Leaders of the Standing Rock Sioux would strengthen their case against the Dakota Access crude oil pipeline if they'd distance themselves from exploitive environmental activists.
Tribal objections to the pipeline can be confusing.
News media report that the tribe worries most about desecration of sacred ground and artifacts.
As rowdiness erupted among protestors camped near Oahe Lake in North Dakota, however, Dave Arahambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council declared, "This is about our water, our rights, and our dignity as human beings."
To outsiders, that sounds like a separate, more environmental set of concerns.
In fact, Standing Rock Sioux religious beliefs relate strongly to water. That link commands respect. But not everyone will know of it.
Energy Transfer Crude Oil Co. LLC, developer of the 1,172-mile project between the Bakken play and Patoka, Ill., has treated tribal sensitivities carefully.
It routed most of the pipeline along existing lines and well-traveled corridors, changing course 140 times to avoid cultural conflicts.
And it consulted the tribe to the extent tribal officials answered phone calls and attended meetings.
As the US District Court decision that triggered physical protests shows, officials were standoffish-then sought an injunction on the basis of insufficient consultation. The court rejected that argument.
The court further held that the tribe failed to show it would suffer harm if the injunction were not granted.
Tribal officials aren't satisfied. Now Hollywood celebrities and anywhere-anytime activists have joined the protest. They want to block pipeline construction because doing so impedes oil and gas development.
Their fringy agenda seemingly contrasts with Standing Rock Sioux concerns.
But wait: Some of the same tribal officials who sought injunctive relief against Dakota Access earlier opposed Keystone XL pipeline expansion on identical grounds-insufficient consultation.
Stymie of Keystone XL made pipeline projects throughout North America targets for extremists.
The Standing Rock Sioux should not welcome affiliation with such scofflaw obstructionism-unless, of course, it has motives other than spiritual dimensions of water.
(From the subscription area of www.ogj.com, posted Oct. 28, 2016; author's e-mail: [email protected])
About the Author
Bob Tippee
Editor
Bob Tippee has been chief editor of Oil & Gas Journal since January 1999 and a member of the Journal staff since October 1977. Before joining the magazine, he worked as a reporter at the Tulsa World and served for four years as an officer in the US Air Force. A native of St. Louis, he holds a degree in journalism from the University of Tulsa.