Having seen Standing Rock firsthand, this is why I know we should be worried about Republicans making it illegal to protest

As a member of the Quapaw tribe of Oklahoma, I like so many other Natives from various indigenous tribes joined the Oceti Sakowin camp at Standing Rock. The movement against the Dakota Pipeline was always peaceful, yet this non-violent, Native-led resistance was met by devastating aggression by the police.

It was a shock to see the extreme retaliation against water protectors, many of whom were elders, women and children. The militarized landscape was difficult to fathom: surveillance was constant and obvious. SUVs and armoured vehicles were parked over hilltops within our line of sight. Unmarked aircraft flew overhead 24/7. At night, floodlights threw blinding white light over the gently sloping hills. At more than one action, I witnessed the police over their megaphone threaten individuals by name whom they had been able to photograph and identify at a distance. How have we reached this point?

This seems to just be the beginning of the crackdown on dissent coming from both the White House and emboldened Republican states.

Donald Trump has been arguing that anyone who protests against him is only doing it for the money. He tweeted that the thousands who took to the streets to oppose his inauguration were “professional anarchists” and “paid protestors”. On Fox & Friends, Sean Spicer, White House press secretary, said that the demonstrations were “…not these organic uprisings that we’ve seen through the last several decades. You know, the Tea Party was a very organic movement. This has become a very paid, Astroturf-type movement”.

At the state level in North Dakota, a Republican bill, specifically aimed at us Standing Rock protesters, was suggested to exempt drivers who “unintentionally” hit or kill pedestrians who are obstructing traffic on public roads. The bill did not go through, but it sets a dangerous precedent.

In Minnesota, the GOP introduced a bill to make protesting on freeways a gross misdemeanour with fines of up to $3,000 and one year jail time. In a separate bill put forward, the nonviolent obstruction of authorities would incur at least a year jail time and fines of up to $10,000. In Iowa, a similar bill to attach criminal penalties to protesters blocking roads is being planned by Republican lawmaker Bobby Kaufmann.

Republicans in Washington are pushing for legislative change that would create the new crime of economic terrorism for protests which harm a person’s ability to make a living.

Following the Trump administration’s comments that people are being paid to protest, Republican state senators in Arizona have voted to give police powers to arrest anyone involved in a peaceful demonstration. The most worrying part however, is the fact that the legislation gives the government the right to prosecute and seize the assets of anyone planning or attending a protest.

In this environment of conspiracy, distrust and paranoia propagated by our government, it is not out of the question that the style of policing we witnessed at Standing Rock – the use of overwhelming physical and psychological force to silence dissenting voices – will become much more commonplace as these proposed policies are put into action, especially as progressive social movements continue to grow against the President.