Fellowship of Hope, a Mennonite congregation from Elkhart, Indiana, recently moved their bank account from Chase Bank after learning that it’s one of the 38 banks that are funding the Dakota Access Pipeline through its parent company, Energy Transfer Partners. You may find the letter they wrote below to be helpful as you contemplate ways to be in solidarity with the Water Protectors at Standing Rock.
JPMorgan Chase
Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon
jamie.dimon@jpmchase.com
212-270-1111
Corporate Contacts:
Andrew Gray
andrew.s.gray@jpmchase.com
Jennifer Lavoie
jennifer.h.lavoie@jpmchase.com
Brian Marchiony
brian.j.marchiony@jpmorgan.com
Corporate Office:
270 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017-2014
Chase Bank, Elkhart, IN:
This letter is to explain why we [the Church of the Fellowship of Hope, Inc.] have decided to move our modest bank account funds from Chase Bank.
We first began banking at the then local St Joe Valley Bank over 40 years ago. We have continued over the many mergers [much to our dismay] to the present Chase Bank.
Fellowship Of Hope Mennonite Church of Elkhart, Indiana, stands in solidarity with the people of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota. They are protecting the Missouri River, their only water source, from the contamination that would result from the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), otherwise known as the Bakken Pipeline. They were never properly consulted about DAPL, nor has the project undergone a sufficient environmental impact review. The tribe and their allies have faced attacks by security dogs, mace, police brutality, and the bulldozing of sacred burial grounds as they put their bodies on the line to defend their land and waters. As Christians, we believe Jesus stands with the oppressed, and so we feel called to support our courageous sisters and brothers in North Dakota who are non-violently opposing this act of injustice.
JP Morgan Chase & Co. is one of the major financers of Energy Transfer Partners, which is the parent company of Dakota Access. As a congregation, we have studied the situation and we have prayed for justice. Now, we are taking action so that our financial investments are more in line with our prayers. With this letter, Fellowship Of Hope Mennonite Church is closing its bank account with Chase Bank. Thus we are officially divesting ourselves from JP Morgan Chase & Co. We encourage you to speak with your executives about joining us in divesting from DAPL, a project that not only threatens the waters of Native Americans, but all of us downstream as well.
We are interested in talking more with representatives of Chase Bank about our decision.
Sincerely,
[name]
[address]