[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n a statement released on Sunday the United States Army ordered Energy Transfer Partners and Dakota Access, LLC. to halt construction of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. The Army stated their reasons being that “additional discussion and analysis are warranted in light of the history of the Great Sioux Nation’s dispossessions of lands, the importance of Lake Oahe to the Tribe, our government-to-government relationship, and the statute governing easements through government property.”
The pipeline was planned to run from the Dakotas, all the way to Illinois, carrying crude oil. Originally planned to run through Bismarck, North Dakota, the pipeline was rerouted to run directly through Sioux land, owned and run by Sioux government, and issued to the Sioux Nation through treaties from the United States (even though it was originally Native land, stolen from Native peoples in the early times of the United States during Westward Expansion).
Protests of the pipeline by Sioux people, and others traveling to North Dakota have happened since April 2016 to try and stop the construction of the pipeline. The pipeline would run directly through sacred land, as well as Sioux water sources, poisoning water for an entire population of people: water that they rightfully deserve and need.
Though the stoppage of this pipeline right now is a huge win for the Sioux people, the future of the pipeline is uncertain. With the inauguration of the hateful Donald Trump quickly approaching, the pipeline could very well reappear in news, and soon. People must continue to support the Sioux people in their battle for land, water, and freedom.
