Reporting from Along the Cannonball River, N.D. — The scale and duration of the protests that have unfolded here over the fall and winter by those determined to block the Dakota Access oil pipeline have created endless logistical challenges.
The camps are far from any city, lack electricity and running water and offer no permanent shelters. If people need something, they have to bring it or build it. That includes bathrooms.
For many months, the prairie grass provided the only accommodations. Then, in a sign that protesters planned to stay awhile, portable toilets were hauled in.
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Late last fall, though, a new problem arose: The weather started getting cold. Soon it would get really cold, North Dakota cold, as in well below zero. At those temperatures, the contents and occupants of portable toilets can freeze.
And so it was that one of the nation’s largest and longest environmental protests found a solution to an environmental problem that had nothing to do with the fight against fossil fuels. They needed to go to the bathroom, so they created an elaborate composting toilet operation that has become a marvel of efficiency and an unlikely center of community.
Signs next to a composting toilet at the Standing Rock protest camp offer directions for use.
(William Yardley / Los Angeles Times)
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“Everyone’s happy and relaxed in here,” said a woman from Burbank who goes by the name Dancing Fox and is one of scores of volunteers who help maintain the toilets. “You’ve got hand sanitizers, baby wipes, news bulletins, joking, singing, party lights.”
She was not kidding. People milled about, chatting, checking fliers posted on a wall. The place is warm and lively — and not particularly malodorous.
“It’s minty,” Dancing Fox said, perhaps embellishing.
The idea for the toilets came about in November, when a protester suggested to Chief Dave Archambault of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe that he invite global nonprofit GiveLove.org to help create a composting bathroom system to handle the hundreds of protesters who flocked in to help the tribe in its fight against the pipeline.
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GiveLove, formed by actress Patricia Arquette in response to the 2010 Haitian earthquake, has created composting toilet systems there and in Colombia, Uganda, Kenya, India and elsewhere. But the upper Great Plains presented a new frontier.
“It was a huge challenge to get it up and running in a blizzard,” said Alisa Keesey, the organization’s program director.
A composting toilet awaits use at the Standing Rock protest camp
(William Yardley/Los Angeles Times)
GiveLove staff spent weeks at the camp, building the wooden boxes that serve as toilets, working with others to design and build the spaces and to organize volunteers who would manage the new facility. Arquette herself spent considerable time there, helping build more than 100 of the commodes, Keesey said.
By early December, with temperatures plummeting and snow piling up, three toilet operations were opened in large old Army tents. Each includes 13 toilet stalls surrounding a common area with a wood-burning stove that ventilates through ducting in the fabric roof. Wood framing around the sides of the tent is lined with hay for insulation.
Odor control consists of pine shavings every user is instructed to spread over their business. People also burn sage, and the aroma of the wood stove helps as well.
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One of the volunteers on a recent weekday was a woman from Montana who goes by the name Peaches and said she is a nurse. Peaches said that the camp, which has swelled into the thousands at times but recently had dwindled to a few hundred people, has had no notable outbreak of intestinal viruses despite the lack of plumbing and the close quarters people have kept, particularly during the winter.
“We seem to be making up for it with magic,” Peaches said. “These sorts of situations without running water, without sewage, do tend to lead to spreads of disease. We’ve had some upper respiratory flu, but it’s usually G.I. stuff that you get in these sorts of situations, and that’s not happening.”
The composting process begins at the toilet. The wooden toilet boxes are lined with a green compostable bag, which is surrounded by a white plastic bag. When the wooden boxes become half full, which can happen several times a day, a volunteer uses the plastic bag to remove the compostable bag. The compostable bags are then moved to a shipping container staged on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
The actual composting will not begin until the weather begins to thaw. Volunteers will build large compost bins and cover the contents of the toilets with rotted hay or straw.
Not all of the camps at Standing Rock are using the composting toilets. The original camp, Sacred Stone, which was established on a bluff above where the larger camp later formed, still uses pit latrines. Some protesters, particularly elderly ones, have been given composting toilets to use at their individual campsites.
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There is pressure now for people in the larger camp, called Oceti Sakowin, to move. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe is urging people to clear out in advance of anticipated spring floods and to help improve relations with local government and law enforcement — especially since the Trump administration has approved the last permit for the pipeline, and the fight is now moving toward the courtroom.
Keesey said the composting toilets can be moved, perhaps to protest camps elsewhere. Some Native American tribes have expressed interest in using composting toilets on rural reservations that lack plumbing.
Who knows the possibilities, Keesey said. “This is kind of the next new thing.”
Campers set structures on fire in preparation of the deadline to leave the Oceti Sakowin protest camp on Feb. 22, 2017 in Cannon Ball, North Dakota.
(Stephen Yang / Getty Images)
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Law enforcement vehicles arrive at the closed Dakota Access pipeline protest camp near Cannon Ball, N.D. on Feb. 23, 2017.
(James MacPherson / AP)
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A handout photo made available by the North Dakota Joint Information Center shows an aerial view of the Oceti Sakowin camp in North Dakota on Feb. 19, 2017.
