Email from Janet Alkire, Standing Rock Chairwoman via ActionNetwork.org
I write to you today with exciting news! On Wednesday, Standing Rock will bring together Tribal leaders from across the Great Sioux Nation to sit down with the U.S. Army and relay our concerns about the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL).
After years of our #NoDAPL resistance falling on deaf ears, the government finally reached out to us for our thoughts. This is a big moment!
Watch: In our new video, I discuss the importance of tribal input and gaining our consent for DAPL.
As you are likely aware, we expected the Army Corps of Engineers to release its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on this dangerous pipeline earlier this month. But that’s now on hold, and with good reason. We are entitled to be heard on this project, and the opportunity to express our concerns is long overdue.
So, today, I am grateful. I’m excited to meet with the Assistant Secretary of the Army Civil Works and relay our point of view. It’s important to me that all the Great Plains Tribes are invited to be a part of this conversation. Together, in unity, we are strong — and it’s not just Standing Rock that will be affected when DAPL spills.
A catastrophic spill in or around the Missouri River could pollute the water of several Tribes, many states, and millions of people across the heartland of America. There’s no telling how vast the toxin spread could be, so we will continue to do everything in our power to prevent that.
Right now, we also have some additional leverage. This meeting with the Army will happen against the backdrop of a huge win for Standing Rock in the Supreme Court. Last week, the High Court shut down the oil company’s attempt to make an end-run around DAPL’s environmental oversight process. Thankfully, the EIS will still be required — and I’m praying that the Army will really listen to input from all the Tribes.
As we approach this pivotal moment, I offer my gratitude to all of you who have stood with Standing Rock since our #NoDAPL fight began in 2016 and to everyone who recently signed up to receive this newsletter. We will, of course, report on the results of the meeting to you soon. In the meantime, we must stay united, strong, and
ready to act.
Wopila tanka — thank you, always, for standing with Standing Rock.
Janet Alkire
Chairwoman
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
News from earlier this month:
- indianz.com…Fate of Dakota Access Pipeline lies in Biden’s hands — February 22, 2022 |By Acee Agoyo
The wealthy backers of the Dakota Access Pipeline have been turned away by the nation’s highest court, leaving the long-running dispute over its illegal operation firmly in the hands of the Biden administration.
In an order on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition in Dakota Access v. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The action confirms that the final portion of the $3.8 billion oil pipeline has been operating without a federal permit for almost five years now.
Just as significantly, the development means that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can move forward with a long-delayed environmental review of the disputed segment. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has already been asking allies to weigh in on a controversy that has now stretched through three presidential administrations…..
- redlakenationnews.com/... Standing Rock Tribal Chair Supports Supreme Court Decision Not to Block Dakota Access Pipeline Environmental Review February 24, 2022
Janet Alkire, the Chairwoman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, reacted today to the announcement made yesterday by the U.S. Supreme Court that it will not review a lower court ruling that an Environmental Impact Statement is required for the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL).
“This is a victory for Standing Rock,” Alkire says. “The Supreme Court’s announcement demonstrates that we were correct all along. A thorough review of DAPL’s impact on public health and a detailed Environmental Impact Statement should have been prepared before DAPL went online.”
On January 26, 2021, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that an EIS must be prepared for DAPL. Energy Transfer LLP, DAPL’s operator, appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Yesterday, the High Court denied review, effectively putting an end to the current litigation.
“The ball is now in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ court,” Alkire explains. “The Corps is obligated to prepare a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement detailing the true threat that DAPL poses to our land, our water and our people.”
According to Alkire, in preparing the EIS, the Corps has not shown much interest in Standing Rock’s views of the pipeline’s environmental impacts. “Standing Rock is the community that will be most affected by an oil spill in the Missouri River, but the Corps has limited our input,” she says. “Important concerns of our Tribe, such as DAPL’s inadequate emergency response plans, are being totally ignored by the Army Corps of Engineers.” According to Alkire, that puts Tribal first responders at unnecessary risk.
For these reasons, on January 20, Standing Rock withdrew as a cooperating agency in the Corps’ process of developing the EIS. … Alkire — the first woman elected to lead the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in more than six decades — has scheduled a meeting on March 2 at Standing Rock with Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army, to discuss the Tribe’s concerns with the EIS process….
and from October:
FORT YATES, N.D. (AP) — The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has elected a woman to be its next leader, according to results released Tuesday.
Janet Alkire would be the first woman to head the tribal council in more than half a century. Gates Kelley was elected Standing Rock chairwoman in 1946 and was the first woman to preside over a tribe in the United States, South Dakota Public Broadcasting reported...
...A 15-year Air Force veteran, Alkire has served as Standing Rock’s executive director twice.
Alkire’s platform included prioritizing youth and elderly wellness initiatives, homelessness, economic development and government transparency. She favors mental health, addiction treatment and rehabilitation for all members and is an advocate for child welfare.
The Standing Rock Reservation straddles the North Dakota and South Dakota border and is home to about 8,000 people...