Thor apologizes to Native Americans in Instagram post
Chris Hemsworth, also known as Thor, has given his support to protesters in North Dakota and apologized to Native Americans for a terrible costume choice.
The Australian actor is just one of the big names who has come out in solidarity with protesters who are fighting against the construction of a crude oil pipeline in North Dakota. Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, Shailene Woodley and Darryl Hannah have all given their support.
Hemsworth, the actor known for his role in the Marvel movie franchise, posted an Instagram on Thursday which showed him holding up a sign on set that read, "We stand with Standing Rock." It is a reference to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose land the pipeline would go through.
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In a humble caption, Hemsworth apologized for dressing up as a Native American at a New Year's Eve party last year.
"I now appreciate that there is a great need for a deeper understanding of the complex and extensive issues facing indigenous communities," he wrote. "I hope that in highlighting my own ignorance I can help in some small way."
Hemsworth's photo was posted after 141 protesters were arrested in a chaotic police take-down for refusing to leave a disputed plot of land near Cannon Ball. The arrests occurred after a group of about 200 protesters moved from the main camp on federal land to a swath of land owned by the pipeline developer, Energy Transfer Partners. Anyone who refused to move from the privately owned land was arrested.
According to local law enforcement, at least one protester fired a gun at the police line and others threw molotov cocktails and set vehicles and debris on fire as police pressed in on the camp.
Those at the camp said police used mace, tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons and sound bombs to remove protesters from the camp. No serious injuries were reported, but on social media many images and videos went up showing protesters suffering from burning eyes and facial injuries.
The DAPL from the #NoDAPL hashtag is the Dakota Access Pipeline, more than 1,000 miles of pipeline that would carry barrels of light crude oil through Standing Rock Sioux Tribe lands from North Dakota to Illinois. A section of the pipeline wold run underneath the Missouri River. The Standing Rock Sioux Reservation is near that river crossing.
Earlier this week actor Mark Ruffalo, who has been vocal in the fight to protect the tribal land, was at the main camp, along with civil rights activist Jesse Jackson. One of Ruffalo's more graphic posts shows some of the police violence at the protest.
According to independent filmmaker Romin Lee Johnson, there are rumors on the ground that Leonardo DiCaprio might also be joining protesters in the near-future. DiCaprio, an actor and climate change advocate, has been re-posting many of Ruffalo's tweets and photos of the demonstration.
Actor and activist Shailene Woodley piqued more mainstream interest in the land dispute when she livestreamed a peaceful protest earlier this month and ended up filming her own arrest. She continues to send messages of support online and on Friday, thanked Hemsworth for his post.
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Other online activists supporting #NoDAPL include actors Susan Sarandon and Daryl Hannah, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
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Topics Activism
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
