Pipeline Protest Freezes to a Standstill

Pipeline Protest Freezes to a Standstill

Rylee Moore (12th), Reporter

This past January, Dakota Access announced their plans to construct a 1,172 mile pipeline, starting in North Dakota and ending in southern Illinois. This pipeline, partly, will be located underneath a Sioux reservation.

This ground is sacred to its residents, and since the announcement of construction plans, people have come by the hundreds to protest, becoming the largest gathering of indigenous nations in modern history.

Over the past few months, the protests have escalated from peaceful to violent. Demonstrators have been starting fires and becoming physically aggressive towards police officers attempting to tame the chaos. Officers have been retaliating the violence with use of tears gas, excessive macing, and improper use of security dogs.

Former Green Party presidential candidate, Jill Stein, joined the protests herself, and was photographed vandalizing a Dakota Access bulldozer with spray paint.

In April, Sacred Stone Camp was founded as a center for protesters and as a cultural preservation site. It has become a residence to more than 300 nationally recognized Native Americans protesting the pipeline construction.

The Standing Rock Sioux has since filed a lawsuit against Dakota Access, claiming the pipeline will disturb tribal grounds and contaminate the water supply, despite an environmental assessment that found the pipeline to have no serious environmental impact.

A petition has been written and collected over 100,000 signatures. It was sent to the White House, but not received. In November, however, President Barack Obama began examining the possibility of rerouting the pipeline as to not disturb the reservation.

No actions have been taken to resolve the issue. Construction continuation is still up for debate, and protestors and demonstrators are still fighting strong. Even as the weather reaches below freezing temperatures, those in protest are still out fighting night and day or their cause. It appears it will be a long time before a conclusion is reached. The standoff continues.