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Sitting Bull successors fight pipeline in North Dakota

Indigenous Sioux, environmental activists oppose the infrastructure as they fear water sources will be contaminated, sacred sites will be destroyed · Army Corps of Engineers, state of North Dakota order protesters to dismantle camp

A protest against the pipeline. Bismarck, capital of North Dakota, November 2016.
A protest against the pipeline. Bismarck, capital of North Dakota, November 2016. Author: Revolution Messaging @ Flickr
A US Army corps and the state of North Dakota have ordered an Indigenous mobilization —one of the most participated and prolonged in recent times— to lift its double Oceti Sakowin and Sacred Stones protest camp. Officials say the protesters can not stay there because of freezing temperatures at this time of the year. But the leader of the Sioux reservation where protests are taking place believes the order to be an attempt to “cause fear”.

The cycle of protest began in the spring of 2016 at the Standing Rock Native Reservation, which straddles on both sides of the North Dakota-South Dakota border. The reservation is home to Sioux Natives, particularly Lakota and Dakota who the successors of Thathanka Iyothake or Sitting Bull, the great 19th century Hunkpapa Lakota leader. A pipeline by the name of Dakota Access or Bakken is projected to run through territories just one mile north of Standing Rock's northernmost boundary.

What is the Dakota Access pipeline?

It is an underground pipeline, 1,886 kilometers long, that by 2017 should be linking oil fields in the northern end of North Dakota —close to the Canadian border— to a terminal in Illinois. It is expected that the pipeline transports 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The pipeline is being built by Dakota Access LLC, a subsidiary of Texan corporation Energy Transfer Partners, according to which the infrastructure will contribute to “energy independence for the United States” and will “translate into millions in state and local revenues” in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

What is driving the protest?

According to Standing Rock's Lakota and Dakota people, the pipeline will negatively impact the environment —and more specifically the reservation's water sources— and will destroy places of historical and religious importance for the Sioux. The protest has gained notoriety as months have gone by, and has attracted two main kinds of protesters: environmentalists and defenders of the rights of Indigenous peoples —among which an Indigenous women's movement.

Part of the route not (yet) allowed

Energy Transfer Partners has no permission yet from the United States Army Corps of Engineers to continue the construction of the pipeline on Lake Oahe —a reservoir. The Corps of Engineers is reviewing whether the project is safe for water quality and if it adversely affects Sioux historic sites. Lake Oahe marks the eastern border of the Standing Rock Reservation, and is a source of drinking water for millions. The area also bears significant symbolic importance for the Lakota, as the reservoir's banks host two memorials with remains of Sitting Bull. The lake flooded former Sioux lands and the Indigenous population living there was relocated, a fact that adds to the list of the people's grievances vis-à-vis the US government.

Hundreds of protesters wounded

Clashes between police and demonstrators have erupted. One of the most serious ones took place on November 20 when, according to Indigenous sources, hundreds of protesters were injured. One of them, Sophie Wilanski, could lose one arm. Protesters say they were only seeking to physically break a blockade so that the camp could had better access in case of emergency; however, police sources hold that protesters attacked them in a “very aggressive” manner.

Dismantling the camp because of harsh conditions... or to stop the protest

North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple (Republican Party) on Monday ordered the camp be “immediately” evacuated, arguing that the area is too cold now. But Standing Rock Tribal Council Chairman Dave Archambault replied the order is only intended to “cause fear” to protesters and to “humiliate” them, as the magnitude of the mobilization caught authorities by surprise.

Before Dalrymple did, and quoting his very same arguments, the Army Corps of Engineers had also ordered protesters to leave before December 5 the federal-owned land they are occupying.