At Standing Rock, A battle Over Fossil Fuels and Land



Author: Savannah Beauprez
 
 
 
The article that I have chosen is called, At Standing Rock, A Battle Over Fossil Fuels and Land. This article is about the Standing Rock Sioux tribe protesting an oil pipeline from crossing near their land and potentially contaminating their water and sacred sites (Bagley , 2016). This protect is not only to protect themselves but to also protect their lands, sacred sites and waters. This protest has been going on for more than eight months. Now let’s do a little background on the Standing Rock Sioux tribes. The reservation was originally created (established) in Article 2 of Fort Laramie in April 29, 1868. The Reservations is present day South Dakota west of the Missouri River, including the sacred Black Hills and the life-giving Missouri River. The tribe is a self-government as a sovereign nation. The tribe maintains jurisdiction on all reservation lands, including rights-of-way, waterways, and streams running through the reservation. The Reservation is thirty-four miles, which includes the Cannon Ball River and the Cedar Creek. The pipeline is called Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe considerers this pipeline to violate Article II of the Fort Laramie Treaty, which guarantees the "undisturbed use and occupation" of reservation lands surrounding the proposed location of the pipeline (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, n.d.). The tribe considers that the Dakota Access Pipeline poses a serious risk to the very survival of our Tribe and would destroy valuable cultural resources. The players involved in this conflict are the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Indigenous environmental justice expert Kyle Powys Whyte, the pipeline business owner, and President Trump (plus the U.S. Government) (360, n.d.). The tribes protest included organized runs, horseback rides, and marches. This impacts the tribe because it will cross over some of their sacred sites. Theses sacred sites include ancient burial grounds. Another of the tribe’s concern is that their water may be contaminated, because even though the Dakota Access Pipeline is taking the best preventions, the PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) has reported more than 3,300 incidents of leaks and ruptures at oil and gas pipelines since 2010 (Worland, 2016 ). Which even the littlest spill of the oil onto the reservation could contaminate and destroy the Standing Tocks Sioux Tribes water and possibly kill their livestock, wildlife, and crops. The reason why the Sioux tribe is protesting so much is because this is not only their home but also a way of life to them. This issue had been unfairly resolved. This was resolved at first by President Obama’s administration called for a more thorough environmental review that would take years to complete. Then President Donald Trump signed an executive order letting the pipeline be expedited after is inauguration (McKenna, Ousted Standing Rock Leader on the Pipeline Protest That Almost Succeeded, 2017). Since this was passed the tribe suffered an economic fallout, which was doubled due to the reservation already being plagued by poverty (McKenna, Ousted Standing Rock Leader on the Pipeline Protest That Almost Succeeded, 2017). Following President Trumps decision, Dave Archambault II who led the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe during the protest suffered an major economic fallout. Archambault was accused by the tribe as selling out after urging protestors to go home. When Archambault tried to run for re-election. He lost to another opponent who wanted the tribe to move on. Two years after the protest the pipeline is still doing exceptionally well. In fact, the president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council Ron Ness, said that North Dakota's oil production is growing so fast the state likely will run out of pipeline capacity next year and that the Dakota Access Pipeline is making plans to expand so that it can transport even more oil. The pipeline had lawsuit filed against them by the protestors, which indivertibly hurt the Standing Rock Sioux’s Prairie Knights Casino during the protest. The tribe may have even lost 6 million dollars, because they lost out on business coming from the casino. After the pipelines win many other tribes have been challenging the pipelines too. Some tribes have failed to stop the pipelines but some tribe’s success as, First Nations in British Columbia, who won a lawsuit against the Canadian government and the Trans Mountain Pipeline company, have won their protests. Still many tribes and even environmentalist such as Winona LaDuke, Honor the Earth's Executive Director, are still attempting to protest pipelines and save ecosystems.
 Author Bio: Savannah Beauprez is a junior at IUPUI where she is majoring in Criminal Justice and minoring in Anthropology. Savannah enjoys horseback riding and reading. 

Sources:
360, N. K. (n.d.). Treaties Still Matter: The Dakota Access Pipeline. Retrieved from Smithosonian National Museum of the American Indian: https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/plains-treaties/dapl.cshtml
Bagley , K. (2016, November 10). At Standing Rock, A Battle Over Fossil Fuels and Land. Retrieved from Yale Environment 360: https://e360.yale.edu/features/at_standing_rock_battle_over_fossil_fuels_and_land
Brady, J. (2018, November 29). 2 Years After Standing Rock Protests, Tensions Remain But Oil Business Booms. Retrieved from npr: https://www.npr.org/2018/11/29/671701019/2-years-after-standing-rock-protests-north-dakota-oil-business-is-booming
McKenna, P. (2017, November 13). Ousted Standing Rock Leader on the Pipeline Protest That Almost Succeeded. Retrieved from Inside Climate News: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13112017/dakota-access-pipeline-protests-standing-rock-chairman-dave-archambault-interview
McKenna, P. (2018, September 6). Tribe Says Army Corps Stonewalling on Dakota Access Pipeline Report, Oil Spill Risk. Retrieved from inside climate news: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05092018/standing-rock-tribe-dapl-dakota-access-pipeline-oil-spill-risk-report-army-corps
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. (n.d.). Retrieved from Standing Rock Sioux Tribe: https://www.standingrock.org/content/contact-us
Worland, J. (2016 , October 28). What to Know About the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests. Retrieved from Time: http://time.com/4548566/dakota-access-pipeline-standing-rock-sioux/
 
 



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