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51 YELLOW SPRINGS NEWS The GUIDE to YELLOW SPRINGS 2019 – 20 Arbor-Care of Yellow Springs Tree Service Our knowledgeable and friendly service is available in Yellow Springs and surrounding communities. Free Estimates • Fully Insured • Competitive Pricing & Payment Plan Options 478-3727 • Derek Willis • 874-5244 • Tree Removal • Stump Removal • Bucket Truck • Lot & Land Clearing • Experienced Climbers Derek Michael Willis OH-6327A YS Kids Playhouse YSKP’s Traveling Tabletop Theater is a mobile puppet theatre that will bring contemporary and traditional manifestations of puppetry to areas and neighborhoods in Yellow Springs and surroundings. Get in touch today and join us in the audience or on the stage! www.yskp.org www.facebook.com/theyskp 937-545-1478 f lemo.jf@gmail.com Over 40 combined years of LOCAL residential & commercial real estate experience. www.YellowSpringsProperties.com Let Our Connections Work for You! Ready to sell or buy in or out of Yellow Springs? Call us! Sam Eckenrode 937.470.1867 Senior Sales Associate, Realtor Minerva Bieri 937.430.0843 Realtor Excerpted from articles originally published in 2016 and 2017. By YS NEWS STAFF I n the fall of 2016, a number of Yellow Springs residents began advocating on behalf of those demonstrating against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, or DAPL, through the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North and South Dakota. As protestors see it, the pipeline is a continuation of a legacy of exploitation of native lands and people, and one that has the potential to be an environmental disaster, said villager Isaac DeLamatre. “I see a vanguard forming [in protest of these injustices] and it’s inspiring,” he said. A vanguard also formed in Yellow Springs. Residents hosted garage sales and collected donations to send to the Standing Rock protestors; students at the Montessori school hosted a benefit bake sale; villag - ers organized local demonstrations; and on Feb. 4, 2017, dozens of villagers closed their accounts with the local U.S. Bank branch based on concern about the bank’s lending of money to companies involved with the DAPL. Local protestors said they oppose the highly controversial pipeline because it represents a massive investment in climate- harming fossil fuel extraction. And they believe the pipeline jeopardizes sacred lands and the water supply on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Native American- led protests have been taking place on those lands for a year, halting pipeline construction and sparking related pro - tests across the nation, including in Yellow Springs. “Native people are putting their lives on the line,” said villager Maggie Morrison. “We’re standing in solidarity. It’s one small thing we can do.” Dharma Center Board Member MJ Gentile organized the Feb. 4 action to close accounts at the local U.S. Bank branch. It began at the Dharma Center with chants, prayers and talks centering on love of the Earth and the need to protect the environ- ment in the era of climate change. Bear- ing handmade signs, a group of protesters marched — and sang — their way from Livermore Street to the corner of Xenia Avenue and Short Street, assembling peacefully in front of the U.S. Bank branch. At least 90 people took part, including Cathy Roma and about 20 members of the Standing up for Standing Rock World House Choir, who led demonstrators in a mix of protest songs, labor songs and spirituals. While other protesters sang outside, Irene Bedard, a Native American from Alaska who lives in Yellow Springs, led a small delegation of villagers into the bank to withdraw their deposits and deliver let- ters of concern from other local account holders. They were met by the bank’s district manager, Patrick Kelly, who helped facilitate the closing of accounts, according to participants. For Bedard, it was a surpris - ingly emotional moment. “I came to tears. [Closing my account] was not a personal thing, about this branch and these people,” she said. But she felt good about withdrawing her money from companies whose activities she strongly PHOTO BY AUDREY HACKETT Irene Bedard, right, and MJ Gentile led a 2017 march from the YS Dharma Center to the U.S. Bank downtown as part of a coordinated activity to close accounts at the branch in protest of the bank's lending ties to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Continued on page 52