The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has announced new litigation aimed at shutting down the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), citing persistent concerns about pipeline safety and tribal rights. Tribal Chairman Steve Sitting Bear stated that the tribe's concerns have not changed over ten years, and they have fought to protect their water, treaty rights, and people. Sitting Bear noted that the Army Corps of Engineers has now chosen to move forward after issuing an easement earlier this year for the pipeline to cross the Missouri River upstream from the Lake Oahe reservoir. He added, "Until this pipeline is shut down, we will continue to defend what generations before us protected for our children." Sitting Bear also asserted that questions about the safety of water should not remain unanswered.
However, the Dakota Access Pipeline has been operating without significant incident since 2017, providing nearly a decade of operational history. The pipeline's engineering includes a routing between 95 and 115 feet beneath the Missouri riverbed through solid geologic formations, achieved using horizontal directional drilling. It is monitored 24 hours a day by automated sensors, emergency shut-off valves, and strict pressure-drop thresholds. This extensive operational history and engineering design have been cited as empirical answers to safety questions.
In 2020, a federal judge ordered a comprehensive environmental impact statement (EIS) for the pipeline. This led to regulators conducting an exhaustive, multi-year review that examined every facet of spill prevention, capacity risk, and emergency response. This study culminated in a final statement late last year, after which the Army Corps of Engineers granted the easement. During this process, the Army Corps examined relevant data, and federal pipeline regulators reviewed response plans.
Beyond safety concerns, the new litigation also asserts arguments about tribal rights, stemming from historical land disputes. The 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty recognized vast territories for the Great Sioux Nation, also known as Oceti Sakowin, encompassing both sides of the Missouri River where the Dakota Access Pipeline now crosses. A subsequent 1868 treaty established the Great Sioux Reservation, with Article XII stipulating that no treaty land could be ceded without the signatures of at least three-fourths of all adult Sioux males.
Following the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, Congress enacted the Act of February 28, 1877, which unilaterally seized 7.7 million acres after obtaining signatures from only roughly 10% of adult males. This act is often referred to as the “sell or starve” act. Decades later, under the Pick-Sloan Flood Control Act of 1944, the federal government condemned and flooded more than 56,000 acres of Standing Rock’s prime bottomland to construct the Oahe Dam. This action displaced communities and created Lake Oahe, occurring despite the tribe’s strong objections.
In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the 1877 land seizure was an illegal taking under the Fifth Amendment, famously characterizing the situation as 'a more ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealings.' The court awarded the tribes $107 million in 1980 dollars for the land. The tribes have never accepted this settlement, maintaining their claim to the land, and the funds now total billions held in a trust.
The source material presents these historical treaty arguments as valid, acknowledging the injustices perpetrated by the government on tribal neighbors. However, it also suggests that these historical grievances, while significant, are not directly tied to the pipeline's operational safety and present practical challenges for contemporary resolution. The ongoing litigation, it is noted, continues on grounds that have seen considerable legal review over time.
