Clatterbuck and her family have been fighting the proposed Atlantic Sunrise pipeline in Lancaster County for years.
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To her, Friday’s event was, in a word, a “gathering”.
A couple of members from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which has filed a lawsuit against the pipeline and is leading a large protest near its reservation in North Dakota, were in attendance.
Amidst extensive protests across the world, Energy Transfer Partners – the company developing the controversial Dakota Access pipeline project – has vowed to press ahead with plans.
But opponents say the project was fast tracked and permits ignored tribal concerns.
Indigenous peoples call the project a threat to their access to clean water and an insult to their forefathers, some of whom are buried in the pipeline’s path.
The $3.8 billion dollar pipeline project would carry about 500,000 barrels of crude oil a day. Its planned route passes just north of the Standing Rock reservation.
The Native American people beg to differ, they believe the pipeline will damage their water supply and disturb their sacred sites.
“There [are] burial grounds, water is life and we can not drink oil”, Prince said. The reservation is home to 8,000 people and the issue created both a legal and physical stand-off that’s drawing protesters from all over. Thousands of people from hundreds of tribes are now gathered there.
Workers, who left the area when protesters arrived, are not only afraid for their safety, but also worry about the safety of protesters in the construction zone, said Steve Cortina, an organizer with the Laborers International Union of North America.
“I think theirs was really inspiring because here it’s more low-key”, Clatterbuck said.
Part 2: The court battleBut like many others celebrating the government’s announcement, Moose said the victory was not clear-cut because of the judge’s decision. A federal judge denied the tribe’s request for an injunction September 9, but three federal agencies announced soon after that construction would not be allowed on Corps land bordering or under Lake Oahe for now.
But opposition to it is growing louder and more violent by the day.
“Energy Transfer Partners has demonstrated time and time again that the bottom line for them is money”, he added.
Anti-pipeline momentum is continuing to build, reminiscent of the fight over the Keystone XL pipeline. Protesters gathered Tuesday in Whitefish and Missoula.
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Almost 40 have been arrested as the protest has grown in size, including Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II. “The land and the earth, it’s the only one we’re ever going to have, so do we let the corporations destroy it for profit or do we stand up together and get our elected officials to say enough is enough?”
