by Tyler Fransen
It was a heavy week of protests and violence in North Dakota over an oil pipeline that activists say would put Native American burial grounds, historical sites and water at risk.
The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), reported to cost $3.8 billion, was challenged in a federal court by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe on Friday Sept. 9. The judge presiding over the case, James E. Boasberg, ruled that the pipeline project can continue, ending the judge’s temporary halting of the construction.
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe argued in court for a permanent halting of the pipeline construction. The tribe expressed that they were not properly notified by federal authorities and cited concerns about the environmental and cultural impact of construction. The pipeline is being built by Energy Transfer Partners LP and aims to carry crude oil across multiple states, including North Dakota, South Dakota and Illinois.
Boasberg’s ruling came as a disappointment to those fighting against the DAPL, however the Obama administration, specifically the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Department
of Justice (DOJ) have ordered the halting of construction. The order came mere hours after the court’s ruling.
Meanwhile, protests over the pipeline continue to be the subject of controversy and has prominent figures arguing over the pipeline. Green Party Presidential nominee, Jill Stein, and her running mate Ajamu Baraka, were issued arrest warrants for spray painting construction equipment being used for the pipeline.
The United Nations has said they support the tribe’s fight against the pipeline. In a statement released from Alvaro Pop Ac, Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for the UN, “Given [the] circumstances, we call on the government of the United States to comply with the provisions recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ensure the right of the Sioux to participate in decision- making, considering that the construction of this pipeline will affect their rights, lives and territory,” Ac said.
For now the Army, DOJ and DOI have halted the construction, but that does not mean that this process is over for either side. Further rulings and decisions will take place, but there is currently no specific timeline in place.
