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Dakota Access Pipeline
Win For Native Americans
After centuries of dealing Native Americans bad breaks and broken promises, the U.S. provided its indigenous people with a reason to celebrate. The controversial Dakota Access Pipeline will be rerouted.
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On Sunday, thousands of protesters at the Standing Rock site in North Dakota erupted in tears of joy and chants of victory when the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers acted on orders from President Obama to look for an alternate route for the Dakota Access Pipeline under Lake Oahe. The jubilation was a long time coming.
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For several months, members of the Sioux tribe and their supporters camped out in protest against the pipeline, saying it would be hazardous to the water supply of their nearby reservation and would disturb sacred ground. Throughout the standoff, police fired water cannons at protesters during subfreezing temperatures in an attempt to run them away. However, despite more than a dozen demonstrators suffering hypothermia, they were not deterred and stood their ground until the end.
“People have said that this is a make it or a break it, and I guess we made it,” Chief Arvol Looking Horse, Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe, announced to a cheering crowd of protesters.
“I’m really happy that I’m here to witness it and celebrate with a lot of my elders and the youth, but I think that we also need to keep in mind that we need to be ready to keep going,” said protester Morning Star Angeline Chippewa-Freeland.
Confronted by thousands of protesters, including U.S. military veterans and former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Army Corps of Engineers announced that it will not grant a permit to allow the proposed pipeline to cross under the lake. Following discussion with the tribe and Dakota Access, officials concurred that more work needed to be done on the project.
“The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing,” assistant secretary for civil works, Jo-Ellen Darcy, said in a statement. She added that consideration of alternative routes would be best accomplished through an environmental impact statement with full public input and analysis, that could be useful in future showdowns with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.
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Tribal leaders are rightly concerned that the decision to reroute the Dakota Access Pipeline might not be permanent, considering that the incoming Trump administration and backers of the pipeline are adamant in pushing the project forward.
Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners, the corporations behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, said in a statement Sunday night they “fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe.” They added that President Obama’s directive does not change past court decisions to green light the project.
“Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way,” the company said in a statement.
Although the Trump team has yet to make a formal statement, Republican Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota spoke on their behalf, saying Trump supports completing the 1,172-mile long proposed pipeline, which will transport 470,000 barrels of oil a day across 4 states.
House Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted his criticism of President Obama’s action, calling the intervention “big-government decision-making at its worst. I look forward to putting this anti-energy presidency behind us.”
Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota also slammed Mr. Obama while pledging to continue to fight against the wishes of the Native American tribe and its supporters.
“I hoped even a lawless President wouldn’t continue to ignore the rule of law. However, it was becoming increasingly clear he was punting this issue down the road,” Cramer wrote in a statement. “Today’s unfortunate decision sends a very chilling signal to others who want to build infrastructure in this country.”
Despite Sunday’s victory, grassroots activists, who have turned the protest site into a mini-city, are hunkering down to withstand freezing temperatures in what they expect will be an even lengthier standoff against Donald Trump and the Republican party.
“We are asking our supporters to keep up the pressure, because while President Obama has granted us a victory today, that victory isn’t guaranteed in the next administration,” Dallas Goldtooth, lead organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network, said in a statement. “More threats are likely in the year to come, and we cannot stop until this pipeline is completely and utterly defeated, and our water and climate are safe.”
Jan Hasselman, an Earthjustice staff attorney representing the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, echoed that sentiment.
“If the incoming administration tries to undo this and jam the pipeline through despite the need for an analysis of alternatives, we will certainly be prepared to challenge that in court,” Hasselman said. “It’s not so simple for one government administration to simply reverse the decisions of the former one.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who actively opposed the pipeline, praised the president’s decision.
“I appreciate very much President Obama listening to the Native American people and millions of others who believe this pipeline should not be built,” Sanders said in a statement. “In the year 2016, we should not continue to trample on Native American sovereignty. We should not endanger the water supply of millions of people.”
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I am absolutely elated to hear this news DJ. As you expressed "After centuries of dealing Native Americans bad breaks and broken promises {FINALLY} the U.S. provided its indigenous people with a reason to celebrate."
A very good friend of mine (who is Caucasian) lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and she is a very active supporter of Native American causes. It's one of the things I most admire about her.
I applaud members of the Sioux Tribe and their supporters for Courageously standing firm and United in their conviction to protect their water and sacred ground. But they are right to be concerned about what they may face when the Trump administration takes office.
May they continue to be United and maintain the Strength and Courage it will take to Stand strong and overcome whatever challenges that lay ahead.