Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt Holding Benefit Concert at Standing Rock Supporting Dakota Pipeline Protests
The iconic musicians will perform at Prairie Knights Pavilion in Fort Yates.
— -- Musicians Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt will host a benefit concert on Sunday to support people protesting against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.
"Just as we give thanks for our good fortune and the bounty of our lives as Americans, let us thank the Native people who are gathered here at Standing Rock to protect the natural world and defend our place in it," Browne said in a statement.
Browne and Raitt will be joined by Joel Rafael and Bad Dog to perform at Prairie Knights Pavilion in Fort Yates, North Dakota, according to a press release issued today.
"I'm proud to be standing in support of the courageous and dedicated water protectors at Standing Rock. This movement is growing by the day with solidarity actions happening around the country, yet the media isn't covering it nearly enough,” Raitt said in a statement. “Our hope is that this concert will help bring more awareness and media attention to the issues being raised at Standing Rock and to put pressure on the Obama administration to halt construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline until protection of sacred sites is ensured.”
Ladonna Brave Bull Allard, a Standing Rock Sioux tribe member and founder of the Sacred Stone Camp will be among those to speak at the benefit concert, which is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. local time.
"We are honored to have these great artists stand with us," Allard said in a statement.
All proceeds from the event will benefit the Oceti Sakowin Camp, one of the various Native-led groups standing in solidarity to halt the pipeline project. Tickets go on sale to the general public today at 10 a.m. CT.
Thousands of people are camped out at Standing Rock Reservation in protest against the four-state crude oil pipeline project, which is nearing completion. Police have made at least 386 protest-related arrests since mid-August, according to the Morton County Sheriff’s Department.
Officials said the protesters were illegally trespassing and militarized law enforcement clad in riot gear have used pepper spray and sound cannons to disperse the crowds. But demonstrators justified their presence by citing an 1851 Treaty that they say specifies that the land in question was designated for Native American Tribes.
The movement to block the pipeline has garnered nationwide support, with hundreds of environmentalists and Native American groups joining the demonstration near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Cannon Ball, North Dakota. A crowdfunding campaign set up for the protesters recently reached the $1 million mark.
ABC News’ Catherine Thorbecke contributed to this report.
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