Jon Eagle Sr., tribal historic preservation officer for the tribe, said normally he would have been notified about such a discovery, but he didn’t know about it until contacted Tuesday by Forum News Service.

“North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office has closed their doors to the tribe,” Eagle said. “They don’t return my phone calls, they didn’t respond to my letter. There’s no open communication.”

‘The site was protected’

The State Historical Society reviewed the site but did not notify Standing Rock representatives, even though they jointly toured part of the pipeline route three days after the Oct. 17 discovery.

The state’s chief archaeologist, Paul Picha, also didn’t notify the PSC about the evaluation of the cairns and artifacts.

Fedorchak said she first learned on Oct. 25 about the discovery from the third-party consultant hired by the PSC to inspect pipeline construction.

Keitu Engineers and Consultants wrote in a report that inspectors learned of the discovery during an Oct. 21 inspection. The firm said it was informed by an Energy Transfer Partners environmental inspector that the discovery was made “on or about Oct. 15.”