Dakota Access Pipeline

Pepper spray in their eyes and face, attack dogs released on them, and sub-zero North Dakota winters: The Standing Rock non-violent protesters have endured all this and more. On December 4^th, the Army Corps of Engineers did not approve a permit necessary for the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline to pass under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, marking a victory for the Native Americans protesting its construction. To understand why this is a victory for the protesters we must examine how this began.

The Dakota Access Pipeline is a below-ground pipeline that starts in the Bakken region of North Dakota and travels across South Dakota and Iowa, ending in Patoka, Illinois. From Illinois the oil will be shipped all across the country including Eastern and Western markets. The pipeline itself is expected to be 1,172 miles long and 30 inches in diameter. It is expected to transfer 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day with the capacity of up to 570,000.

The pipeline was originally supposed to go North of Bismarck but was rejected because of its proximity to areas that supply water. This is interesting because they moved it from an area that supplied water to Bismarck, and moved it to an area that supplies water to the Standing Rock Tribe.

However, what has drawn international attention are the protests at the Standing Rock Indian reservation. These Native Americans are protesting the section of the pipeline that will cross Lake Oahe, which is a major source of water for the Standing Rock reservation. If an oil spill were to occur, it would be catastrophic for the Tribe. The pipeline will also destroy sacred tribal sites for the Sioux Tribe.

The Protests themselves began shortly after attorneys representing the Standing Rock Sioux tribe filed legal action to block the Dakota Access Pipeline on July 27^th, 2016. More and more protesters were joining every day and even continued through the harsh North Dakota winter. On September 3^rd, 2016 private security workers released pepper spray and pit bulls on a crowd of men, women, and children all protesting the construction of the pipeline. Police have been accused of beating non-violent protesters. Because of this, a group of Veterans led by Michael Wood Jr. all joined in on the protest. In a video statement, Mr. Wood Jr explained his reasons for joining the protest. “If the cops there want to be state-sanctioned agents to brutally beat non-violent veterans, that have served their country honorably – if they’re going to beat us – then that should be the signal to the rest of the world of what our country’s doing.”

Most recently, on December 4^th, 2016 the Army Corps of Engineers announced it would not grant an easement needed for the pipeline to be drilled under Lake Oahe. For now, construction of the pipeline that affects the Sioux Tribe has stopped. Following this the governor of North Dakota, Jack Dalrymple, ordered a mandatory evacuation of the protest site. While he wants the protesters to relocate somewhere safer, he has no plans for their forcible removal.

For now, the protesters have won this dispute, but it is far from over. The company that is building the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, has said the Obama Administration has made it a political issue and they have filed a suit in federal court asking to proceed with the project.