Native Americans Protest the Dakota Access Pipeline

These days, if you have visited Facebook, you might have noticed that some of your friends have changed their geographical location to a place called "Standing Rock" in North America. These friends are part of over a million people who have virtually joined the protesters against the Dakota Access Pipeline; a project costing about $4 billion that aims to transport oil across four states in the U.S. and produce approximately 470,000 barrels of oil daily. Protests against this project intensified this spring, with Native Americans at the forefront expressing concerns that the pipeline could lead to pollution of the Missouri River, the largest river in North America. These Native Americans also claim that their cultural heritage and sacred lands are at risk of destruction. As spring turned to summer, the protests escalated. Many environmental activists and civil rights advocates joined, and by the end of summer, the protests turned violent. Hundreds, and according to some reports, at times thousands of protesters gathered at the construction site of the pipeline. Law enforcement in the area confronted protesters with tear gas and police dogs, and so far, hundreds have been arrested or faced legal action. About two months ago, the federal government issued a voluntary halt to construction near one of the water storage reservoirs on the Missouri River, but construction has continued on private lands. Now, President Barack Obama, who has faced criticism for his silence on this project and the treatment of protesters, has stated that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is exploring potential options to reroute the Dakota Access Pipeline to address the concerns of the local Native Americans. Mr. Obama told the news outlet "Nodice" that his administration, which is nearing its end, is "closely monitoring developments but will allow the results of the reviews in the coming weeks to determine whether this issue can be resolved." The Guardian reports that activists and protesters are dissatisfied with the previous stance and silence of the U.S. President on this issue, and the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's approach, which merely stated that both sides should be heard, has not been sufficient for them. According to this report, last week there were also indications of financial connections between Republican candidate Donald Trump and the contractor of the Dakota Access Pipeline.