elders had an agreement with Morton County & National Guard. We agreed to not disturb anything on the bridge, as did they. They would not take camp and we would not go over the barricade. That night a group of Red Warriors intentionally began moving a burnt out vehicle on the bridge in direct violation of this agreement. Regardless of whether these “warriors” had engaged in activity on Backwater Bridge prior to 10:30pm…the movement of that vehicle is what precipitated Morton County’s response. This response gave the Red Warriors what they wanted. They immediately sent young men running into camp to mobilize us under a false narrative. They were screaming that Morton County and National Guard were attempting to go over the bridge to take the camp. They spread this panic when 1) the central Microphone system was off, 2) most of the elders were gone/asleep (thus unable to refute the narrative) and 3) most folks had no idea what was really going on.
Red Warrior claims that they had to remove the barricade are ridiculous:
1) The barricade had been up for three weeks so an “imminent need” to have a quicker route to Mandan for medical service falls flat. Why was it suddenly so important?
2) Even if it was true, on the other side of the bridge was amassed a large, militarized contingent of white Law Enforcement. The road was shut down and they were never going to let Red Warriors transport any “medical patients” up that road to Mandan. This excuse for why the Red Warriors disturbed that barricade is simply preposterous.
3) It wasn’t even known if the Backwater Bridge was structurally sound after vehicles were set on fire on it.
4) Most importantly, local Lakota Elders had strictly forbidden everyone from disturbing that barricade. Period. There were no “disagreements” about how we should resist DAPL. The ONLY people who had any say were the elders from the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Reservations. Our communities were those under immediate threat. We were the the host community who invited others to stand with us as guests under the condition that they abide by the will of our Elders. Claims put forward by the Red Warriors that they could ignore our Elders instructions because a few Lakota from other reservations said they could, was/is profoundly disrespectful to both our Elders as well as the Hunkpapa, Hunkpatina, Siha Sapa, O’Ohenumpa, Mnikoujou and Itazipco people of Standing Rock & Cheyenne River. Again, our Lakota Elders collectively said that the barricade was not to be dismantled or disturbed. In-fact, a few days following the events on Backwater Bridge, our Elders barred all participation of the Red Warriors in guarding that barricade. They then held a public ceremony blessing real Lakota Akichita for that duty. The Red Warriors had zero say about how our resistance was to be waged. ZERO.
AFTERMATH: People got concussions from this event, were sprayed with water cannons in freezing temperatures, were shot with tear gas, there were broken limbs, one man had to be resuscitated after having a heart-attack, and a young woman had her arm nearly blown off. Ambulances could not get down easily from Mandan (they had to take an alternate route) so many came from Fort Yates and Mobridge. For about 8 hours ambulances were struggling through the crowded camp to get patients to far off hospitals.
This event is finally what gave the Corps and Feds the leverage they needed to officially begin the process to shut down the camps for good. The Red Warriors staged this event. Either a plant working for ETP had gotten into the Red Warriors to orchestrate this violence and/or the Red Warriors simply did it because there hadn’t been any violence in weeks. Perhaps they feared they were losing the momentum which they needed to build upon for more violent actions elsewhere? We are told that they planned violence as a means to generate Go Fund Me donations. Whatever their reasoning, they intentionally orchestrated this incident to create violence. In the process they actually used “Block Bloc” techniques and stealth against our own Lakota elders to get what they wanted. This is the incident that really ended it all.
As for the TigerSpawn documents, how does the supposed “revelation” that ETP and the Feds were trying to do surveillance on the Red Warriors in anyway negate the publicly known (and published) fact the Standing Rock/Cheyenne River Elders wanted the Red Warriors out of the Oceti camp because they were openly promoting violent tactics? In addition, of course TigerSpawn, ETP and the Feds would want to bestow credibility on the Red Warriors. Red Warrior actions legitimize their narrative that American Indian resistance camps should be closed to prevent violent incidents. Once the camps close, then the pipeline or mine goes in and the holy site is destroyed. Look to our desecrated burial ground and the DAPL pumping oil under our water for confirmation.
