BISMARCK – The Fargo Native American Commission voiced its support Friday for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in its stand against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.
The commission issued a declaration of support saying construction and approval of the four-state oil pipeline from North Dakota’s Bakken oilfields to Patoka, Ill., “would endanger the health of Unci Maka (mother earth), quality of water, ancestral lands, and future generations of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.” The pipeline would cross the Missouri River about a half-mile north of the Standing Rock reservation.
The eight-member commission helps to fund events that fit with its mission of strengthening the Native American community “to promote understanding, recognition and respect for cultures and to enrich the community as a whole.”
The four federally recognized Dakota tribes in Minnesota also issued a joint resolution of support for the Standing Rock tribe on Friday, saying the pipeline is progressing without proper consultation with the tribe, a claim denied by Dakota Access and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which issued the pipeline permit.
