The Largest Native American Protest In HISTORY Is Happening Right Now And YOU Need To Know About It!
Right now the largest Native American PROTECT (not PROTEST) in history is happening in the Dakota’s. What’s going on? Well, the US Government is taking control of Native American lands and forcing them to allow oil developers to drill on their land and move oil via pipelines. From watching what happened with the Tar Sands of Canada, we can get a good glimpse at what the land will look like after they’re done with it.
The Tar Sands, Before and After
Running through a similar pathway as that of the well known failed Keystone XL project, the Bakken Pipeline would run across the Ogallala aquifer and the Mississippi rivers through sovereign Native lands.
This is their proposed pipeline plans, to take natural resources from the US and sell them to Asian and European markets:
Alejandro Dávila Fragoso with Think Progress reports:
A federal court said on Wednesday it will rule next month whether to temporarily halt construction of a controversial oil pipeline that has prompted large protests in North Dakota.
After more than
an hour-long hearing, Judge James E. Boasberg said he’ll decide as early
as Sept. 9 on the injunction request the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
filed against the so-called Bakken pipeline, a massive fracked oil line
that would cut through four Midwestern states and hundreds of waterways.
“We are pleased that we had our day in court today, and we look forward to a ruling soon,” said Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman
Dave Archaumbault II. “I believe that everyone who attended the hearing
today will understand that the tribe is seeking fundamental justice
here.”
Native Americans say the pipeline threatens sacred sites and drinking water resources, and that no meaningful consultation took place. The Army Corps
of Engineers disagrees. During the court hearing, the agency said the
tribe declined to be part of the process. The tribe in turn said they
didn’t want to legitimize a flawed process. The company building the
pipeline, DakotaAccess, says the project is safe and will benefit the
region and boost energy
independence. They have, however, agreed to stop construction in that
area of North Dakota until the court rules on the injunction.
The hearing in
D.C. comes about a month after the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sued the
Corps over the permits the Corps gave to the developer, DakotaAccess, to
build on an area roughly half-mile north of the reservation, and through the Missouri River — as well as other federal waterways.
Dating back to 1989, the Exxon Valdez
oil disaster springs to mind when we mention the last 30 years of
history regarding production and distribution of oil. This creates doubt
in many regarding the future investments in antiquated resources as
they feel there is no monetary value in further pursuing this path.
Europe and Asia are ever striving for a reduced carbon footprint and
greener energy sources, whereas America is more interested in nostalgic
energy sources.
Actresses Shailene Woodley, fourth
from right, and Susan Sarandon, second from right, and Standing Rock
Sioux Tribe member Bobbi Jean Three Lakes, right, participate in a rally
outside the US District Court in Washington. CREDIT: AP/MANUEL BALCE
CENETA
Mr Fragoso continues with:
The Bakken pipeline is
roughly 48 percent complete, officials said during the court hearing,
and the line is scheduled to start delivering oil in January.
Construction is ongoing almost everywhere else, though a small group of
Iowa landowners managed to get a construction reprieve from state
regulators Wednesday.
As the court hearing went on indoors in D.C., outside scores of mostly NativeAmericans from as far away as Arizona
gathered in a packed rally that continued even after the hearing was
over. Actresses Susan Sarandon and Shailene Woodley were part of the
protest. Woodley, who has been protesting in North Dakota, is one of
many celebrities that have over the past few months called along Native
Americans for a halt to construction and a repeal of pipeline permits.
Comparable in size to the more-famous (but rejected) Keystone XL,
the Bakken pipeline is slated to be the largest oil line coming out of
North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields, among the nation’s most active due to
the fracking boom. The line would move up to 570,000 barrels of sweet
crude oil daily through the Dakotas, Iowa, and Illinois.
The nearly $3.8
billion pipeline is slated to cross multiple watersheds in its more than
1,150 mile course. Aside from the alleged threat to sacred sites,critics
say the pipeline brings the threat of spill damage to thousands of
miles of fertile farmland, forests, and rivers. Federal agencies have said the Bakken Pipeline avoids “critical habitat.”
Most of the
affected land is farmland, but the project does run through wildlife
areas and major waterways like the Mississippi, and the Missouri, the
longest river in North America.
Would you instill your trust in
America’s track records relating to oil disasters? Could we even
remotely lay our trust in the very government and private industry when
it comes to running major rivers and watersheds? Just imagine the
possibilities of water contamination in areas spread over Texas to North
Dakota!
What are your thoughts?
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