(North Dakota Joint Information Center / EPA)
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Campers set structures on fire in preparation of the deadline to leave the Oceti Sakowin protest camp on Feb. 22, 2017 in Cannon Ball, North Dakota.
(Stephen Yang / Getty Images)
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Campers set structures on fire in preparation of the deadline to leave the Oceti Sakowin protest camp on Feb. 22, 2017 in Cannon Ball, North Dakota.
(Stephen Yang / Getty Images)
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O’Shea Spencer, 20, stands in front of the remains of a hogan structure. Campers set structures on fire in preparation of the deadline to leave the Oceti Sakowin protest camp on Feb. 22, 2017 in Cannon Ball, North Dakota.
(Stephen Yang / Getty Images)
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Campers set structures on fire in preparation of the deadline to leave the Oceti Sakowin protest camp on Feb. 22, 2017 in Cannon Ball, North Dakota.
(Stephen Yang / Getty Images)
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A woman watches the sunset at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D., Friday, Dec. 2, 2016. Hundreds of protesters fighting the Dakota Access pipeline have shrugged off the heavy snow, icy winds and frigid temperatures that have swirled around their large encampment.
(David Goldman / AP)
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Bitter weather strikes an encampment near Cannon Ball, N.D., built to protest the Dakota Access pipeline on Jan. 25, 2017.
(James MacPherson / AP)
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A person prays along the Cannonball River during a Native American water ceremony at the Oceti Sakowin camp near Cannon Ball, N.D., on Nov. 29, 2016.
(David Goldman / AP)
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Night falls on the Oceti Sakowin camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation outside Cannon Ball, N.D., on Dec. 1, 2016.
(Scott Olson / Getty Images)
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People stand outside a dome used as a community center and sleeping area at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D., Friday, Dec. 2, 2016.
(David Goldman / AP)
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Travelers arrive at the Oceti Sakowin camp and enter a tent flying an upside-down American flag near Cannon Ball, N.D., on Dec. 2, 2016.
(David Goldman / AP)
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A section of the Dakota Access Pipeline under construction near the town of St. Anthony in Morton County, N.D.
(Tom Stromme / AP)
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Protesters rally against the Dakota Access Pipeline behind the 128th Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif. The front lines of the battle against the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline are shifting away from the dwindling encampment in North Dakota. Jan. 2, 2017
(Michael Owen Baker / AP)
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Fireworks fill the night sky above Oceti Sakowin Camp as activists celebrate after learning an easement had been denied for the Dakota Access Pipeline near the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on Dec. 4, 2016, outside Cannon Ball, N.D.
(Scott Olson / Getty Images)
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A crowd gathers in celebration at the Oceti Sakowin camp after it was announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers won’t grant easement for the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D., Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016.
(David Goldman / AP)
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Katibunny Roberts and her husband, Lance King, of Kyle, S.D., celebrate the Army Corps’ denial of an easement to bury a section of the Dakota Access pipeline under the Missouri River, Sunday, Dec. 5, 2016, in Cannon Ball, N.D.
(Richard Tsong-Taatarii / AP)
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Native American and other activists celebrate after learning an easement had been denied for the Dakota Access Pipeline at Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on December 4, 2016 outside Cannon Ball, North Dakota.
(Scott Olson / Getty Images)
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A flag showing planet earth flies above a crowd listening to David Swallow, an Oglala Native American, speak during an interfaith ceremony at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D., Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016.
(David Goldman / AP)
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Members of a Native American drum procession celebrate at the Oceti Sakowin camp after it was announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers won’t grant easement for the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D., Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016.
(David Goldman / AP)
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People celebrate at the Oceti Sakowin camp after it was announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers won’t grant easement for the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D., Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016.
(David Goldman / AP)
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Activists celebrate at Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on Dec. 4, 2016, outside Cannon Ball, N.D.
(JIM WATSON / AFP/Getty Images)
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Organizers of protests against construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline speak at a news conference on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016, near Cannon Ball, N.D.
(James MacPherson / AP)
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Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, front, listens to Brian Wesley Horinek, of Oklahoma, outside the New Camp on Pipeline Easement in North Dakota.
(Tom Stromme / AP)
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Protesters gather at an encampment on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016, a day after tribal leaders received a letter from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that told them the federal land would be closed to the public on Dec. 5, near Cannon Ball, N.D.
(James MacPherson / AP)
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People stand on the edge of Cantapeta Creek near the growing Sacred Stones Overflow Protest Camp in Morton County, N.D.
(Tom Stromme / AP)
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Jamie Reil, of Virginia, stands watch at the intersection of Mandan Avenue and Main Street, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016 in Mandan, N.D.
(Tom Stromme / AP)
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In this photo provided by Nancy Trevino, protesters against the Dakota Access oil pipeline gather at and around a hill, referred to as Turtle Island, where demonstrators claim burial sites are located Nov. 24, 2016 in Cannon Ball, N.D.
