But a joint statement from the Army and the Departments of Justice and the Interior asked the pipeline builder, Energy Transfer Partners, to “voluntarily pause” work on the disputed segment while the government reconsiders “any of its previous decisions” on land that borders or is under Lake Oahe. Therefore, construction of the pipeline on Army Corps land bordering or under Lake Oahe will not go forward at this time. “I think it is very risky for government institutions to weigh in as heavily handed as this”.
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People came from as far as NY and Alaska, some bringing their families and children, and hundreds of tribal flags dotted the camp, along with American flags flown upside-down in protest.
Protests across the country brought in a small victory for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their many supporters when the USA government promised to temporarily halt all construction on government owned land. The pipeline, also known as the Bakken Pipeline, will carry fracked crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shalefields through South Dakota and Iowa to IL and then to Texas and Louisiana. The Departments of Justice and the Interior will continue to deploy resources to North Dakota to help state, local, and tribal authorities, and the communities they serve, better communicate, defuse tensions, support peaceful protest, and maintain public safety.
At a solidarity rally in San Francisco, I met Indigenous Mindanao activists fighting for their rights in the Philippines, who read a statement of solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux. The tribe sued the corps over its permit for the Missouri River crossing, arguing the federal agency failed to properly consult the tribe. Evidence indicates that approval sidestepped appropriate consultation with affected Tribes, as well as historical preservation requirements and environmental assessments. She entered the fight protesting pipeline company TransCanada’s use of eminent domain to take property from Nebraska landowners, but her activism now crosses into other states to oppose pipeline proposals to get Bakken oil out of the Great Plains.
Although a District Court federal judge declined to stop the 1,100-mile fossil fuel project’s construction, three federal agencies have blocked the Dakota Access Pipeline pending a thorough review and reconsideration of the process.
“That said, the pipeline could also be in limbo indefinitely, without permission to complete the section under Lake Oahe”, the group said in a memo.
Hundreds gathered in cities as far away as Denver and Tulsa to protest the fast-track approval given to Energy Transfer Partners and their subsidiary Dakota Access, LLC. “And we’re going to make this stand for all water and all life”, Mitchell said at the start of the event, drawing cheers.
The president’s decision comes after a long and violent protest has lasted on the land between the construction crew and company owners and the Native Americans and supporters who want the pipeline gone.
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The decision comes amid clashes between protesters and security officers near the construction site.
