We Still Stand with Standing Rock

The US Army Corps of Engineers announced its intent to grant the final necessary easement for the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

We still say #NoDAPL.

This afternoon, the US Army Corps of Engineers announced its intent to grant the final necessary easement for the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The easement allows DAPL to destroy sacred sites designated by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in the pipeline’s path and drill under Lake Oahe, a critical drinking water source for the region. The Army Corp’s announcement dumps the environmental review process and comment period that was already underway for the easement, ignoring previous mandates for consultation with tribal leaders and a thorough analysis of environmental impacts. 

In response to the Army Corp’s announcement, our allies at the Indigenous Environmental Network released this statement:

Donald Trump will not build his Dakota Access Pipeline without a fight. The granting of an easement, without any environmental review or tribal consultation, is not the end of this fight — it is the new beginning. Expect mass resistance far beyond what Trump has seen so far. 

The granting of this easement goes against protocol, it goes against legal process, it disregards more than 100,000 comments already submitted as part of the not-yet-completed environmental review process — all for the sake of Donald Trump’s billionaire big oil cronies. And, it goes against the treaty rights of the entire Seven Councils Fires of the Sioux Nations. 

Donald Trump has not met with a single Native Nation since taking office. Our tribal nations and Indigenous grassroots peoples on the frontlines have had no input on this process. We support the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, and stand with them at this troubling time.

This decision by the Army Corps underscores the Trump administration’s blatant racism and disregard for due process. It should also be remembered that the pipeline’s original route would have cut through the predominantly white city of Bismarck, but that plan was scrapped due to local concern over the impact on drinking water. At Stand.earth, we see the Dakota Access announcement for what it is: An act of environmental racism and a clear violation of indigenous sovereignty.

We stand with our indigenous allies to denounce this unlawful violation of indigenous sovereignty. The Trump Administration clearly intends to ignore environmental law and all previous commitments to tribal consultation. We are committed to resisting this dangerous decision every step of the way.

As we stated in our previous post following Trump’s executive memoranda, the answer to Keystone XL and the Dakota Access pipelines will always be no.

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