Sioux Tribe Win in Court, Stop Pipeline in Their Homeland

An indigenous tribe in the United States is celebrating “a significant legal win” after a federal court granted their request to strike down a permit that has threatened their culture and way of life.

The Dakota Access Pipeline, constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, runs beneath Lake Oahe from North Dakota to Illinois, where an oil spill could severely impact the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s land. But as of March 25^th, the United States District Court has stripped the project of its federal permits after finding significant unresolved issues about the potential impacts of the oil spills, while noting that the Army Corps violated the National Environmental Policy Act.

“The Tribes now rely on the waters of Lake Oahe in myriad ways, including for drinking, agriculture, industry, and sacred religious and medicinal practices,” states the ruling.

“After years of commitment to defending our water and earth, we welcome this news of a significant legal win,” says Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Mike Faith. “It’s humbling to see how actions we took four years ago to defend our ancestral homeland continue to inspire national conversations about how our choices ultimately affect this planet.”

The Court has ordered the Army Corps to prepare a full environmental impact statement on the pipeline – just as the Tribe has been requesting since the federal permits for the pipeline were originally issued in 2016.