Standing Rock Chairman calls pipeline decision "huge win", says ready to educate Trump

Record ID: 75832

  • Title: Standing Rock Chairman calls pipeline decision "huge win", says ready to educate Trump
  • Date: 5th December 2016
  • Summary: PROTESTERS WALKING THROUGH CAMP AND PAN OUT TO CAMP LAW ENFORCEMENT VEHICLES ON HILL OVERLOOKING CAMP PAN OF LAW ENFORCEMENT FLOODLIGHTS ON HILL OVER CAMP FORT YATES, NORTH DAKOTA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 5, 2016) (REUTERS) STANDING ROCK SIOUX CHAIRMAN DAVE ARCHAMBAULT II AT HIS DESK (SOUNDBITE) (English) STANDING ROCK SIOUX CHAIRMAN DAVE ARCHAMBAULT II SAYING: "Mission has been accomplished. We built awareness. A decision has been rendered. It's time to remove the roadblocks. It's time for everyone to go home and be safe. The new administration coming in, it's an opportune time for us to educate President-elect and help him realize what he has achieved is only because of the cost that our people have paid." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) STANDING ROCK SIOUX CHAIRMAN DAVE ARCHAMBAULT II SAYING: "You know I think it's an opportune time to sit down and try to open lines of communication to help him [President-Elect T rump] understand that the decision was rendered by the Corps of Engineers was the right decision. So, before he tries to attempt any action like that, he should really sit down with us and try to learn the issue. It's not just about money; it's about people's lives. And so I'm open and welcoming a discussion with the President." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) STANDING ROCK SIOUX CHAIRMAN DAVE ARCHAMBAULT II SAYING: "I will go anywhere. If he wants me to go visit him in New York or in Washington, DC, or if he wants to come out here and meet the people and the lives that are being affected by this, I welcome it." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) STANDING ROCK SIOUX CHAIRMAN DAVE ARCHAMBAULT II SAYING: "They can return home and enjoy this winter with their families, enjoy the holidays, if they celebrate them, with their families. I know their communities and their family members are probably yearning for them to come home and the purpose has been served, so they can go, and the same with law enforcement - they can remove the barricades, the lines, they can open up highway 1806 so that our communities have access to the public highway. This is all done. And regardless of the incoming President, regardless of the company saying they're going to move forward, it's not going to happen this winter. Nothing will happen this winter. So, it's ok for everybody to be cautious and fearful, but they have to understand and realize that it's safe and it's time to move on. We don't need to create unsafe environments that are unnecessary." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) STANDING ROCK SIOUX CHAIRMAN DAVE ARCHAMBAULT II SAYING: "I think that this is a huge win, not just for Standing Rock, not just for all the native nations that exist and that came and showed support but it's a huge win for this nation. For the first time this nation and the leaders had the courage to make the right decision that will benefit this country. And so this is a step forward for everybody and we all need to start taking the lessons learned from this conflict and applying them in our homes and our communities and in this country and it can be transferred around the world." VARIOUS OF WATER TOWER AT FORT YATES - HOME OF STANDING ROCK TRIBAL ADMINISTRATION LAKE OAHE RESERVOIR ON MISSOURI RIVER DETAIL OF WATER
  • Embargoed: 20th December 2016 18:28
  • Keywords: North Dakota pipeline Energy Transfer Partners Dakota Access Pipeline Lake Oahe
  • Location: CANNON BALL/FORT YATES, NORTH DAKOTA, UNITED STATES
  • City: CANNON BALL/FORT YATES, NORTH DAKOTA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA0025BLZSJR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Thousands of protesters in North Dakota celebrated the federal government's ruling against a controversial pipeline project but girded for a protracted struggle as president-elect Donald Trump's transition team said on Monday (December 05) it supports the project and would review it after he takes office.
    Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II said in an interview with Reuters on Monday that he hopes to speak with Trump about the project.
    "You know I think it's an opportune time to sit down and try to open lines of communication to help him understand that the decision was rendered by the Corps of Engineers was the right decision. So, before he tries to attempt any action like that, he should really sit down with us and try to learn the issue. It's not just about money; it's about people's lives. I'm open and welcoming a discussion with the President," he said.
    Archambault said non-Sioux protesters could go home because no action was likely until late January, after Trump takes office.
    "Mission has been accomplished. We built awareness. A decision has been rendered. It's time to remove the roadblocks. It's time for everyone to go home and be safe," he said.
    "Regardless of the incoming President, regardless of the company saying they're going to move forward, it's not going to happen this winter. Nothing will happen this winter. So, it's ok for everybody to be cautious and fearful, but they have to understand and realize that it's safe and it's time to move on," he added.
    The company building the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, said late on Sunday that it had no plans to reroute the line, and expected to complete the project.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Sunday it rejected an application for the Dakota Access Pipeline to tunnel under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River.
    Native Americans and activists protesting the project have argued that the 1,172-mile (1,885-km) Dakota Access Pipeline would damage sacred lands and could contaminate the tribe's water source.
    Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Archambault said the pipeline ruling is a win for both Native Americans and the country as a whole.
    "I think that this is a huge win, not just for Standing Rock, not just for all the native nations that exist and that came and showed support but it's a huge win for this nation. For the first time this nation and the leaders had the courage to make the right decision that will benefit this country," he said.
    Late on Sunday, Energy Transfer Partners said in a joint statement with its partner Sunoco Logistics Partners that it does not intend to reroute the line and called the Obama administration's decision a "political action."
    The pipeline is complete except for a 1-mile (1.61 km) segment that was to run under Lake Oahe, which required permission from federal authorities.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it would analyze possible alternate routes, but any other route is likely to cross the Missouri River.
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