Moments after U.S. District Court Judge James Boadberg’s decision, three federal agencies released a joint statement requesting that Dakota Access Pipeline voluntarily pause all construction activity within 20 miles east or west of the lake.
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The Standing Rock Sioux are the original inhabitants of what is now North Dakota, and we applaud this administration for recognizing their inalienable right to self-determination of their tribal homelands.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed an emergency motion Sunday asking the court “to prevent further destruction of the tribe’s sacred sites by Dakota Access Pipeline”.
“The Army will move expeditiously to make this determination, as everyone involved – including the pipeline company and its workers – deserves a clear and timely resolution”, the statement said. While we are troubled this situation even reached this level of contention, we are grateful that it is now sparking meaningful conversations never held at this level of government – conversations that actually take into consideration the needs and wishes of tribes when it comes to infrastructure projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline. The president said the project – which had been the subject of heated debate for seven years – wouldn’t make a meaningful contribution to the US economy, lower gasoline prices or increase the country’s energy security.
Four private security guards and two guard dogs were injured, officials said, while a tribal spokesman said six people – including a child – were bitten by the dogs and at least 30 people were pepper-sprayed.
Not only would this pipeline threaten sacred sites and culturally important landscapes, it would also cross under the Missouri River just upstream of the Tribe’s drinking water supply, where an oil spill would pose a serious threat to the Tribe’s health, culture, and way of life.
They rallied outside the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia while others clamored inside the court to wage a legal battle over the .7 billion project. “Native peoples have suffered generations of broken promises and today the federal government said that national reform is needed to better ensure that tribes have a voice on infrastructure projects like this pipeline”.
The government’s block is temporary and the struggle continues, but the Obama administration may be signaling it is more willing to cancel the pipeline’s federal permits, as it did with the Keystone XL pipeline. About a dozen Guard members are manning a traffic information point on State Highway 1806 to free up law enforcement to have a visible presence near the protest site.
Dakota Access, subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners LP that is building the pipeline, declined to comment on Saturday.
Thousands of people in North Dakota are protesting the construction of the pipeline. Energy Transfer Partners denied the allegations.
A protest is planned at the North Dakota Capitol from 3 p.m.to 6 p.m. Friday.
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On Saturday, many activists in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, touted the latest victory, but said its temporary nature meant they would not end their protests, echoing Friday statements by Standing Rock Sioux leaders.