So, because of the staged event on Backwater Bridge, the SRST Council was forced to close the camps under massive federal pressure. They intimidated elders into silence and then removed official support for the Water Protectors/Campers that remained. However, the SRST Council still controlled the fake Head-man council that remained and who in turn enacted their will (via various camp functionaries). They did everything in their power to empty out the camp as much as possible before drilling. As a result they completely removed the deterrent threat posed by thousands of activists rushing the pad if ETP began drilling. The “Red Warriors” actually destroyed our non-violent narrative when we needed it the most and gave ETP and the Feds exactly what they wanted. But they probably didn’t care, because they also got exactly what they wanted. Basically, in the end, it was really two groups of whites with two differing sets of ideologies, using Lakota lives to fight each other.
In closing, ask yourself this. “If Red Warriors aren’t ashamed and their intentions are good, why are they hiding the fact that they are mostly whites and are Insurrectionary Anarchists from Traditional American Indians? If they are here to help us, why are they lying to us?” We, American Indians, are the ones that will have to live with the consequences when our resistance efforts fail due to Red Warrior and Anarchist violence. Already, right now, it’s our little ones at Standing Rock and Cheyenne River who are going have to drink that polluted & contaminated water. Do we want to allow these “Red Warriors” to keep using our resistance actions (meant to preserve our waters, our lands and our cultures for future generations) as disposable opportunities in pursuit of their revolution?
These Red Warriors Anarchists obviously didn’t care. They stole the credibility of our Indigenous heritage, stole the momentum of our movement and sacrificed our needs in the process. They are just like ETP, they just steal different things.
Please share this Open Letter with American Indians, American Indian activists and our allies. Also note that the Red Warriors have placed a response to this Open Letter on Indian Country Today Media Network (ICTMN). I have submitted a response to their press release that ICTMN has kindly published. Here is the link:
(NOTE: If for some reason this Newsmaven Indian Country Media Network link doesn’t work, type the following into your Google Search Engine “Kevin Meagher Red Warrior Camp Speaks Newsmaven”. The article should show up as the first option and be titled “Meagher: Response to Red Warrior Press Release Published in ICMN”.)
Thank-you.
Respectfully;
Kevin Meagher
Iyeska Lakota (Cheyenne River Lakota/unenrolled) & Metis
Addendum: I attained all my information regarding the nature of the Red Warriors and their activities from actual Red Warriors as well as other Lakota who are in the know. Those associated with AIM have also informed me of their interactions with the Red Warriors that I have cited above. Finally, I personally witnessed many of these things and have close ties with numerous fellow Lakota throughout South Dakota.
traditionalamericanindianalliance.wordpress.com 
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe asked us to leave. The blame for the decision commonly falls on Dave Archambault but this is far from the truth. There were antagonists from every corner at Oceti Sakowin Camp Sacred Stone Camp Rosebud Sioux Tribe Camp mostly motivated by money and enough blame to go around at every level. The Veterans Groups decided they were not listening to what the Tribe wanted because they were chastised by the Tribe for violating the Peaceful dictate of the movement. Instead of listening #GoFundMe became the order of the day and of course if it bleeds it leads so direct actions with violent content became the norm and today most every organization that took money at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation are embroiled in a law suite with each other and by victims of fraud. https://www.facebook.com/MedicHealerCouncil/ was Red Warrior and they maintained a presence the entire time instigating Direct Actions and stealing Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of what they called “Their Donations”. A great many People were harmed by the deceit of so called Leaders at the Standing Rock Dakota Access Pipeline Opposition and a movement hampered by corruption greed and ego. Of the great many volunteers at the Medic Healer Council there were amazing individuals who gave of their all, certainly as always it’s not the People who give who are responsible but rather the wolves in sheep”s clothing. Standing Rock Medic & Healer Council Donations have never been made public, they refuse to open their books or explain the warehouses full of donations that disappeared. Their relationship with Red warrior remains in question. Their attack on myself and the threats against Veterans out of Colorado, theft of property to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars continues to be under investigation. The shame is that good meaning People are tarnished because of the actions of a few.
