Rule of law? Yeah, right. Feds Admit They Withheld Key Documents from Standing Rock Sioux.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers purposefully withheld key studies that could have helped the tribe evaluate the risks [of the DAPL]. One report modeled damage from potential spills; another weighed the likelihood of spills; a third compared alternative routes and discussed the environmental justice concerns raised by the project. The revelation highlights the federal government’s perception of its limited responsibility to consult with tribes even on matters that could threaten its welfare.

Kristen Carpenter, Oneida Indian Nation visiting professor of law at Harvard Law School, was amazed to learn that the government had denied these documents to the tribe. “To me that’s stunning,” she says. “People have been camped out and facing violence for months, when this information has been available all along. It’s the very information that would have allowed them to participate more substantially. The tribes didn’t have enough information at their hands to be fully informed.”

The Fight Downstream

At another site along the route of the DAPL, the folks associated with Bold Iowa have been working hard. Hundreds of people have been arrested for direct actions, and today, there was a court hearing for landowners fighting the seizure of their property through "eminent domain" by a private corporation. The linked article also includes video of a march and press conference.

“Regardless of how the Judge rules today, we continue to see more and more people stepping forward to challenge the misuse of eminent domain. Big Oil and this pipeline company have tried hard to intimidate farmers and landowners, and as we’ve seen today, many refuse to back down, refuse to be pushed around,” said Ed Fallon, Bold Iowa director.

“This eminent domain case is way bigger than just this pipeline,” says Steve Hickenbottom, a Jefferson County farmer and one of the landowners in the lawsuit. “It is an abuse of power that will have a lifetime of consequences. If they get away with this, the ride is just starting. Anyone could be next, and I do mean anyone. If our legal system and the Army Corps and any other government power cannot stop Dakota Access, then what really is next? How do you wield enough power to get law enforcement to come in against peaceful people and do what they are doing to them? The best thing we have going for us is our Tribal allies coming together and showing the rest of us what you have to do to get something stopped.”

The Pressure of Money

I've been encouraging people to Defund DAPL by removing their individual deposits from the banks that are invested in pipelines and other extractive industries. (Suggestions for how to do this and the full list of banks are here.)

To make an even bigger impact, municipalities, universities, and pension funds should be encouraged to also move their money. What banks are used by your city, university, or pension fund? Seattle, Minneapolis, and others have made moves. And now we're starting to see institutional investors question Energy Transfer Partners and their co-conspirators. A company called Nordea has issued a statement. I don't agree with the emphasis on rerouting, but this is still pressure that ETP, Sunoco, and Philips 66 will feel.

Selling the holdings in the three companies behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, i.e. Energy Transfer Partners, Sunoco Logistics Partners and Philips 66, would be needed:

• If the companies behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, in the next six-month period, make it clear that they will not respect the requirement to re-route the pipeline. In that case, Nordea’s Sustainable Finance team will recommend that our Responsible Investment Committee sells the holdings.

• If the companies in question are found guilty of breaching the rights of the indigenous people. In that case, Nordea’s Sustainable Finance team will recommend selling the holdings.

• If the companies win legal proceedings regarding the stretch of the oil pipeline concerned, or if an altered political situation results in the companies being granted access to lay the pipeline through the standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s land, Nordea’s Sustainable Finance team will recommend selling the holdings. Otherwise, Nordea will continue to attempt to influence the situation by being an active owner.

Oceti Sakowin Is Now Oceti Oyate

One sacred fire has been put out, and another has been lit. Here's a little vid (4:39) about life in camp.