The last year has been a contentious one, to say the least. Presidential elections aside, a major movement that stirred millions to action was the protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Sovereign nations and their allies came together to protest against the building of a pipeline that would endanger the waters and destroy the sacred sites of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota. Met with violence and a complete dishonoring of the treaties established between Native Americans and the federal government, water protectors have continued to resist these pipelines with such dangerous potential.
It is somber to think that almost a year after the events that occurred on the Sioux tribe land, the very thing they were fighting to prevent has occurred in the neighboring South Dakota; on the eve of a holiday that reminds Native Americans of all that was taken from and continues to be taken from their people. The TransCanada owned Keystone Pipeline reported Thursday that an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil spilled near the town of Amherst, South Dakota. Environmentalists at the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources have said that the company took more than five hours to report the spill to them. TransCanada said in a statement that “emergency procedures were activated” within 15 minutes of the spill.
The mistrust with TransCanada, Keystone leaked twice in 2011 and again in April of 2016, has led to mass protest of Keystone XL. Despite fierce opposition and the leak that occurred last week, Nebraska regulators approved the 275-mile pipeline by a 3-2 vote. Aside from the major environmental concerns, commissioner Crystal Rhoades (who voted no on the pipeline) has said that there is no evidence that jobs created for the construction of the pipeline would be given to Nebraska residents. According to Vice News, a 2011 law stopped regulators from taking into consideration pipeline safety in their decision, almost guaranteeing the approval of the pipeline. TransCanada’s decision not to consult with any indigenous groups in Nebraska is just another reason for concern over what the construction of Keystone XL might mean for the future of our planet.
Cover Photo: https://www.theguardian.com/us