Chair Harold Frazier of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, applauded the decision of U.S. District of Columbia Judge James Boasberg “in finding what we knew all along, that this pipeline, like many other actions taken by the U.S. government, is in fact illegally operating.” Frazier recalled the world-renowned 2016-2017 mass mobilization against the pipeline in which grassroots resisters and leaders of all Seven Council Fires of the Great Sioux Nation, or Oceti Sakowin, established camps at Standing Rock to support of the tribal governments’ lawsuits. “It has been six years since the Dakota Access Pipeline began slithering a path through our treaty territory,” he said. “In 2016 water protectors stood up to the dangers that have threatened this land of which we are all a part. Today, the U.S. District Court ordered that the snake of oil moving through our territory cease….” The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association (GPTCA), the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), and the National Congress of American Indians Fund (NCAI Fund) stressed, “The decision ensures that the treaty-reserved rights of the plaintiff tribes – the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Yankton Sioux Tribe, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe – are adequately addressed, along with any other land and natural resource considerations, in a full-fledged and well-documented environmental review process. GPTCA, NARF, and NCAI Fund, which took part in submitting an amicus brief in the latest proceedings in the case, said they are “encouraged by this outcome,” adding, “We hope that this decision helps pave the way for full and proper environmental impact studies as well as meaningful consultation with tribal nations that have direct or indirect stewardship over the lands under review. “Our organizations will continue to work to ensure that every time tribal lands and resources are at stake, the environmental review processes meet all legal standards and respect the federal government’s trust obligations to tribes set forth in federal laws,” they said.Chairman Mike Faith: “Today is a historic day for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe & the many people who have supported us in the fight against the pipeline. This pipeline should have never been built here. We told them that from the beginning.” #NoDAPL #MniWiconi #HonorTheTreaties pic.twitter.com/NiBDNmP10W
— indianz.com (@indianz) July 6, 2020
Boasberg ordered the shutdown to last at least until a proper consultation with tribes and an environmental impact statement with public participation are completed, as required by the National Environmental Protection Act, NEPA. The process has an estimated duration of at least three years. That means “It may be up to a new administration to make final permitting decisions,” said Earthjustice, a law firm that represented plaintiffs. Boasberg ordered the Corps to re-examine the risks of the pipeline and prepare a full environmental impact statement on March 25 but left open the question of stopping the flow until now. “Fearing severe environmental consequences, American Indian tribes on nearby reservations have sought for several years to invalidate federal permits allowing the Dakota Access Pipeline to carry oil under the lake,” the judge said. “Today they finally achieve that goal — at least for the time being.”It has been six years since the Dakota Access Pipeline began slithering a path through Sioux Nation treaty territory. #NoDAPL #MniWiconi #HonorTheTreaties #LandBack https://t.co/TKFiMkZvcN
— indianz.com (@indianz) July 6, 2020
NATIVE SUN NEWS TODAY
Support Native media!
Read the rest of the story on Native Sun News Today: Dakota Access Pipeline shutdown order
Join the Conversation
