by Alexa Erickson, Collective Evolution

According to demonstration organizers, more than 2,000 U.S. military veterans plan to form a human shield to protect protesters against the North Dakota Access Pipeline, in response to a federal deadline that pressures peaceful activists to evacuate the camp they have been occupying.

Growing exhausted of the protests, North Dakota law enforcement has sought desperate measures to put the event to an end, while those occupying the site are determined to make change no matter how long or hard they have to fight. Law enforcement had previously tried to cut off supplies to the camp, but failed to follow through due to public outcry and a growing awareness of their unethical treatment of the protestors.

Protestors have been rallying for months to stop the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline from moving forward, as it would disrupt the lake near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, harming water resources and sacred Native American sites.

by Mark DeNicola, Collective Evolution

Thousands upon thousands of personal development and spirituality books fill the shelves of your local book store. While they all offer wonderful food for thought, here are 10 in particular that you shouldn’t miss out on. 

The world of literature is a magical one. Despite being equipped with only words, books have the incredible ability to make us think, feel, and imagine new worlds.

As an avid reader, I can think of a number of books that changed my life for the better. While many of these were works of fiction, I’d like to instead focus upon 10 largely nonfictional works devoted to personal development.

While most that I will be listing have topped several best-seller lists at one point or another, an astonishing number of us have still never taken the time to read them.

Here are 10 books that I believe have life changing potential:

by Whitney Webb, True Activist

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) sent a letter to the Attorney General, demanding an investigation into the reports of brutal and abusive tactics used against DAPL protestors by police.

As government intervention to date has done little to stymie the conflict surrounding the controversial Dakota Access pipeline, a Senator from New Jersey is calling for an investigation into “all credible reports of inappropriate police tactics” that have been used against pipeline protestors in North Dakota. Senator Cory Booker sent a letter to US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who heads the US Department of Justice, demanding they conduct a civil rights investigation into allegations of violence against both law enforcement as well as the protestors, who are chiefly composed of Native Americans. He also urged Lynch to send federal monitors to the site “to ensure that protestors can peacefully assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights.”