For months, the Standing Rock Sioux and dozens of other tribes from the US and Canada have resisted the construction of the proposed four-state pipeline that, if completed, would transport about 500,000 barrels of crude per day from North Dakota to IL.
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Protesters reportedly marched from their camp located on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land and marched to the construction site, said Preskey on the west side of Highway 1806.
On Saturday afternoon DAPL’s private security guards initiated force against a crowd of mostly tribal members who were protesting in a non-confrontational manner to stop the ongoing stripping of land, including areas of land where documented sacred sites have been discovered.
Indigenous activists have been resisting the construction of the .8 billion crude oil pipeline for months now, saying that it poses a threat of contamination to the nearby Missouri River.
Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II is among some 30 people that have been arrested in recent weeks for interfering with the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline in southern North Dakota.
“The demolition is devastating”, Archambault told the AP.
Steve Sitting Bear, a spokesman for the tribe, stated that six of his people have been bitten by the security dogs, including a young child.
Morton County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Donnell Preskey said law enforcement received no reports of dog bites, but said that four security guards and two guard dogs were injuring during the confrontation. “These grounds are the resting places of our ancestors”. The desecration of these ancient places has already caused the Standing Rock Sioux irreparable harm. Videos show some protesters were bloodied and the sheriff says three private security officers were hurt.
According to many witnesses at the scene, neither state nor county law enforcement officials were at the construction site during the incident.
A man pours water over the eyes of a protester after he was pepper-sprayed by security contractors. The crowd dispersed when officers arrived and no one was arrested, she said. “They did this on a holiday weekend, one day after we filed court papers identifying these sacred sites”.
A federal judge will rule before September 9 whether construction can be halted on the pipeline.
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Members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe launched a campaign against the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline in Cannon Ball after tribal leaders alleged the construction project has destroyed several Native American cultural sites and burial grounds.
