Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes Lead Powerful Rally for Environmental Justice and Indigenous Rights

Washington D.C., June 11th, 2024 – In a powerful display of solidarity, Indigenous leaders, grassroots organizations, and allies converged in Washington D.C. today for the Shutdown DAPL Rally, calling on President Biden and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to immediately shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and revoke all permits.

The rally, led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, brought together a diverse coalition of voices advocating for the protection of sacred lands, water sources, and Indigenous rights. Despite years of protest and legal battles, the DAPL continues to operate, threatening the Tribes' treaty-protected lands and water sources.

Speakers at the rally highlighted the urgent need for environmental justice and the recognition of Indigenous rights, including the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent in decision-making processes that affect their lands and resources.

The powerful demonstration featured traditional ceremonies, speeches, and calls to action, urging policymakers to prioritize environmental conservation, cultural preservation, and social justice over corporate interests.

As the rally concluded, organizers vowed to continue their fight until the DAPL is permanently shut down and the Tribes' rights are fully recognized and protected.

Statements:

Stephanie Yellow Hammer, tribal leader from Standing Rock:

"We have been fighting this battle for too long. The Dakota Access Pipeline jeopardizes our way of life, our culture, and our very existence. We demand that President Biden and the ACOE listen to our voices and choose the 'No Action Alternative #2' in the Environmental Impact Statement deliberation, which would result in the shutdown and capping of the pipeline at the crossing of Lake Oahe."

Waniya Locke, Standing Rock Grassroots:

"This is a critical moment for mass mobilization on fossil fuels that could move President Biden. We stand in solidarity with the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes, demanding that their voices be heard and their rights be respected. Our fight does not end here. We will continue to raise our voices and take action until our lands, water, and way of life are safeguarded for future generations."

Annalee Yellow Hammer, Standing Rock Youth Council:

“Eight years later we are still fighting for clean water and fighting environmental racism. That has been going on long before I was born. To be able to do what our ancestors were doing 100 + some years ago fighting for our right to life and to live. We need Alternative #2 Shutdown Dapl and Cap it.”

Zianne Edwards, Cheyenne River Grassroots:

“ETP illegally constructed and operates DAPL, we live under a constant threat of not having clean drinking water. We need Biden’s Administration and ACOE to do Alternative #2 Shutdown and cap DAPL, so we can live without a threat.

Mni Wiconi Wounspe:

“We are going to protect our main water resource. Our Voices opposing DAPL can be heard by the Biden Administration and ACOE to Shutdown DAPL. We are strengthening our community through Education. Our Environment helps us to grow a beautiful nation.”

Morgan BringsPlenty, Indigenous Environmental Network:

“Being a long-time pipeline fighter since a young age, you travel and go where you are needed without hesitations and voice to be heard...Going to DC over and over with so many youth and allies and family to continue on the fight to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline completely to ensure not only our future but the next generations to come to have a better future in mind. I will not rest until this pipeline and many other fossil fuel projects are put to an end.”

Jane Jacobs, Board Secretary, Mukwa:

“We stand with the Standing Rock Nation, Cheyenne River Nation, and all tribal nations in their efforts to safeguard sacred lands, water sources, and Indigenous rights. We call on Biden's ACOE to select ‘No Action Alternative #2’ and halt the pipeline at Lake Oahe this year. This pipeline has run illegally for far too long, NoDAPL!”

Cathy Collentine, Director of Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign, Sierra Club:

“The fact that the Dakota Access Pipeline remains in operation is a clear action in violation of Tribal sovereignty and is actively jeopardizing safety and well-being of everyone who relies on the Missouri River for their drinking water. We stand with the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes and demand that DAPL is shut down.”

Allie Rosenbluth, Oil Change International US Program Manager:

“We stand in solidarity with the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes, demanding that their voices be heard and their rights be respected. The Biden administration must fulfill its promises to reverse Trump's harmful decision to greenlight DAPL despite mass opposition.”

Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director, Women's Earth & Climate Action Network (WECAN):

“DAPL continues to run illegally, putting Indigenous communities, water, ecosystems, and our global climate at risk. We urge President Biden and the ACOE to listen to Indigenous leaders in their call for DAPL to be shut down. Since 2016, we stand in solidarity with Standing Rock and Cheyenne River who are advocating for their rights and sovereignty to be respected, and for a healthy and just future for all generations.”

Tefere Gebre, Chief Program Officer, Greenpeace USA:

“The injustices of the Dakota Access Pipeline are many, including an assault on Indigenous rights and the right to defend our lands, waters, and communities. Another attack on Indigenous sovereignty – and on all of our rights to peaceful protest – comes in the form of a $300 million lawsuit against Greenpeace entities brought by Energy Transfer, the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline. Energy Transfer filed this lawsuit to obliterate Greenpeace and erase the real history of the Indigenous-led resistance at Standing Rock by absurdly alleging that Greenpeace orchestrated the protest. No matter what happens, today we stand in solidarity with the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes and call on the Biden Administration to shut down DAPL, while defending ourselves against outrageous attempts to silence and divide our movements.”

Notes to the editor:

Videos and photos will be available here.

The rally was livestreamed by Indigenous Environmental Network (Facebook) and Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (Instagram).