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News > World

North Dakota Demonstrators Celebrate Victory, Remain Vigilant

  • North Dakota Indigenous demonstrator raises his fist in victory.

    North Dakota Indigenous demonstrator raises his fist in victory. | Photo: Reuters

Published 5 December 2016
Opinion

Demonstrators are full of momentum and are preparing themselves for any challenges an upcoming Trump administration may present.

Opponents of the North Dakota Access pipeline are remaining vigilant after their recent triumph in blocking the project, with some suggesting the victory would be useful in court if the incoming Trump administration were to challenge it.

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Protesters Win: US Army Corps Denies Route for Dakota Pipeline

On Sunday, the Army Corps of Engineers announced that they were denying access for the 1,172-mile pipeline and would instead be looking for alternate routes. This marked a huge victory for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and the thousands of Indigenous and non-Indigenous demonstrators who showed up in solidarity over the last few months from all over the world. Now, many are focusing on the next steps, particularly as the incoming Trump administration looms.

"If the incoming administration tries to undo this and jam the pipeline through despite the need for an analysis of alternatives, we will certainly be prepared to challenge that in court," Jan Hasselman, an Earthjustice staff attorney representing the Standing Rock Sioux tribe told CNN. "It's not so simple for one government administration to simply reverse the decisions of the former one."

Though U.S. President-elect Donald Trump hasn’t yet reacted to Sunday’s news, he has in the past openly championed pipelines and conventional fossil fuel exploitation, apart from calling global warming a "hoax."

What’s more, Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners – the ones building the pipeline – blasted the U.S. Army’s decision Sunday night, calling it a “pure political action” and vowing to go ahead with the project.

RELATED:
'Historical Trauma' Brought Native Americans to Standing Rock

“(Energy Transfer Partners) and (Sunoco Logistics Partners) are fully committed to ensuring that this vital project is brought to completion and fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe,” the statement read. “Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way.”

Though cautious, protesters are standing strong, suggesting that the momentum from North Dakota will not be so easily rolled back.

"The fight against Dakota Access has fired up a resistance movement that is ready to take on any fossil fuel project the Trump administration tries to approve,” May Boeve, executive director of the environmental group 350.org told CNN. “On Dakota Access and every other pipeline: If he tries to build it, we will come."

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