Archambault said the Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes in the region are already living in severe poverty and shouldn’t be put under additional stress by the Dakota Access Pipeline.
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Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for Energy Transfer Partners, confirmed the lawsuit was filed in federal court Monday.
“It’s a historic place of commerce where enemy tribes camped peacefully within sight of each other”, said Jon Eagle Sr, in an interview with Indian Country Today.
Archambault and others have been arrested in the past week for interfering with construction in southern North Dakota. Marcella LeBeau, 96, a Cheyenne River Sioux elder was among those enduring hot temperatures Monday to sit in a ditch adjacent to the road being used to access pipeline construction. It said the project would impact drinking water and sacred sites on its 2.3-million-acre reservation.
The order prevents the protestors from unlawfully interfering with pipeline construction or workers’ access to the site.
The court sided with Dakota Access LLC and granted the restraining order on the grounds that the permits were valid and thus give the company the right to start construction on the portion that will cross Lake Oahe, which was formed by the Oahe Dam on the Missouri River.
Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said at a news conference Wednesday on the Dakota Access pipeline, “No work is going to be done there for an undetermined amount of time”.
Tribal leaders have been in discussions with law enforcement about the protest, including addressing concerns about safety for protesters along Highway 1806, Yellow Fat said.
The tribe filed a lawsuit last month against the Army Corps of Engineers for approving the pipeline.
“We are constructing this pipeline in accordance with applicable laws, and the local, state and federal permits and approvals we have received”, said the ETP spokesperson, adding that the regional project has national benefits.
Archambault and the tribal council have sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in federal district court, seeking an injunction that will be heard August 24. Reporter Amy Sisk also works with Prairie Public Broadcasting in Bismarck, North Dakota.
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A dozen protesters were arrested last week when they came too close to the area slated to be used for the Dakota Access Pipeline, a project that, in terms of length, rivals the nixed Keystone XL pipeline.
