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Standing Rock Sioux Tribe calls for prayer amid additional arrests

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Yesterdays court ruling is a disappointment but it is in no way the end of our fight to protect our land, waters, people...
Posted by Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Monday, October 10, 2016

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Facebook: "We have stood side by side in peaceful prayer and will continue to do so as we fight to permanently protect that which is sacred to all of us"

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe continues to call for peace and prayer as authorities in North Dakota announced additional arrests of Dakota Access Pipeline resisters.

Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said 27 people were arrested on Monday for "unlawful activities" at a construction site. Actress Shailene Woodley, who has used her celebrity to rally support for the #NoDAPL movement, is among those who are being charged for taking a stand against the pipeline.

"That was all occurring on private land," Kirchmeier said during a press conference. Woodley broadcast her arrest live on Facebook in a video that has been viewed more than 3.4 million times as of Tuesday morning.

The arrests came a day after a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., issued an order that allows construction on the controversial pipeline to continue. The tribe called the ruling an "disappointment" but reiterated the peaceful nature of the resistance movement on Monday.

The riot police are arriving
Posted by Shailene Woodley on Monday, October 10, 2016

Shailene Woodley on Facebook: "The riot police are arriving"

"Any act of violence hurts our cause and is not welcome here. We invite all supporters to join us in prayer that, ultimately, the right decision—the moral decision—is made to protect our people, our sacred places, our land and our resources," the tribe said in a statement on Facebook.

"Thousands of people, from members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, tribes across the nation and First Nations in Canada, to non-Native supporters in the United States and around the world, have stood in solidarity against the harm and destruction caused by the Dakota Access Pipeline," the statement continued. "We have stood side by side in peaceful prayer and will continue to do so as we fight to permanently protect that which is sacred to all of us."

The order that was issued by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Sunday evening was not a ruling on the merits of the #NoDAPL lawsuit. It was only on the tribe's request for an injunction while it pursues the appeal in the case.

The three judges assigned to the case even acknowledged that their a decision was "not the final word" in the matter. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hasn't issued an easement for the pipeline to build on federal land at Lake Oahe and the controversial and costly project remains in limbo until an answer comes.

Indianz.Com SoundCloud: D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Oral Arguments in Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. Army Corps of Engineers October 5, 2016

Still, the order marks the first favorable development for Dakota Access LLC, the partnership behind the pipeline, in more than a month. A temporary injunction had put a hold on construction for 20 miles on both sides of Lake Oahe but that's now been lifted by the D.C. Circuit.

But time remains a critical issue for Dakota Access going forward. While construction on the east side of Lake Oahe is basically complete, the partnership still hasn't finished work on the west side, in an area where the tribe has documented the presence of sacred sites and burial grounds.

Since most of the pipeline runs through private land, as the sheriff indicated, Dakota Access has been intent on building as close to Lake Oahe as possible, even up to the water's edge The approach has been criticized as a "gamble" by one of the judges assigned to the tribe's case.

"If you're not going to get the permit to cross at the critical point, you're going to have to redirect the pipeline, right?" Judge Thomas B. Griffith asked at an October 5 hearing.

"Yes," Miguel A. Estrada, a well-connected attorney who was hired by Dakota Access, responded.

"So it's a gamble," Griffith said. "You're gambling you're going to win."

The Army Corps has not said when it will issue a decision on the timeline but a statement from the Obama administration on Monday said the review process will be ending "soon."

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals #NoDAPL Documents:
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's Emergency Motion for Injunction Pending Appeal (September 12, 2016)
Dakota Access LLC Opposition (September 14, 2016)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Opposition (September 14, 2016)
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's Reply (September 15, 2016)
Injunction Blocking Construction of Dakota Access Pipeline (September 16, 2016)
Order Setting October 5 Hearing (September 21, 2016)
Order Allocating Oral Argument Time (September 21, 2016)
Order on Emergency Motion (October 9, 2016)