The American Indian group at the center of the Dakota Access pipeline has been sending a series of mixed messages since the previously approved multi-state project was rejected.
Standing Rock Sioux believes the nearly 1,200-mile-long pipeline will destroy ancient tribal artifacts and potentially poison the Missouri River and Lake Oahe, which are important water sources for the tribe.
The multi-billion dollar DAPL, which is expected to bring 470,000 barrels of Bakken crude oil per day from western North Dakota to southern Illinois, was rejected by the Army Corps of Engineers on Dec.4 after initially approving it in July.
Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault initially celebrated the Army Corps’ decision, telling those occupying various campsites near the line that they achieved “victory” but it’s time to disband.
The tribe’s other leaders were not so quick to give such orders.
Standing Rock member Chase Iron Eyes, for instance, told protesters Wednesday on social media that they must continue occupying the pipeline space, even after the government’s decision.
“We don’t stand in a place to tell people to leave,” Iron Eyes said.
He added: “This is not a time for celebration. If it’s a time for anything … it’s a time to honor all the sacrifices that have been made” by camp occupants. More than 500 have been arrested since August.
More than 500 activists have been arrested during the months-long demonstrations. The occupation has also resulted in an uptick of violence between police and environmentalists.
Local citizens and law enforcement officials meanwhile simply want Morton County, the small town housing the campsites, to go back to normal.
“We’ve all been asking for a decision, the decision’s been made,” said Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney. “Whether people are happy about it, whether people are upset, it’s really irreverent to me. What I want is de-escalation and what we all want is Morton County to go back to normal and all of our lives to go back to normal.”
Archambault, for his part, made a strange admission of his own earlier this week, telling reporters that the “pipeline had every right to go through” North Dakota but was scuttled at the last moment by those at the campsite.
His comments are striking, because they imply there was no moral imperative to stop the pipeline, which seemingly rebuts demands for the pipeline be rerouted based on the project’s supposed violation of American Indian rights.
Reports show the line was modified more than 141 times to satisfy those concerns.
Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline’s developer, moved the project South near the Standing Rock, because the route was 11 miles shorter and considered less damaging to the environment – the northern route would have required significant modifications to avoid waterways. It also cost $23 million less than the initial route.
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