Neil Young Celebrates His 71st Birthday By Performing At Standing Rock [Watch]

by Amanda Froelich, True Activist

Since Donald Trump won the presidential election last week, the media has been fixated on his every move and statement. This has had negative reprecussions for activists near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, where development of the four-state Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) continues, despite federal orders mandating for it to be stopped.

Activists and “water protectors” who have been camped out and protesting since Spring have gone to extreme lengths to halt its construction. Supporters of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe believe that the DAPL’s development will not only contaminate the Missouri river, but will uproot sacred burial ground. With Donald Trump in the spotlight, the threat to the activists’ movement has never been greater.

It is likely because of this that rock legend and socially conscious artist Neil Young decided to celebrate his 71st birthday at the protest camps. Indian County Times reports that Young – who is an outspoken advocate against Monsanto – performed for the protestors by walking around the camp with his guitar and harmonica in hand. His latest video, Indian Givers, is about the pipeline and seeks to raise awareness about the Native water protectors in North Dakota.

Some of the lyrics include:

“There’s a battle raging on the sacred land,

Our brothers and sisters had to take a stand.”

Watch the video below:

Neil Young has campaigned against big oil for years and also drives a car that runs on plant-based ethanol. Last year, he released the album The Monsanto Years which exposes the many ways Monsanto – and other giant agribusinesses – poison the environment and punish small farmers.

His activism will undoubtedly help raise awareness about the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s plight. After the video was released on Facebook (last Friday), it quickly surpassed 750,000 views.

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