Chairman of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe speaks at United Nations


U.S. Ambassador Keith Harper, left, and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault II. Photo from U.S. Mission in Geneva

LISTEN: Chairman Dave Archambault II addresses the United Nations Human Rights Council

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is bringing the #NoDAPL movement to the international stage.

Chairman Dave Archambault II met with U.S. Ambassador Keith Harper in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday to talk about his tribe's resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline.

"They discussed the efforts, including peaceful protests, to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline and the related human rights and indigenous rights issues," the U.S. Mission in Geneva wrote on Facebook.

Archambault is also due to address the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday afternoon. Harper, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the inter-governmental body.

"Ambassador Harper welcomed the participation of the Standing Rock Sioux at the Human Rights Council‎," the U.S. Mission in Geneva stated.

Leaders and members of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues have already come out in support of the #NoDAPL movement. They have called on the United States to recognize the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ensure that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's concerns about the $3.8 billion pipeline are addressed.

"The pipeline would adversely affect not only the security and access to drinking water of the Sioux and millions of people living downstream of the Missouri River, but it would also destroy archaeological, historical and sacred sites of the Sioux," a statement from the Permanent Forum read.

The United Nations Human Rights Council consists of 47 governments that promote and protect human rights around the world. Harper is the first Native American to serve as ambassador to the body and is the first member of a federally-recognized tribe to serve as an ambassador for the U.S.

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals #NoDAPL Injunction:
Order: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (September 16, 2016)

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