(Nancy Trevino / AP)
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Protesters against the Dakota Access oil pipeline stand on a burned-out truck near Cannon Ball, N.D., on Nov. 21, 2016, that they removed from a long-closed bridge on Sunday on a state highway near their camp in southern North Dakota. Opponents skirmished with law officers late Sunday and early Monday.
(James MacPherson / AP)
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Protesters against the Dakota Access oil pipeline congregate on Nov. 21, 2016, near Cannon Ball, N.D., on a long-closed bridge on a state highway near their camp in southern North Dakota. The bridge was the site of the latest skirmish between protesters and law officers, in which officers used tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray, and authorities say protesters assaulted officers with rocks and burning logs.
(James MacPherson / AP)
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Erin Wise (L) of Cannon Ball, North Dakota, shakes hands with Maj. Gen. Donald Jackson of the Army Corps of Engineers during a demonstration against the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline outside the Corps headquarters on Nov. 15, 2016, in Washington, DC. Organizers held a national day of action to call on President Barack Obama and the Army Corps of Engineers to permanently reject the pipeline before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
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Hundreds of people sit in silent protest against the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline outside the offices of the Army Corps of Engineers on Nov. 15, 2016, in Washington, DC. Organizers held a national day of action to call on President Barack Obama and the Army Corps of Engineers to permanently reject the pipeline before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
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Hundreds of people gathered to demonstrate against the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline outside the offices of the Army Corps of Engineers on Nov. 15, 2016, in Washington, DC. Organizers held a national day of action to call on President Barack Obama and the Army Corps of Engineers to permanently reject the pipeline before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., center, an environmental attorney and president of the New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance, speaks with opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline at the main protest camp Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota.
(James MacPherson / AP)
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Demonstrators against the Dakota Access oil pipeline hold a ceremony at the main protest camp on Nov. 15, 2016, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. The ceremony was in honor of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental attorney and president of the New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance, who visited the Dakota Access oil pipeline protesters Tuesday.
(James MacPherson / AP)
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Protesters demonstrating against the expansion of the Dakota Access Pipeline wade in cold creek waters confronting local police as remnants of pepper spray waft over the crowd near Cannon Ball, N.D., on Nov. 2, 2016. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it’s trying to diffuse tensions between pipeline protesters and law enforcement in North Dakota, but that the pipeline’s developer isn’t cooperating.
(John L. Mone / AP)
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Protesters hold a rally in the lobby of the Wells Fargo Center building in Salt Lake City in support of the Standing Rock Sioux against the Dakota Access pipeline Oct. 31, 2016.
(Al Hartmann / AP)
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Protesters demonstrate in Salt Lake City in support of the Standing Rock Sioux against the Dakota Access pipeline Oct. 31, 2016.
(Al Hartmann / AP)
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Protesters demonstrate at the Gallivan Center in Salt Lake City in support of the Standing Rock Sioux against the Dakota Access pipeline Oct. 31, 2016.
(Al Hartmann / AP)
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Jennell Downs, with the Kickapoo tribe of Oklahoma, puts up a flag at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City during a protest against the Dakota Access pipeline Oct. 31, 2016.
(Steve Gooch / AP)
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Dakota Access pipeline protesters sit in a prayer circle Oct. 27, 2016, as a line of law enforcement officers make their way across the camp to remove the demonstrators and relocate them a few miles to the south in Morton County, N.D.
(Mike McCleary / AP)
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Cousins Jessica and Michelle Decoteau, of Belcourt, both enrolled members in the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, don slogans opposing the Dakota Access pipeline Oct. 29, 2016, in Bismarck, N.D.
(John L. Mone / AP)
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An exodus of Dakota Access pipeline protesters moves south on Highway 1806 as a line of law enforcement slowly push the protest effort from the Front Line Camp to the Oceti Wakoni overflow camp a few miles down the road in Morton County, N.D., on Oct. 27, 2016.
(Mike McCleary / AP)
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Protesters in the left foreground shield their faces as a line of law enforcement officers holding large canisters with pepper spray shout orders to move back during a standoff in Morton County, N.D.
(Mike McCleary / AP)
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A burned-out truck sits on Highway 1806 near Cannon Ball, N.D., on Oct. 28, 2016, near the spot where protesters of the Dakota Access pipeline were evicted from private property a day earlier. Authorities say protesters burned several pieces of construction equipment and other vehicles during a confrontation with law enforcement.
(James MacPherson / AP)
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The burned hulks of heavy trucks sit on Highway 1806 near Cannon Ball, N.D., on Oct. 28, 2016, near the spot where protesters of the Dakota Access pipeline were evicted from private property a day earlier.
(James MacPherson / AP)
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Demonstrators stand next to burning tires as armed soldiers and law enforcement officers assemble to force Dakota Access pipeline protesters off private land where they had camped to block construction on Oct. 27, 2016.
(Mike McCleary / AP)
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Dakota Access pipeline protesters confront law enforcement Oct. 27, 2016, near Cannon Ball, N.D.
William Yardley covered energy and environmental issues in the West for the Los Angeles Times until 2017. He previously worked as a reporter for the New York Times, the Miami Herald and the St. Petersburg Times.
