Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe met outside the steps of the Washington, D.C., courthouse August 25 to protest the construction of the pipeline, which they say would wreak havoc on their native lands and cause widespread water contamination.
Advertisement
Members of American Indian tribes from across the United States have rallied in support, gathering for months in a makeshift camp near the reservation.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is anxious that the DAPL will disturb or potentially destroy sacred sites and might negatively impact drinking water for both thousands of tribe members and millions of others downstream.
BISMARCK, N.D. -A tribal chairman is calling on members of his tribe to avoid traveling to Mandan and Bismarck after a clash Saturday between private security officers hired to oversee construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline and those who are protesting it.
Steve Sitting Bear, a spokesman for the tribe, also confirmed to the network that six people had been bitten by the dogs, among them a young child, and that at least 30 had been hit with pepper spray.
Preskey says there were no law enforcement personnel at the site when the incident occurred and the crowd disbursed when officers arrived, resulting in no arrests.
Archambault also says more harmful work was done by Dakota Access Pipeline early Sunday morning. Mentz said that rock piles called cairns, used for burial purposes, were discovered, as well as “other sites of historic significance to Native Americans”.
Protesters say Dakota Access security officers released tear gas and attack dogs on protesters in the building area. “These grounds are the resting place of our ancestors”.
A federal judge is expected to rule by September 9 whether construction on the pipeline must be stopped. The desecration of these ancient places has already caused the Standing Rock Sioux irreparable harm.
Protests are becoming increasingly heated in North Dakota between activists and workers moving forward on the $3.8 billion dollar oil pipeline construction. One man shows a deep bite mark on his arm to the camera, stating, “I was walking, he threw the dog at me, straight, without any warning”. “In one day, our sacred land has turned into hollow ground”.
On Saturday, the protest turned violent as members of the Standing Rock Sioux confronted members of a local private security firm.
Gov. Jack Dalrymple’s office in a statement Sunday: “We urge all protesters to participate only in peaceful and lawful activities”.
That motion is based on the Standing Rock Sioux’s assertion that it was not properly consulted before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fast-tracked approval of the pipeline project.
Advertisement
Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said it “was more like a riot than a protest”.
