“The events in North Dakota are an extraordinary example both of capitalist institutions aligned against pro-human, pro-environmental interests and the 21st century model of how genocide is aimed at Indigenous peoples”. Some of those protesters had chained themselves to construction equipment and were charged with criminal trespass. They want to do everything they can to protect their way of life. We hoped this would begin to ease the tension between the state and the protesters, but Gov. Dalrymple immediately activated the National Guard to enforce the checkpoint so that people now face armed soldiers when they are stopped and required to report their destination before traveling further down the highway.
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The protectors were warned they would be arrested, and 22 had been pulled in by 4 p.m., the camp said, majority charged with the Class B misdemeanor of criminal trespass. They had bond hearings on Wednesday afternoon. Energy Transfer Partners hasn’t made any statements about last Friday’s developments.
Officials said it is unclear what happens next on the pipeline that is 60% complete and is being developed by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners. The objective of the pipeline is to transport between 470,000 and 570,000 barrels of oil per day between the Bakken field of North Dakota and oil storage facilities in IL.
“Nearly the entire Dakota Access pipeline route is across private land”, Warren said.
“Enough is enough, they need to stop going through Native American land, land that is in lower income areas”.
The company insists that the pipeline is safe and in fact parallels a gas line and other infrastructure already in place. The 1,168-mile pipeline is being constructed by the Energy Transfer Company and will transport approximately 450,000 barrels per day to a distribution hub in central IL.
Support for Standing Rock Sioux has been shown on social media using #NODAPL.
On September 9, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a motion for a Preliminary Injunction against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a pipeline that will run within one-half mile of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, located in North and South Dakota.
An employee of the tribe aptly described the roadblock’s impact on the tribe’s members as financially harmful.
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“What is happening in Standing Rock just a very, very small example of what is happening all over the world. They can’t go back and not spend that money”. The original protest started when members of the tribe blocked construction of the pipeline after stating their concerns that it threatened the reservation’s water supply – which comes from the Missouri River less than a mile from the proposed path of the pipeline – as well as noting that if construction continued on its current course, it would likely destroy sacred lands, archaeological sites, artifacts and possible burial locations.
