Dakota Access Pipeline
The controversy of the Dakota Access Pipeline has caught national attention, and continuously makes headlines. Many people across the nation, along with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, have protested by attempting to block the construction of the 1,200 mile-long pipeline to transport crude oil daily from North Dakota to Illinois. Officers have arrested more than 140 protesters, including actress Shailene Woodley, and have forced activists off of the land owned by the pipeline operators.
Why such a fuss over an oil pipeline, one may ask? In the central part of North and South Dakota is the reservation for the Standing Sioux Tribe, of around 10,000 people. Their primary drinking source, along with the rest of the state, is the Missouri River. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has reported over 3,300 oil and gas pipeline leaks and/or ruptures since 2010. And, the water’s purity can be ruined by the slightest leak. Out of concern for this, the Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners company has moved their pipeline to half a mile from the reservation, which the tribe claims runs over sacred spots and old burial grounds.
Tribal leaders still argue that the federal government didn’t properly follow the protocols established by the government during the permitting process, and therefore is illegal. In response, President Obama has requested Energy Transfer Partners to voluntarily halt construction on federal land. The company did not respond and has continued constructions, but the CEO is scheduled to meet with federal officials in the near future.
“It’s about our rights as native people to this land. It’s about our rights to worship. It’s about our rights to be able to call a place home, and it’s our rights to water.”
The benefits of having such a pipeline include making the US more energy independent. There is a huge gap in the amount of oil the US produces and consumes. In 2013, the “US produced 7.5 million barrels of crude oil per day, but still imported 7.7 million barrels per day “in order to meet consumer demands” according to the official website of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The “gap” between how much the US consumes and produces is enormous; about 5.6 billion barrels a year. The Dakota Access Pipeline is the first step in starting to bridge that gap, in making the US more energy-independent. Also, the construction of the pipeline would create 8,000 to 12,000 local jobs during construction.
Although there are many benefits to the pipeline, I strongly oppose the construction of it. As one of the protesters told Jeff Brady from NPR, “It’s about our rights as native people to this land. It’s about our rights to worship. It’s about our rights to be able to call a place home, and it’s our rights to water.” Would anyone ever dream of building an oil pipeline through Granary Burial Ground, where patriots such as Samuel Adams and Paul Revere are buried? If the sacred spots and burial grounds had more significance to the average American, then we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.
Unfortunately, this is just another example of how the American society perceives Native-American: as an annoyance. Not just any annoyance–one that asks for too much by claiming land that “doesn’t belong to them” although their ancestors are buried there. The entitlement of Energy Transfer Partners, frankly, disgusts me: the fact that they think they have the right to take away a part of their culture, and the fact that they expect the tribe to accommodate to their needs for the pipeline, and ignore the fact that their sacred spots and burial grounds would be crushed under it. And they have the audacity to defend themselves instead of looking for another way. They managed to avoid the Missouri river, after all.
I think the fact that this is such a big deal is ridiculous; it’s obvious what should be done. The pipeline should find another way to get to its destination, without going over any of the sacred spots and burial grounds of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, because it’s blatantly disrespectful and uncompassionate to do so. It’s definitely easier said than done, but it’s also the more civil thing to do.