The College Perspective by Lindsey

Native American Protests Result In Temporary Shutdown of Pipeline Construction

A North Dakota Tribes’ protests over an oil pipeline being built through their land has resulted in a temporary shutdown of construction.

The building process has been scrutinized for violating several different treaties and laws, including the Treaty of Fort Laramie and the National Historic Preservation Act.

The construction company has been encouraged by the government to voluntarily pause all construction of the pipeline in the forty miles around Lake Oahe, even after Judge James Boasberg denied the tribe’s request for a temporary stop in construction on Friday. This lake area is currently the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s source of drinking water and location of sacred cultural and burial sites. This pipeline project costs $3.8 billion and crosses four states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois.

The protests themselves have been the main reasoning behind the push for a stop in construction. Since the start, around 37 people have been arrested for preventing arrest, disorderly conduct, and criminal trespass. It has been reported that people were holding knives and hatchets, as well as attaching themselves to construction equipment. Pepper spray and dog bite injuries have been reported among protesters and security guards. There have been several celebrity appearances as well, resulting in charges being filed against Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein after she vandalized a bulldozer. The National Guard was brought in over the weekend to help redirect traffic around the protests and help keep the peace while waiting for the verdict.

Since the start of the conflict, Energy Transfer Partners have sued the tribe for illegal disruption of construction, while the tribe has sued back, stating they hadn’t been properly consulted before the building process began. The company has stated they reached out to several different tribes extensively before construction started and says the tribe canceled a meeting with them about construction on the section of land in question.

The Corps also has written evidence that the Standing Rock Sioux tribe was unable to point to sites that would be damaged by construction. A tribal history expert later said that they found several rock displays and patterns that could indicate marked burial sites.

The tribe’s cultural expert, Tim Mentz Sr., told the court that the tribe believes there are human remains in the area and many want the opportunity to rebury the dead. As he told Fox News, “The elders say that reburying can help deal with the loss and hurt of disturbing these graves.”

In the judge’s rulings on Friday, it was found that there were many missed attempts at communication between the tribe and the company. For the most part the tribe refused to engage in meetings with the company about construction, which is part of why the judge denied the request by the tribe to stop building.

National Association of Manufacturers CEO Jay Timmons, told The Washington Post that he wants discussions about the pipeline to be “peaceful, respectful, and productive,” but also thinks it’s time for the administration to “put its political agenda aside.”

This isn’t the first time the tribe has faced issues with companies wanting to build on their land.  Fifty years ago the Army Corps of Engineers built the Oahe Dam, which resulted in uprooted cemeteries, relocated families, and lands swamped with water that the tribe had previously used as a food source and area for transportation. Many of these families have been compensated by the company for their losses, but these same families fear that the building of the pipeline will bring more destruction to their land and destroy their source of drinking water should there be a leak or spill.

So far, it isn’t clear how long the pause in construction will last, but protesters have made it clear that they will continue to push for a complete shutdown of construction in the area.

David Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, has only good things to say about the decision, telling The New York Times, “When there’s a wrong that keeps continuing to happen, it’s O.K. to stand up against that wrong. That’s all we did. I’m just so thankful that agencies are starting to listen.”