By Izabella Gonzalez, Courier Staff Writer
As of December 4th, the Army Corps of Engineers denied the permit allowing the pipeline to be built through Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North and South Dakota.
The energy company behind the pipeline construction, Enbridge, claims the 1,172 mile pipeline will make transporting crude oil more efficient and safe. Construction began in January of this year and was expected to run by late 2016. Protesters joined together to ensure that wouldn’t happen, but the company was willing to fight back.
Videos of police allowing their dogs to attack protesters have spread. Law enforcement used water cannons and rubber bullets on a peaceful crowd of Native Americans and other allies. The water cannons were fired during extremely cold nights, resulting in some people being hospitalized with hypothermia.
Joe Angeles, a counselor at Logan, went to Standing Rock for a week. He describes what he witnessed, “The highway was being used as a blockade. So the police used the water cannons to stop them. It was during freezing temperatures, so minutes after being sprayed, the water turned to ice.” He said it was “disturbing to see the treatment of people. I don’t think what we did warranted that kind of treatment.”
Despite how law enforcement treated the protesters, Angeles still saw the positive side because of how people came together to support each other. “It reminds you how good people are,” he shared. He explained how people who specialized in medical and construction knowledge came to help protesters withstand the conditions they were subjected to, even though they received nothing in return.
Construction continued even after authorization of the pipeline was denied. Angeles informed me that the company was requested to stop the process months ago, when the protests began. Enbridge has ignored the Army Corps’ instruction to stop the pipeline twice now.
Protesters have endured some of the harshest circumstances trying to protect the land. Native Americans have survived hundreds of years of colonization and discrimination. It is clear they are willing to persevere for their lives, culture, and what they believe in. Enbridge needs to respect that, as well as obeying the laws made to protect Native American land.