The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s battle to save their ancestral lands seems to have come to a devastating end.
Robert Speer, the acting secretary of the Army, has approved the contentious construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), despite failing to go through with an environmental impact statement meant to assess the effects of the pipeline.
Standing Rock Sioux chairman Dave Archambault II vows to continue to fight, but shared the pain of the defeat to The New York Times, saying, “As native peoples, we have been knocked down again.”
Many members of the tribe have opposed the pipeline because it runs so close to the source of the their drinking water in North Dakota.
Any spill from the pipeline, which is set to run under the Missouri River, could poison the reservation’s water supply. It is also said to cross through the tribe’s sacred ancestral lands.
In addition to the Sioux, thousands of environmentalists and activists have flocked to a protest camp to fight back against the now-approved pipeline. Actress Shailene Woodley even used Facebook Live to document her arrest on the site. She can be heard saying, “I hope you’re watching, mainstream media,” as officers take her away.
Last month President Donald Trump did his part in expediting the pipeline, signing an executive order to end environmental reviews on the DAPL as well as the Keystone XL pipeline.
He had called the process of approving the pipelines “out of control,” and promised to shorten it. “We’re either going to give you your permits, or we’re not going to give you your permits. But you’re going to know very quickly. And generally speaking, we’re going to be giving you your permits.”
Republicans, such as Governor Doug Burgum applauded the approval, believing that the $3.7 billion project had already taken too long to get under way.
Meanwhile, protestors of the potentially dangerous pipeline are feeling like their “hearts have been broken.” Linda Black Elk, part of the protest’s healer council, has asked everyone to keep the tribe in their prayers.
“Pray for the water. Pray for the people. Pray for the water protectors. Pray for the tribe,” she shared, in an emotional video posted to Facebook.
