American Indian tribes called on their legion of social media followers Wednesday to make one “last stand” against the Trump administration’ decision to approve the Dakota Access pipeline.
Standing Rock Sioux, the tribe opposing the multi-state pipeline, has dubbed Wednesday “#NODAPL Last Stand” day, and is calling on social media for “emergency actions.”
The tribe believes the line, which runs under the Missouri River, could potentially poison the group’s water supply, as well as trample ancient artifacts.
A list shows events planned across the U.S., Canada, Germany, and Spain.
The Army Corps of Engineers will grant the final easement for the so-called DAPL, according to Tuesday court filings. The contentious pipeline needed a final permit to tunnel under Lake Oahe, an important source of water for Standing Rock.
The nearly 1,200-mile line, once completed, will shuttle crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shale region to Illinois. The tribe has fought a vicious battle against the project, arguing the pipeline could poison its drinking water.
“As Native peoples, we have been knocked down again, but we will get back up, we will rise above the greed and corruption that has plagued our peoples since first contact,” Dave Archambault II, Standing Rock’s chairman, said in a statement following the news. His tribe is preparing to launch full-scale demonstrations and a legal fight against the project.
The project’s backers, meanwhile, praised the Army Corps’ decision.
“Our nation needs new energy infrastructure, which means we must have a process to build safe, efficient and environmentally sound projects like pipelines and power lines,” Sen. John Hoeven, said in a statement. The North Dakota Republican also pleaded with all sides to “peacefully resolve their differences.”
Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the DAPL, has hemorrhaged tens of millions of dollars since the Obama administration rejected the project in December.
Opposition to the multi-billion pipeline ratcheted up recently after President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders in January approving the construction of the DAPL and Keystone XL.
ETP’s CEO, Kelcy Warren, believes the company should be able to complete the project in a little over three months once it has the go-ahead.
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