Environment | Law | National | Politics

Hundreds rally at White House to block Dakota Access Pipeline

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) speaks at a #NoDAPL rally in front of the White House on September 13, 2016. Photo by Indianz.Com

Several hundred people rallied in front of the White House on Tuesday to pressure the Obama administration to cancel the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline.

A key portion of the controversial project is on hold pending further review of issues raised by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. But opponents called on President Barack Obama to put an end to the project altogether.

"This pipeline, it's poison. It's poison and it's going to kill us," said Jasilyn Charger, a young member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe who has been at the forefront of the #NoDAPL and ReZpect Our Water movements.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), who was the first national political figure to oppose the pipeline, echoed the sentiments. He said a "full environmental and cultural impact analysis" will show the true dangers of the project.

Jasilyn Charger, a young member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, speaks at a #NoDAPL rally in front of the White House on September 13, 2016. Photo by Indianz.Com

"We've got to change the federal government's relationship with Native people," Sanders, a former candidate for president, said to applause.

"They've been lied to. They've been exploited," he said. "This has got to change."

The rally came as Energy Transfer Partners, the parent company of Dakota Access, broke four days of silence on the controversy. A memo from chairman and chief executive Kelcy Warren vowed to complete the pipeline despite new obstacles.

"We – like all Americans – value and respect cultural diversity and the significant role that Native American culture plays in our nation’s history and its future and hope to be able to strengthen our relationship with the Native American communities as we move forward with this project," Warren wrote.

Indianz.Com on YouTube: Jasilyn Charger: 'Youth led this movement'

At the same time, Warren rejected all of the arguments that the tribe and #NoDAPL resisters have raised. He said the pipeline will not harm sacred sites or impact water resources despite its proposed path under the Missouri River at Lake Oahe.

"I am confident that as long as the government ultimately decides the fate of the project based on science and engineering, the Dakota Access Pipeline will become operational bringing a safer means of transportation to a much needed supply of oil to communities across the country," Warren said.

Warren promised meetings with "officials in Washington" but otherwise did not explain how Dakota Access will convince the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to approve work at Lake Oahe. Without that easement -- which is on hold as a result of the Obama administration's extraordinary action -- the pipeline cannot transport oil along its current path in North Dakota.

The memo was also noticeably silent on the lawsuit that prompted the administration's intervention. Dakota Access has not filed any papers in court since Friday, when a judge ruled against the tribe's motion for a preliminary injunction against the Army Corps.

Indianz.Com on YouTube: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) at #NoDAPL Rally

"Energy Transfer Partners has demonstrated time and time again that the bottom line for them is money," Chairman Dave Archambault II said in a statement on Tuesday. "The bottom line for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is and will always be protecting our lands, people, water, and sacred sites from the devastation of this pipeline."

The tribe already filed a notice of appeal and asked Judge James Boasberg for an injunction that would have forced Dakota Access to stop all work pending resolution of that appeal. But the request -- which was joined by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe -- was rejected on Monday.

Additionally, Boasberg struck a new filing by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe from the record. A short order noted that the tribe, although it has been allowed to enter the case as a plaintiff, is "not entitled to its own separate complaint."

Relevant Documents:
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Notice of Appeal (September 9, 2016)
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Motion for An Injunction Pending Appeal (September 9, 2016)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Response to Plaintiff's Motion For an Injunction (September 9, 2016)
Joint Statement from the Department of Justice, the Department of the Army and the Department of the Interior Regarding Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (September 9, 2016)
Federal Court Decision in #NoDAPL Case (September 9, 2016)