NARF VOWS TO STAND FIRM AGAINST ANY INCURSIONS ON OR HARM TO INDIAN LANDS

Yesterday, President Trump signed two Presidential Memoranda. One intends to expedite the Dakota Access pipeline (“DAPL”) from North Dakota to Illinois and resurrect the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.  In 2016, NARF committed to stand firm with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (“Tribes”) in their efforts to halt construction of the DAPL under Lake Oahe.  The recent announcements from the Oval Office have made it abundantly clear this Administration will side with and protect the interests of “Big Oil” over the treaty-secured rights of Native peoples and in violation of federal laws which protect the environment.  In light of these announcements, NARF is recommitting its opposition to the construction of DAPL and any other pipeline that will either encroach upon or threaten Indian land. NARF is dedicating additional resources and will continue to work with the attorneys for the Tribes on a litigation strategy that includes multiple “friend of the court” briefs to ensure a voice for interests and rules that Big Oil would rather be ignored. These briefs will provide a fuller perspective of the wide-ranging harms caused by a failure of the federal government to consult with tribes on massive infrastructure projects throughout Indian country.

At this time we are again calling upon you, our loyal supporters and allies of Indian country, to write/call and/or email your representatives in the Congress and urge them to publicly support the Tribes in their efforts to have the federal agencies complete a full environmental review of DAPL as required by law and to fully consider alternative routes for the DAPL. This administration must not be allowed to ignore the treaty rights or health interests of Native peoples by exposing them to what could be one of the worst pollution disasters this country has ever seen.

ACTION STEPS

We urge you to stand firm with us. You can join this fight by submitting comments to the Environmental Impact Statement. Submit your comments here.

You can also help by calling your Congressional representatives and let them know that the people do not stand behind Trump’s Presidential Memoranda.

Mni Wiconi. Water is Life.

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