Have you heard about the protest going on about the North Dakota Pipelines? Encase you haven't here is some information and views on it. First who’s fighting? Well, that simple members from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, well that’s how it started off anyways, now there is several hundred Native Americans from all over the country. Since April they have been gathering outside of Cannon Ball to protest. The Dakota Pipeline is a $3.7 billion project. The pipeline will carry 470,000 barrels of oil from fields of western Dakota to Illinois, where it will then be connected with other pipelines. Sen. Bernie Sanders says “the Dakota Access fracked oil pipeline will transport some of the dirtiest fuel on the planet”. Sen. Sanders is trying …show more content…
Tensions boiled over as officers tried to remove protesters from a camp they had set up on private land that was purchased by the company building the pipeline. The protesters claimed they were peppered sprayed and bitten by guard dogs. Law enforcement said protesters marched from their camped onto private land, where the pipeline was being constructed and described it as a riot. In result 142 people was arrested. The Tribe sees the pipeline as an environment and cultural threat. The pipeline traverses ancestral lands, where their ancestors hunted, fished and buried. They are also are concerned that it would break near the Missouri River, their only water source. The tribe filed a lawsuit saying they was never consulted. Guy Jones member of the tribe said “he had never seen a greater assembly of Native Americans than the week leading up to the decision. The federal government has stopped the pipeline company from crossing the river. The reason, the Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing approvals that was previously given for the project. It’s uncleared if the Crops will allow or block the pipeline. Its anyones guess when the final decision will be
This leaves the tribes fighting against the pipeline helpless when it comes to actions that they can take against these corporations in court. This is due to a recent order from President Trump to the department of the army to do whatever it took to build the pipeline. Before this order in the Obama administration work on the pipeline had been stopped due to it going through a stretch of government-owned land. It has now resumed due to army engineers giving the go ahead for the pipeline to be continued to be built through the government-owned land once again leaving the tribes helpless. The lack of wealth from these tribes also gives them less power than that of the wealthy corporations they fight against. This prevents the tribes from hiring good legal representation in the courts. Also in the eyes of businessman and lawmakers is that the risk to the environment is worth it for the economic benefits of the pipeline. Taking in any considerations for the health for those that could that be affected by pipeline as acceptable collateral damage, devaluing their worth as humans. Sicangu Lakota reinforced this by stating that is pipeline would directly contaminate their sources of drinking water. This contamination would be equal to or even worse than the contamination that Flint,
Justin Worland reports in TIME, since 2010, 3,300 incidents of leaks and ruptures have been reported on oil pipelines and even the smallest spill could damage the tribes water supply. This can be very controversial, but with over 10,000 Native Americans living on the Standing Rock Reservation, many lives may be affected. In fact, the pipeline would travel directly under the Missouri River which is the tribes primary drinking water source. Also, Native Americans received specific rights they have obtained since 1898. The Lakota tribe signed the Fort Laramie Treaty in 1898 that protects hunting, fishing and water rights in the surrounding area(Ward). As a result of signing this treaty, officials cannot threaten their water by installing a pipeline. Furthermore, the 1972 Clean Water Act declares it is unlawful to discharge any pollutant from an identifiable source into bodies of water without a permit(Brodwin). The problem found within the pipeline is that is causes potential harm to drinking water. Therefore, the significance of Native Americans relying on this drinking water overpowers the installation of the Dakota Access
The North Dakota Access Pipeline will span from the Bakken, North Dakota to southern Illinois. The Standing Rock Sioux reservation opposes the pipeline because they believe that it goes through sacred land. The Sioux tribe also opposes the pipeline because it will cross the Missouri River twice, which is the reservations main water source. They believe that the pipeline may contaminate the Missouri River, but the pipeline company claims that the pipeline is the safest method to transfer the oil. I believe that this is a tough topic to form an opinion on, but I will hopefully explain my stance on this issue throughout this essay.
