In Cannon Ball, North Dakota, near standing rock, protesters are celebrating a hard earned victory: the Dakota Access Pipeline will be moved to an alternate route not under Lake Oahe. The Sioux tribe and many others fought hard against the placement of the pipeline under the lake because of the anger it poses to damaging the water source used for the reservation. Protesters are overjoyed by the news, but some decide to stay at the site in case the victory is short lived. There is no confirmation of a completely safe alternative route that won't damage the water supply, so some are still wary, especially since the decision was impacted by the current president, President Obama who will no longer be president in a few short months and the decision could be reversed by the next administration. Certain politicians disagree with Obama's actions, whereas some agree wholeheartedly with his judgement.
The author is this article was slightly biased in favor of the protesters, highlighting how hard they worked, staying out in freezing temperatures to fight off the pipeline, and how they deserved a victory. I, personally, agree with the author. This is great news and a hard earned for environmentalists and the Sioux tribe. I think if the plans for the pipeline went through, not only would it be a great disrespect for the Sioux tribe and harmful to the environment, it could possibly make the government directly responsible for the death of Sioux people on the reservation dying due to poisoned groundwater. This can be synthesized to how Andrew Jackson forced the Native Americans to live in reservations, despite the obvious disrespect and malice in that decision.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/04/politics/dakota-access-pipeline/index.html
They worked extremely hard for this, yet Donald Trump is in support of the pipeline and it's original route, so it may be best to wait. And with his support, it's obvious how much America is trying to kill off the Native Americans, who deserve much more.
ReplyDelete-Anna Czyzewski