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WHY I ALLOWED THIS POST?:
I allowed this comment because it confirms allot of what these Red Warrior Anarchists were engaged in at No-DAPL. Again, please forgive the repetition of points previously made. I do so only to better clarify correlations between his statements and what was exposed in the Open Letter. The Red Warrior membership is mostly white and are Insurrectionary Anarchists. They took over the Medic Center and used it as a secondary base (outside of their main encampment) to gather intel on other activists, he claims to steal donations and finally to plan their often violent “direct actions”. Violence they sought because it would make them more money. His implied claim that the Council forced the removal of the Red Warriors independent of persistent requests from true Traditional Lakota Elders is simply not true. Please click on the link in my Open Letter which will take you the article where the former Red Warrior Spokesman (Cody Hall) publicly states that our Traditional Lakota Elder Leadership wanted the violent infiltrators of the Red Warriors gone. Yes, violent non-Red Warrior provocateurs were present, but these “Red Warrior” white Anarchists were by far the main organizing, guiding and active force bringing about violence. This was the case because they had successfully hid themselves under the banner of being a real American Indian rights organization. Once, the Traditional Lakota & Elders learned who they really were, they wanted them out. I also appreciate that Sam exposes the massive level of exploitation that was visited upon the Traditional Lakota. Our Elders asked for people (who we naively thought would be our allies) to come and help us. We were desperate. But these people simply saw us as an opportunity to exploit in the pursuit of their own personal and/or private agendas. Traditional Lakota have been left with a toxic pipeline threatening the lives of our children, old people, disableds and our very future as a people. Why because Red Warrior violence brought it on us. Now do you understand why I wrote this Open Letter? I’m trying to save other Tribes (who are now establishing camps through out the US) from our fate. Please, don’t let these fake Indian, white Anarchists trading on the”Red Warrior” brand name, into your camps. You will regret it. Whenever the Lakota of Standing Rock and Cheyenne River look north, we see the impending soft genocide disaster that is coming. We are heart-broken and scared. But hey, everyone else (especially these “Red Warriors”) got what they wanted.
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Thank you Kevin for writing the truth and outing this “group” I would like to remind people that when the Standing Rock water camps were started they were Peaceful, Prayer Camps! Then it was cool to be NDN again, so the wannabes, new agers, wannabe activists and exploiters started to use Standing Rock to benefit themselves. Activism does not have to include violence, there are peaceful ways of protesting, which was on display at Standing Rock. I would like to point out now the red warrior society has left Standing Rock, all I have seen is a North American Fund Raising tour. Please be careful when choosing a group/individual to support/donate to, the upstanding groups/individuals don’t solicit donations.
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I thank AIM FL for their statement here in the comments section. Please note that I know members of the Red Warriors were at Standing Rock at least until April 2017. That aside, I have personally witnessed many of their members attempting to infiltrate Traditional Indian and Indian activist networks in the states of Arizona and Montana. I have also received direct reports that they are attempting to infiltrate traditional/activist circles among Tribes in the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan so as to establish camps. They are doing this in preparation for their infiltration of the Enbridge Line 3, Line 5 and Line 7 resistance efforts. In addition they are seeking to establish camps/bases among the Navajo and other Arizona tribes to further infiltrate resistance efforts directed towards blocking the Red Butte Uranium project. Please also be aware, that they are using Indian and Latino members during their initial interactions with tribes so as to more easily gain access to the camps, actions or traditional Indian networks. This is yet another tactic employed by the Red Warriors to hide the fact that their membership consists of mostly white Anarchists. Please share this info with relevant tribal communities so that they can protect themselves. Thank-you.
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