First, one reason why the pipeline shouldn’t be built because it would contaminate the water that the natives drink. By building it, the pipeline would roughly cross the missouri river 70 miles. Also, the pipeline will hold approximately 470,000 barrels per day so there is a 50/50
running from North Dakota to Illinois. The proposed pipeline will run directly through the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's land, threatening the water source
Depending on their upbringings and potential distortion to one’s thought process, could lead to disregard of ongoing events. One major benefit of the Dakota Access Pipeline is the creation of more than 12,000 jobs (Dakota Access Pipeline 12). This increase in jobs would only be sustained while the pipeline is being constructed. Another benefit is the reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign oil and allowing the U.S. economy to grow, but a break in the pipeline could lead to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe potentially losing their only water source. One major socio-cultural issue involved is the way Native Americans perceive the Earth and its resources, compared to how Non-Natives perceive the Earth. Native Americans perceive the Earth as the provider of all life, along with it being very sacred to them. Resulting in the utmost respect for the Earth, and the responsibility for its well-being. One with opposing viewpoints should consider the rather negative and the heart wrenching history of the Native American people. Then and only then one can begin to understand the pride and heart of the Native American people. The constant battle with modern day Genocide and Colonization is one of the main driving forces behind the protest of the Dakota Access
Any decision about whether to revoke the pipeline’s permits in the area near the Standing Rock Sioux tribe will likely fall to the next President. Our new elected President Donald Trump has not claimed his side on the issue. However, Energy Transfer Partners company believes Trump will agree because he had business connections with the company and he agrees that the oil pipeline will bring to North Dakota. At the same time, environmental activists, “ a rejection of the Dakota Access pipeline would boost the “keep it in the ground” movement that calls for a halt to all new oil and natural gas infrastructure projects, which have ballooned in recent decades as new technologies let companies access reserves” (Worland, 2016). In other words, people are using this issue to address other issues America has been dealing with for decades such as more companies are constructing oil pipelines near in communities. People of America are complaining that the companies are taking advantage of their land, so they can create more money for themselves and not their community. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe wants others to know that companies are going too far to make more money and should think more about how it will affect the
Oil is one resource America relies heavily on. Oil has a negative impact on the environment and has long lasting affects. The Dakota Access Pipeline is a major controversial topic in the news. The Dakota Access Pipeline is being used to transport oil from North Dakota to Illinois. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is located where the pipeline will be passing through. The pipeline disrupts the lives of the Native Americans who live there. I believe that the Dakota Access Pipeline should not be built because of the affects on the environment and goes against the rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Greider and Garkovich’s Landscapes: The Social Construction of Nature and the Environment discusses how the environment we live in is apart of our landscape. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sees their landscape as sacred and a place they need to protect.
Pipeliners continue to trespass onto sacred lands and violate landowners’ rights. Many of these lands belong amongst the tribe which means approval of the pipeline would be the
A new rising issue is the North Dakota Access Pipeline v. Native American tribe, Standing Rock. The main reason for the pipeline is to transport crude oil through four states more safely than the current way of transporting it through 750 railroad cars daily. In the same fashion, the pipeline will convert the 750 carts to 470,000 barrels of crude oil traveling 1,172 miles a day. Under those circumstances, the line will start in Montana, traveling through North Dakota reaching Canada, then heading southeast to South Dakota and finishing up in Illinois. On the positive side, it will make 374.3 million gallons per day, resulting in giving America an economic boom. The pipeline project is predicted to be a $3.7 billion investment and producing
The Dakota Access Pipeline is a pipeline that moves crude oil from the west side of North Dakota to the border of Illinois and Canada. There is a lot of controversy around it because it runs right past The Great Sioux Reservation. The Reservation has had many problems with the US Government throughout the years. Many people are protesting the construction of it, much to their prevail, Obama’s administration delayed its construction.
The protest of the South Dakota oil pipeline seems to be getting so bad that it is becoming dangerous for the protesters. The use of excessive force by the police towards the protesters is in some cases life threading the use of rubber bullets, tear gas and high powered water houses in the dead of winter where temperature are below freezing at night it’s sickening that they can use such extreme measures . The people of the standing rock reservation are only fighting for the safety of their water and ecosystem and they are being treated like criminals. I worry with the election of trump the chances are that there is nothing they can do to put a stop to the pipeline I find it extremely hard to believe he is going to side with the protesters. What if the pipeline is happening
The construction of this pipeline has raised a lot of controversy regarding its necessity, but also in the potential impact on the environment. On the list of controversies, it is facing the established route for the pipeline because it runs half-mile near of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, crossing beneath the Missouri River. The concern is the huge impact this would cause if the pipeline breaks near to the river spilling the crude oil into the river contaminating the drinking water. The other concern is that as this pipe passes very close to the Indian reservation, it also disturbs sacred land. In addition to all this, there is the controversy of the use of eminent domain by the government, to get the land for the construction of the pipeline.
Native Americans are being disrespected, harmed, and their homeland is being taken from them. Am I talking about events taken place centuries ago? No, because these unfortunate circumstances yet again are occurring right here, now, in the present. This horrid affair has a name: The Dakota Access Pipeline. This Pipeline is an oil transporting pipeline, which is funded by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, who have devised a plan for the pipeline to run through the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois. However, unfortunately, this pipeline will run straight through the reservation of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe, expressing their distress for the pipeline have said, that the pipeline will be “Destroying our burial sites, prayer sites, and culturally significant artifacts,” Arguments for the pipeline however have tried to counter this claim, trying to emphasize that “The pipeline wouldn 't just be an economic boon, it would also significantly decrease U.S. reliance on foreign oil”, and that the pipeline is estimated to produce “374.3 million gallons of gasoline per day.”, which could help the sinking oil economy. (Yan, 2016) However, despite the economical growth it could achieve, the Dakota Access Pipeline could have damaging environmental effects on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the areas surrounding.
For every spill of oil or gas, it damages that ecosystem sometimes beyond repair or it takes it many many years to recover from it. That being said the North Dakota Pipeline is going to be one of the safest most technologically advanced pipelines in the world. Another controversy is that the Native Americans are claiming that the pipeline runs through some of their sacred lands and can possibly contaminate their water supply. The North Dakota Pipeline can be a very successful oil transporter but there also seems to be some drawbacks like it possibly running through sacred land, contaminating water, and the possibility of leaking or exploding and causing a major disaster for the people and animals that live