National Congress of American Indians - “My hands go up to all the water protectors who have stood up to protect tribal treaty rights and to protect Mother Earth”
US Federal authorities
have halted construction of the controversial Dakota Access
Pipeline amid growing protests that were expected to draw
some 2,000 U.S. military veterans. The Department of the Army has denied the final easement required for the $3.8
billion project to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, it announced Sunday.
Instead, it will conduct an Environmental Impact Statement to examine the
impacts and explore alternative routes, it said.
Native American and other activists celebrate after learning an easement
had been denied for the Dakota Access Pipeline at Oceti Sakowin Camp
on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on December 4, 2016
outside Cannon Ball, North Dakota. SCOTT OLSON VIA GETTY IMAGES
had been denied for the Dakota Access Pipeline at Oceti Sakowin Camp
on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on December 4, 2016
outside Cannon Ball, North Dakota. SCOTT OLSON VIA GETTY IMAGES
“Although we have had
continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with Standing Rock Sioux
and Dakota Access, it’s clear that there’s more work to do,” Jo-Ellen Darcy,
the Army’s assistant secretary for civil works, said in a statement. “The best
way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore
alternative routes for the pipeline crossing.”
The 1,172-mile
pipeline is being built to carry Bakken oil from North Dakota to an existing
oil terminal in Illinois. Most of it is completed, except for a 20-mile
section near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. The tribe and demonstrators
have raised concerns about the threat the pipeline poses to water and sacred
Native American sites. The tribe has also argued, in a lawsuit to stop the
pipeline’s completion, that the project violates federal laws and its
environmental impact has not been fully studied.
In a statement, Standing
Rock Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II applauded the news. “We
wholeheartedly support the decision of the administration and commend
with the utmost gratitude the courage it took on the part of President Obama,
the Army Corps, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to
take steps to correct the course of history and to do the right thing,” he
said.
The Standing Rock
Sioux Tribe and all of Indian Country “will be forever grateful to the Obama
Administration for this historic decision,” Archambault added. He noted his
hope that the incoming Trump administration would respect the decision. “My
hands go up to all the water protectors who have stood up to protect tribal
treaty rights and to protect Mother Earth,” National Congress of American
Indians President Brian Cladoosby said in an emailed statement. “Thank you for
Standing For Standing Rock.”
Within hours of the
announcement, Jack Gerard, president and CEO of the American Petroleum
Institute, a trade association for America’s oil and natural gas industry,
called on Trump to “reject the Obama administration’s shameful actions to
deny this vital energy project, restore the rule of law in the regulatory
process, and make this project’s approval a top priority as he takes office in
January.”
Energy Transfer
Partners, the company building the pipeline, did not immediately respond
to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Philip George, 37,
from the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve in Ontario, Canada, was among
the demonstrators gathered Sunday at Standing Rock. He described the victory
as “bittersweet,” something “due to our people for the hundreds of years
of genocide and oppression.” “This fight is part of what’s going on here for
centuries,” he told The Huffington Post. “I’m glad they denied the easement,
but I don’t know how long this victory will last with Donald Trump being
elected president. I’m not sure if he will respect our people and respect our
culture. Money can corrupt a man’s heart.” George added that he
sees this as a small victory in the grand scheme of things and believes there
is much more work to do regarding indigenous representation and
nation-to-nation relations. “The federal government needs to respect our
ability to govern ourselves, our land and who we are,” he said.
Lance King, 44, of
Kyle, South Dakota, located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, has traveled
to Standing Rock twice to join in the demonstrations. His most recent visit has
lasted two weeks. King said he was “excited” and “happy” about the Army’s
decision, which he sees as a “victory for the American people.” “Everything was
up in the air. I don’t think anyone saw this coming,” he told HuffPost. “There
was a high rate of excitement and worry, so we didn’t see this ― but we stuck
with our prayers.”
Attorney General
Loretta E. Lynch said that in light of Sunday’s decision, the Department of
Justice would continue to monitor the situation. “The department remains committed to supporting local law
enforcement, defending protestors’ constitutional right to free speech and
fostering thoughtful dialogue on the matter,” she said. “We recognize the
strong feelings that exist in connection with this issue, but it is imperative
that all parties express their views peacefully and join us in support of a
deliberate and reasonable process for de-escalation and healing.”
Conservation groups
quickly celebrated the news. “Today, the voices of an indigenous people were
heard,” Natural Resources Defense Council president Rhea Suh said. “The rights
of a sovereign nation were respected.” Greenpeace spokeswoman Lilian Molina
praised the decision, but noted that the incoming Trump administration “must respect today’s decision and recognize the will
of the people to stop this disastrous pipeline. The fight doesn’t end today.”
Sierra Club executive
director Michael Brune said he looked forward to further environmental review
of the pipeline. “History has taught us that it is never a question whether a pipeline will spill, but rather
a question of when,” he said. “A comprehensive environmental review will show
that this dirty and dangerous project will threaten the safety of every
community it cuts through.”