Keep Your Eyes on North Dakota
If you want to understand the current state of America, look no further than the North Dakota Access Pipeline.
The controversy began in the spring, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The pipeline is designed as an approximately 1,172 mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline that will extend from North Dakota to Illinois and transport up to 570,000 barrels of light sweet crude oil a day. State officials have released statements affirming that no cultural sites have been found on the planned route for the pipeline. This is not all that accurate. First off, there are serious risks associated with the construction of the pipeline. It is to intersect the dwelling place of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which could result in the contamination of their primary water source, the Missouri River, in the event of leakage or a pipe collapse. Pipeline malfunction could also result in the contamination of up to 200 smaller bodies of water in the area.
Serious environmental and health risks aside, the pipe will also compromise the state of sacred Standing Rock Sioux land, which would be considered a desecration of their culture, values, and religion. In response to the highly contested proposal for building, we have seen hundreds of protesters standing near the construction site over the past few weeks, peacefully protesting the project. In recent days, celebrities have also began to speak out in protest, among them Mark Ruffalo and Shailene Woodley, the latter of whom was arrested during a protest at Standing Rock on October 10th.
While the voices of hundreds of protestors are popping up throughout the country, there are two voices in particular that the nation wants to hear from the most. On October 28th, Clinton provided a lackluster response regarding the events in North Dakota after months of silence. She offered vague, detached, and nonspecific words. The director of coalitions for the Clinton Campaign released a statement which reads, “…It’s important that on the grounds of North Dakota, everyone respects demonstrator’s rights to protest peacefully, and worker’s rights to do their jobs safely”. This statement is in many ways highly insufficient. It neglects to acknowledge the fact that more that one hundred people were arrested. It ignores the reality that protests have escalated to violence on both sides, resulting in a police crackdown. It also fails to mention the serious environmental and health implications of the project, missing an opportunity to defend and clarify Clinton’s stance on two key political issues. Trump, on the other hand, has invested somewhere between $500,000 and $1,000,000 in the pipeline. In comparing what we know about the two candidates in respect to the controversy, it appears that actions speak louder than words.
The Pipeline Controversy holds within it environmental, political, religious, and cultural issues alike. It is a truly multi-faceted conflict, displaying prime examples of questionable police conduct, civil unrest, environmental disregard, and corporate-lead ventures in which the rich dictate the lives of a historically oppressed minority. This is a near-comprehensive list of the issues that many young liberals care about most––issues that, save for this instance, remain largely out of the political spotlight. With a turnover in leadership right around the corner, I fear that neither Clinton nor Trump are prepared to act out in defense and support of the Standing Rock Sioux people. Trump, a self professed and renowned, though notoriously ruthless, businessman, cares much more about economic power and stability than environmental sustainability or the lives of mistreated Native American tribes. Based on the comments of her campaign, one must question Clinton’s ability to advocate for the rights of the silenced and downtrodden, as well as those of the planet.
While it is important to recognize that now is the time that Clinton must present herself as accessible and likable to as many voters as possible, I urge her to remember the many voters––liberal and conservative––are looking at the current events in North Dakota and are openly fearing for the future. While I will proudly vote for Hillary Clinton on November 8th, I urge her to consider releasing a statement with a real, more definitive stance, one that advocates for environmental justice, respect for religious sacred lands, and proper police conduct in the face of peaceful protest.
If you would like to show support for the the Standing Rock Sioux, you can sign a petition to stop the construction of the pipeline through their newly formed foundation, Rezpect Our Water. http://rezpectourwater.com/
