After months of protests and clashes, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and environmental protesters just won a major victory against Energy Transfer Partners.
On Sunday afternoon, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers refused to issue the permit that the oil company needed in order to build a pipeline under the Missouri river.
According to the Atlantic, the corps required an investigation followed up by an environment-impact statement, process that should take up to two years , to assess the risks of building a pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux’s water.
“The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing,” said Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Army assistant secretary for civil works who oversees the Corps of Engineers, in a statement.
This is a major victory for the indigenous activists who have been protesting since the spring to preserve their ancestral lands.
Thousands of people had gathered near Cannon Ball, N.D, for the past few weeks to protest the construction of a new oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
The Standing Rock protest sparked solidarity across the world with hashtags such as #NoDAPL and #StandWithStandingRock emerging on social media. This smashing victory shows how effective non-violent unity can be.
This protest was not a standard environmentalists vs industrials fight, it was mainly a spiritual resistance. The camp was described by David Archambault, the head of the Standing Rock Sioux, as a place of prayer where drum circles and sacred fires were common sightings.
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