Cheers erupted and fireworks filled the sky over the Standing Rock "water protectors" camps as they celebrated the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decision to stop Dakota Access from continuing their pipeline across or under the Missouri River. That was early December. Now we must wait for the results of an investigation by the corps. So the watch continues.
CANNONBALL, ND-When the announcement was made in early December to block the Dakota Access pipeline, it was like an early Christmas gift from the United States government. Celebrations went on for quite some time by those at the protest sites. These included 2,000 U.S. military veterans who had joined the protests on December 2 to protect them from the authorities.
Prior to this there had been confrontations, some of them violent, between tribal protectors and their supporters and law enforcement. Federal officials had given protestors until December 5 to leave the protest site. But on Sunday, December 4, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that they were denying permission for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross Lake Oahe.
Amnesty International in the United Kingdon called the decision a "monumental victory for Indigenous people."
Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II said, "We wholeheartedly support the decision of the administration and commend with the utmost gratitude the courage it took on the part of President Obama, the Army Corps, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to take steps to correct the course of history and to do the right thing. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and all of Indian Country will be forever grateful to the Obama Administration for this historic decision.With the decision, the Corps of Engineers recommended that Dakota Access "explore alternate routes."
"The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing," the Army's assistant secretary for civil works Jo-Ellen Darcy, stated when the announcement was made. "Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it's clear that there's more work to do."
According to The Washington Post, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell added that the decision "ensures that there will be an in-depth evaluation of alternative routes for the pipeline and a closer look at potential impacts and underscores that tribal rights reserved in treaties and federal law, as well as Nation-to-Nation consultation with tribal leaders, are essential components of the analysis to be undertaken in the environmental impact statement going forward."
Standing Rock Chief Archambault II also stated, "We want to thank everyone who played a role in advocating for this cause. We thank the tribal youth who initiated this movement. We thank the millions of people around the globe who expressed support for our cause. We thank the thousands of people who came to the camps to support us, and the tens of thousands who donated time, talent, and money to our efforts to stand against this pipeline in the name of protecting our water...."
