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Thousands of protesters are gathering in North Dakota - and it could lead to 'national reform'https://www.businessinsider.in/thousands-of-protesters-are-gathering-in-north-dakota-and-it-could-lead-to-national-reform/while-members-of-the-standing-rock-sioux-tribes-began-protesting-the-project-as-early-as-april-protests-heated-up-in-august-as-numbers-increased-to-the-thousands-/slidelist/54315899.cms2021-07-26T12:46:46+05:30

Thousands of protesters are gathering in North Dakota - and it could lead to 'national reform'

Jul 26, 2021, 12:46 IST

While members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribes began protesting the project as early as April, protests heated up in August as numbers increased to the thousands.

The Tribe, and other Native Americans in Cannon Ball, are protesting the pipeline mainly because the route would cross sacred burial grounds, and a potential oil spill could contaminate the tribe's drinking water.

The tribe has consistently reached out to the Army Corps of Engineers, the main government body charged with approving the pipeline, since the project was announced in 2014. The tribe filed an injunction in early August to block construction, but a judge rejected the request.

When the protests increased in size in August, the division director of homeland security ordered the removal of North Dakota-owned water tanks that had been providing protesters with water.

Dozens of tribes have offered support to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in their protest. Their flags line the main entrance to the encampment.

This is the Seven Council camp, one of three encampments. There are more than five dozen Native tribes represented at the village-like camp.

A group from the Saginaw Chippewa Reservation in Mount Pleasant, Michigan wait to raise the reservation's flag after entering an encampment.

About 30 people, including the Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II, have been arrested in recent weeks for interfering with construction of the Dakota Access pipeline.

Joye Braun, an organizer of the Dakota Access oil pipeline opposition, has been at the protest site since April and has vowed to remain until the project is killed.

Jon Don Ilone Reed, an Army veteran and member of South Dakota's Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said he fought in Iraq and is now fighting "fighting for our children and our water."

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is one of many high-profile supporters of the protest. Actresses Shailene Woodley, Rosario Dawson, and Riley Keough have also joined protests.

Despite the bitter standoff, protesters finally got some good news on Friday, when the Obama administration and three federal agencies asked Energy Transfer Partners to halt construction.

Our hearts are full, this an historic day for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and for tribes across the nation," tribal chairman Dave Archambault II said in a statement. "Our voices have been heard.

Despite the government's request, some tribal sites could still face the risk of damage or destruction. The federal government cannot ensure that Energy Transfer will voluntarily stop working on the pipeline.

The protests turned violent last weekend when demonstrators pushed past a wire fence and were met by security officers with guard dogs and pepper spray.

The government said in a statement that it will discuss with local tribes ways “to better ensure meaningful tribal input into infrastructure-related reviews and decisions and the protection of tribal lands, resources, and treaty rights."

It could lead to oil companies needing agreements from tribes for major projects because, according to Kevin Lee, attorney of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, "the geography of the American West is such that you can’t start any kind of big project without crossing Native American land.”

The announcement could be a transformative decision for native rights, especially when environmental and human rights intersect.

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