Blog #1: Background and Perspectives of Tribal Groups

Source: http://www.storybench.org/contextualizing-dakota-access-pipeline-roundup-visualizations/

The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is an approximately 1,100 mile long crude oil pipeline
which runs from North Dakota to Illinois. The project was originally proposed by Energy
Transfer Partners (ETP) in May 2014, and featured a route which took the pipeline underneath
the Missouri River at a location several miles upstream of the small North Dakota town of
Bismarck. This plan was quickly revised however, due in part to a significant public outcry by
residents of the town. The alternative route, which was proposed a couple of months later,
took the path of the pipeline through lands granted to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (SRST)
under the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1851, and placed the location of the river-crossing at Lake
Oahe, just half a mile upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. This decision led
many critics of the pipeline to call the proposal an example of environmental racism. This is
because the governmental agencies responsible for approving the route selected a path which
crossed Native American land protected by treaties as well as other environmental and
cultural regulations, rather than selecting the route which ran near the small, predominantly
white town of Bismark. In response, the SRST, lead by Tribal chairman David Archambault
II, raised numerous concerns including the abuse of treaty rights, potential negative impacts
on cultural heritage sites in the path of the proposed pipeline, and potentially catastrophic
impacts on water resources which are essential to the subsistence practices of many members
of the SRST.
Source: http://www.storybench.org/contextualizing-dakota-access-pipeline-roundup-visualizations/


Unfortunately, these concerns fell on deaf ears as ETP moved forward with the proposal, but
as construction of the pipeline was nearing Lake Oahe, the SRST formed several “prayer
camps”, blocking the path to the water. These peaceful protest camps, occupied by self-
proclaimed “water protectors”, were met with militarized police and private security forces
(hired by ETP to suppress protests), sparking significant public outcry across the nation as
well as abroad. As Tribal chairman, Archambault played an instrumental role in organizing
and maintaining the prayer campsites, but he was eventually forced to call for the evacuation
of the camps in late 2016 due to government requirements and public concerns over the
coming winter. This decision was a controversial one among the SRST and some protestors
felt that the only way to continue fighting against ETP and the pipeline, was to stay on the
“front lines”, occupying the prayer camps. Despite the evacuation of the camps and
subsequent completion of the pipeline, Archambault and other Tribal representatives have
continued to fight against the use of DAPL through an extended legal battle which remains in
progress to this day.
(source: http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/09/06/judge-temporarily-halts- dapl-construction-select-land-not-desecrate-area-165700)

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