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North Dakota lawmakers punish tribes for taking #NoDAPL stand

Friday, November 18, 2016

Chairman Dave Archambault II of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, right, is seen with North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R) at the the State Legislature on January 8, 2015. Photo by Jodi R Spotted Bear / Twitter

Politicians in North Dakota continue to punish tribes and their supporters for resisting the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The North Dakota Legislative Management Committee canceled the 2017 tribal leader address to the state Legislature. Republicans cited safety concerns at the State Capitol, according to news reports, even though the only people who have been hurt so far are the #NoDAPL resisters.

"Protecting people is our No. 1 priority," House Majority Leader Al Carlson, a Republican, said on Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

The tribal leader address takes place every two years, at the start of each legislative session. The 2015 speech was delivered by Dave Archambault II, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

“We are always honored to share our reality and we are always willing to build relationships with policy makers. The State of Affairs address benefits all members of our state," Archambault said in a statement to The Grand Forks Herald in response to the cancellation.

Chairman Richard McCloud of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians was more blunt about the cancellation. He gave the address in 2013.

“I’ve heard rumors that it’s going to be a difficult session this year specifically for Indian Country because of what’s going on in Standing Rock, that all the tribes would be paying the price,” McCloud told the paper. “I feel that this is one way of starting that.”

Chairwoman Myra Pearson of the Spirit Lake Nation was due to deliver the 2017 address. She told The Herald that relations have deteriorated to the point that she was recently refused entry to the State Capitol amid a Dakota Access protest.

“I was asked to leave. I was removed from there. I’ve never been back there,” Pearson told the paper. “I don’t even go to Bismarck for meetings anymore.”

In his January 8, 2015, address, Chairman Archambault called on the state and the federal government to work with tribes to address public safety, environmental and other impacts of energy development in North Dakota. And in prophetic remarks, he cited a need to protect the land and the water.

"The environmental impacts of overflowing waste, radioactive waste, leaking pipelines and flaring gas cannot be ignored. Increased oversight – whether it be at the federal, state or tribal level – is necessary to protect the land – and the water – for future our generations," Archambault said, according to the official remarks printed in the Journal of the House "We also urge the Legislature to provide funds for state pipeline inspectors to oversee the large network of pipelines not regulated by the federal government."

North Dakota is home to five tribes: Standing Rock, Turtle Mountain, Spirit Lake, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation and the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate.

Native Americans represent 5.5 percent of the population in the state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Read More on the Story:
Tribes’ talk to North Dakota lawmakers canceled over protest (AP 11/17)
ND cancels tribal address, chairman calls decision a 'dishonor' (The Grand Forks Herald 11/17)
Lawmakers cancel judiciary, tribal addresses to 2017 Legislature (The Bismarck Tribune 11/17)
Arrests made in downtown Bismarck, rally held in Mandan for female protester (The Bismarck Tribune 11/17)
Judge throws out felony charges against several north camp protesters (The Bismarck Tribune 11/17)