Dakota Access Pipeline Protests

Overview

Dakota Access Pipeline Protests refer to ongoing demonstrations against a proposed oil pipeline planned by the natural gas and propane company Energy Transfer Partners to be constructed in the Bakken oil fields in Northwest North Dakota, crossing beneath the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and part of Lake Oahe by the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Much of the opposition has come from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, who claim that the construction of the pipeline threatens their primary source of drinking water and irrigation.

Background

In June 2014, the board of directors for Energy Transfer Partners approved the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. In March and April 2016, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Interior (DOI) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation requested a formal Environment Impact Assessment to be conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine the potential environmental effects of the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline. In July, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers for violating the National Historic Preservation Act by issuing permits to construct the pipeline, noting that the construction could potentially harm their primary source of water.

Developments

Demonstrations

In April, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe elder LaDonna Bravebull Allard established the Sacred Stones camp as a site of resistance to the pipeline. Over the next several months, thousands of people moved to the camp in support of the protests. In August, the group ReZpect our Water ran cross-country from North Dakota to Washington, D.C. to deliver a petition signed by 140,000 people in protest of the pipeline to the Army Corps of Engineers. In September, NBC News published an article on the camp, reporting that 300 Native American tribes were residing in the camp.^[7] On September 3rd, the Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier claimed protesters crossed onto private property and attacked security guards. On September 3rd, the Democracy Now! YouTube channel uploaded a news report from the protest site (shown below).

On September 9th, the EPA, the DOI and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation ordered to halt construction until additional environment impact assessments were made.

Politicians' Reactions

On September 13th, Senator Bernie Sanders called on President Barack Obama to halt the oil pipeline's construction.^[8] On October 25th, former Vice President Al Gore issued a statement showing his support for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.^[4]

Construction Halted

On December 4th, 2016, the Army Corps of Engineers denied easement for the pipeline to cross Lake Oahe and would have to find an alternative route.^[14] That day, many celebrated the decision on social media, viewing the protests as a victory against the construction of the pipeline at Standing Rock (shown below).

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders posted a tweet thanking the Obama administration for listening to the Native American people and protesters against the pipeline. Within 24 hours, the tweet gained over 52,100 likes and 24,100 retweets.^[15]

Online Reactions

On Reddit

Many posts about the pipeline protests have reached the front page of various subreddits, including /r/politics,^[11] /r/news^[12] and /r/politicalrevolution.^[13] On October 28th, 2016, Redditor wherameye posted a photograph of police wearing camouflage at Standing Rock to the /r/pics^[3] subreddit (shown below). Within 72 hours, the post gained over 9,600 votes (82% upvoted) and 5,700 comments.

On Twitter

During the summer of 2016, Twitter users began posting the hashtag "#NoDAPL"^[9] in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (shown below). In August, the @NoDAPL Twitter^[10] feed was launched. On October 30th, Twitter user @zhaabowkwe tweeted footage from the protest, claiming that several "Native American youth were maced multiple times" (shown below).

On Facebook

On February 24th, 2016, the Standing Rock Dakota Access Pipeline Opposition Facebook^[1] page was created, which gathered upwards of 70,700 likes within nine months. On October 27th, Facebook user Atsa E'sha Hoferer began livestreaming the protests (shown below).

On October 31st, a Facebook status update began circulating claiming that the Morton County Sheriff's Department was using Facebook as a surveillance tool to "disrupt prayer camps," calling for all Facebook users to "check in" at the site to confuse law enforcement (shown below).

That day, over 130,000 Facebook users "checked in" at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation location page.^[2] Meanwhile, Snopes^[5] published an article about the Facebook status update, listing the claims made about the Morton County Sheriff's Department as "unproven."

Wild Buffalo Sighting

On October 28th, 2016, Vimeo user videobuzz uploaded footage of protesters cheering at a herd of buffalo (shown below). That day, Snopes^[6] published an article about the buffalo sighting video, noting that several inaccurate images of buffalo at the protest site began circulating online.

Search Interest

External References