The Dakota Access Pipeline will be a pipeline that connects from North Dakota to Illinois. The pipeline is supposed to make it easier to get oil from North Dakota down to other parts of the country. Supposedly, the pipeline will be able to transport 470,000 barrels a day with growth expected. The Dakota Access Pipeline has been said to be safe, environmentally conscious, and will provide a boost in the economy. Not only that, but the US would not have to rely on foreign oil as much. The area where the pipeline reaches in North Dakota is believed to contain a large quantity of undiscovered oil. So why are so many people, particularly Native Americans, upset about the pipeline being built?
Native American tribes in the area, particularly the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, claim that the pipeline will cause damage to their land and their welfare. With the little land that Native Americans can still claim, the pipeline will further desecrate the sacred grounds that they live on. The route of the pipeline does, in fact, go through one of their sacred burial grounds. Some grounds have already been bulldozed amid construction for the pipeline. Not only that, but if there were to be a problem and the pipeline were to break in certain parts of the route, the water sources in that area could be contaminated. The native people to that land find that the pipeline is too large of a risk to their safety, as well as ruining part of their land.
However, those who are in support of the pipeline claim that it is actually better for the environment than current methods of transporting oil. This is partly true; trains that have carried oil have derailed and caused destruction. The pipeline is said to be much safer, although guarantee that there will be problems and the pipeline will not destroy lands and water is not guaranteed. Is the risk worth it, especially in a time where climate change is imminent? Instead of focusing time and money on finding new oil, should money go to finding renewable energy?
Whatever a person's stance may be in this matter, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe is not standing down. They have also been met with several celebrity supporters, such as Leonardo Dicaprio and Shailene Woodley. They have staged protests, and have been met with security forces trying to control them. Although there are a great number of positives that could come out of the Dakota Access Pipeline, such as the possible economic boost and the safer way to transport oil, there are a lot of valid reasons why some do not want the pipeline built. It will run through sacred indigenous land, land that cannot be restored properly, and it will only contribute to our country's reliance on oil.
