Inside Energy (https://insideenergy.org/tag/north-dakota/page/4/)
Inside Energy is working on a documentary about the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy and tribal sovereignty issues raised by the Standing Rock Sioux. Does the current system of tribal consultation work for tribes? Does it work for energy infrastructure projects? Stay tuned for a full treatment of these issues. In the meantime, here’s a short look at some of the concerns from both sides.
On Sunday, the Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline. After months of protest and months of construction, parties with vested interests in the pipeline are wondering what’s next. For thousands of Native Americans and climate activists who have joined the Standing Rock Sioux’s protest against the pipeline, and are camped out in blizzard conditions, the question is — should they leave or should they stay? At the same time, the oil industry and legal experts are trying to make sense of the decision and what it means for the longterm project’s fate.
For the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the effort to block the Dakota Access pipeline—an effort that attracted thousands of protesters, including members from hundreds of different Indian tribes across the nation—is about much more than oil, or water.
Protesters have been camped out on federal land at the Dakota Access construction site in North Dakota for months, and now winter has arrived, dumping almost two week of snow on the encampment the last week of November. The winter storm hit just before news that president-elect Donald Trump indicated he supports completion of the pipeline.
Standing Rock Sioux chairman Dave Archambault and other protest organizers have said they plan to stay at the Oceti Sakowin camp in North Dakota and continue with protests against the Dakota Access pipeline. This comes after the tribe received a letter from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that said all federal lands north of the Cannonball River will be closed to public access Dec. 5 for “safety concerns.”
A young woman who joined hundreds in North Dakota protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline may lose her arm after being injured during a demonstration.
In the wake of 140 arrests of people protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline last week, tribal leaders are criticizing law enforcement’s tough tactics.
What started months ago as a dispute between a tribe and the federal government has escalated into clashes between protesters and police. More than 140 people were arrested Thursday during a tense standoff between police and Dakota Access pipeline protesters.
The oil industry’s on edge while protesters try to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, and it’s not alone. Residents who live near the protest camps in North Dakota have to cope with an influx of people the area, posing traffic hazards and putting locals on alert.
