STANDING ROCK SIOUX TRIBAL CHAIRWOMAN JANET ALKIRE STATEMENT ON THE ENERGY TRANSFER LAWSUIT AGAINST GREENPEACE
In July 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed a lawsuit against the Army Corps of
Engineers, challenging its speedy approval of an easement to cross Sioux Nation Treaty lands and
the Missouri River above Standing Rock. It became apparent that the federal government, as
always it seems, would fight us in court tooth and nail on behalf of the oil industry.
Our leaders did what our ancestors did before battle-we prayed. We asked Wakan Tanka
for wisdom and guidance to protect the next seven generations. And then we made the call for
Indian Country to support us in prayer and engage in peaceful civil disobedience to stop the
construction of this massive oil pipeline on our door step. Tens of thousands of indigenous
relatives from all over the world came to Standing Rock and stood with us against the Dakota
Access Pipeline, referred to in our prophecy as the black snake, that has come to harm our land,
our water and our people.
The people of Standing Rock were heartened when many non-Indigenous allies came to
join us in opposing DAPL. Many different community and environmental justice organizations
from throughout the United States joined in our good faith effort to protect our water, and our Unci
Maka (Grandmother Earth). This included members of Greenpeace.
Energy Transfer’s defamation lawsuit against Greenpeace claims that DAPL does not cross
Standing Rock land, that there was no violence against peaceful protesters and that no cultural
sites were destroyed during construction. Nothing could be further from the truth: DAPL does
cross Sioux Nation treaty and aboriginal land for hundreds of miles; there was violence by law
enforcement and Energy Transfer security guards and Tribal burials were destroyed.
The overwhelming majority of the protests were peaceful, prayerful and non-violent.
There were a small number of extremists, as well as documented infiltration by private, security
forces. Overall, the stand against DAPL in 2017 at Cannon Ball community was called by our
Tribe, organized by our leaders and engaged in by our Tribal members, including many Lakota
and Dakota veterans of the U.S. armed forces.
DAPL crosses through Sioux Nation Treaty lands from the Heart River to the east bank of
the sacred Mni Sose (Missouri River). The pipeline crosses our aboriginal land for hundreds of
miles. It is a few hundred feet from Cannon Ball community on the Standing Rock Reservation –
the kids attending Cannon Ball community school can see it when they get off the bus each
morning.
On September 3, 2016, untrained, unlicensed DAPL security sentinels used guard dogs to
harass Standing Rock Tribal members and our allies engaged in nonviolent protests. DAPL’s
tactics were reminiscent of the extreme violence against civil rights protesters in the deep south,
during the civil rights protests of the 1960’s – but in this day and age, against Standing Rock.
During that time, low-flying aircraft harassed Cannon Ball community.
During construction, Dakota burial sites were destroyed at Cannon Ball Ranch in North
Dakota and desecrated at the Big Sioux Wildlife Refuge in Iowa. Technical reports show that
during the HD D drill process in February 201 7, 1 .4 million gallons of drill mud, possibly
containing unidentified lubricants, was illegally released into the environment. They polluted our
water before DAPL even went on line. Upon going on line in July 2017, it was reported that at
least 356 gallons of oil were released into the environment. So it is important to question DAPL
propaganda about how safe the pipeline is.
Our Tribe has requested from Energy Transfer and the Corps of Engineers basic documents
about pipeline safety, such as the emergency response plan, spill model, HDD drilling logs, test
results on shutdown time, etc. Energy Transfer ignored our requests. The Corps of Engineers
provided highly-redacted, illegible information. If DAPL is so safe, why the secrecy?
We have good reason to be concerned. On August 5, 2022, Energy Transfer LP and Sunoco
Pipeline LP pled no contest to 23 criminal charges in Pennsylvania. The charges stemmed from
the use of unapproved drilling fluid additives, the repeated failure to report spills, and widespread
water pollution. As a result, Energy Transfer and its affiliates have been debarred from receiving
government contracts or assistance, such as an easement for DAPL. Bloomberg News recently
identified Energy Transfer-owned companies as having the worst safety record of any pipeline
operator in the United States. We know this information is unlikely to surface in Energy Transfer’s
case against Greenpeace.
From the beginning, Energy Transfer has engaged in a security battle, secrecy battle and
propaganda battle against our Tribe. It promotes lies and propaganda to discredit our Tribe and
our good faith concerns with DAPL’s impacts on our Reservation environment, and the global
climate. Part of the attack on our Tribe is to attack our allies.
Today, Energy Transfer is taking Greenpeace to court, frivolously alleging defamation and
seeking money damages, designed to shut down all voice supporting Standing Rock. The case is
an attempt to silence our Tribe about the truth of what happened at Standing Rock, and the threat
posed by DAPL to our land, our water and our people. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will not
be silenced.
