Camp shown is called the Seven Councils Camp or the Overflow Camp. The people who are in the camps are protesting construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
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Its a semi-permanent, sprawling gathering with a new school for dozens of children and an increasingly organized system to deliver water and meals to the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people from tribes across North America whove joined the Standing Rock Sioux in the tribes legal fight against the Dakota Access oil pipeline to protect sacred sites and a river thats a source of water for millions of people.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a deep respect for the traditions, culture, and concerns of all Native American Tribes, and we are committed to strengthening our enduring partnership with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe”, Henderson said.
Hovland noted that numerous “troublesome” protesters are “from out-of-state who have political interests in the pipeline protest and hidden agendas vastly different and far removed from the legitimate interests” of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which argues the pipeline could taint water sources and is decimating sacred sites.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in a ruling late Friday that it needs more time to consider the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s request for an emergency injunction. However, the one-page order said the action “should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion”. It said it will issue another order setting a date for oral arguments on the motion. That led the tribe to ask for an emergency injunction. But the Corps also noted that it has paused construction of the pipeline at Lake Oahe until it can determine whether it should reconsider its previous decisions about the lake crossing under the National Environmental Policy Act or other laws.
A federal appeals court has ordered a halt to construction of another section of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota.
The ruling stops construction within 20 miles on either side of Lake Oahe. The pipeline also is strung and almost installed up to Highway 6, about 17 miles west of the lake.
“Although the judge went out of his way to show his disdain for numerous water protectors, he also became aware that this was a political controversy that he likely could not control and the mechanism of an injunction was unwieldy and likely ineffective in light of the determination of those resisting the pipeline construction over sacred sites and threatening the water supply”, said NLG attorney Jeff Haas.
The encampment has averaged about 4,000 people recently, he estimated; only 25 of North Dakotas 357 towns have more than 2,000 people.
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Edwards, the Standing Rock tribe member whos been there since April serves another important function: Hes a paramedic, treating everything from kids skinned knees to respiratory problems for older protesters.
