“A
series of ‘game-changing’ developments impacting the Dakota Access Pipeline
(DAPL) battle on Friday afternoon were testament to the power of organizing. Striking
a blow to the vibrant, Indigenous-led resistance
movement that has sprung up against the four-state oil pipeline, a federal
judge on Friday denied the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's attempt to halt its
construction.
“Shortly
afterward, however, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Army, and
the Department of the Interior issued
a joint statement indicating that ‘important issues raised by the Standing
Rock Sioux Tribe and other tribal nations and their members regarding [DAPL]
specifically, and pipeline-related decision-making generally, remain.’
“As
a result, the statement read, construction on Army Corps land bordering or
under Lake Oahe—which straddles North and South Dakota—will be halted until the
Corps ‘can determine whether it will need to reconsider any of its previous
decisions regarding the Lake Oahe site under the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) or other federal laws.’ ‘In the interim,’ the agencies
continued, ‘we request that the pipeline company voluntarily pause all
construction activity within 20 miles east or west of Lake Oahe.’
“The
statement continued: Furthermore, this case has highlighted the need for a
serious discussion on whether there should be nationwide reform with respect to
considering tribes’ views on these types of infrastructure projects. Therefore,
this fall, we will invite tribes to formal, government-to-government
consultations on two questions: (1) within the existing statutory framework,
what should the federal government do to better ensure meaningful tribal input
into infrastructure-related reviews and decisions and the protection of tribal
lands, resources, and treaty rights; and (2) should new legislation be proposed
to Congress to alter that statutory framework and promote those goals…”
For the complete article by Deirdre Fulton, US Government Steps In After
Judge Rules against Standing Rock Sioux, click here.
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