The Dakota Access Pipeline Controversy
Introduction
The Dakota Access Pipeline, or DAPL, is a proposed pipeline that would run one-thousand two-hundred miles from North Dakota to Illinois and carry more than four-hundred and seventy thousand barrels of crude oil. Ninety-nine percent of the land the pipeline covers is private land and does not need federal approval for construction. The Army Corps of Engineers reviewed the remaining one percent and concluded construction would have no serious impact on the environment. They decided to build the pipeline slightly north of the Standing Rock Reservation, directly through the tribe’s burial grounds, without their approval. The tribe believes that the pipeline would ruin the environment and their drinking water, despite the Corps’ claims. After many months of protest, the Corps reversed their decision and halted construction. President Donald Trump recently issued …show more content…
The largest argument against the pipeline is that it will run directly through the Lakota Sioux tribe’s burial ground and sacred sites (Reuters, 2016). Environmentalists also worry that the pipeline will break. If the pipeline breaks, the Lakota will no longer have clean drinking water, and the surrounding area will be devastated.
In the Lakota Tribe, there is a prophecy that a “black snake” slithers above the ground, and when it goes underground, it will devastate the earth. The Lakota people believe that the oil running through the pipeline is the “black snake” that will bring destruction to the planet (Brady, 2016). The protesters have taken on the phrase, “Kill the Black Snake!” as a battle-cry at their protests and demonstrations. The photo below provided by Oklahoma University shows a protester holding up a sign referencing the Black Snake in a protest outside the Oklahoma Capitol Building.
Introduction
The Dakota Access Pipeline, or DAPL, is a proposed pipeline that would run one-thousand two-hundred miles from North Dakota to Illinois and carry more than four-hundred and seventy thousand barrels of crude oil. Ninety-nine percent of the land the pipeline covers is private land and does not need federal approval for construction. The Army Corps of Engineers reviewed the remaining one percent and concluded construction would have no serious impact on the environment. They decided to build the pipeline slightly north of the Standing Rock Reservation, directly through the tribe’s burial grounds, without their approval. The tribe believes that the pipeline would ruin the environment and their drinking water, despite the Corps’ claims. After many months of protest, the Corps reversed their decision and halted construction. President Donald Trump recently issued …show more content…
The largest argument against the pipeline is that it will run directly through the Lakota Sioux tribe’s burial ground and sacred sites (Reuters, 2016). Environmentalists also worry that the pipeline will break. If the pipeline breaks, the Lakota will no longer have clean drinking water, and the surrounding area will be devastated.
In the Lakota Tribe, there is a prophecy that a “black snake” slithers above the ground, and when it goes underground, it will devastate the earth. The Lakota people believe that the oil running through the pipeline is the “black snake” that will bring destruction to the planet (Brady, 2016). The protesters have taken on the phrase, “Kill the Black Snake!” as a battle-cry at their protests and demonstrations. The photo below provided by Oklahoma University shows a protester holding up a sign referencing the Black Snake in a protest outside the Oklahoma Capitol Building.