Title
Expressing solidarity with Indigenous Resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Body
WHEREAS: The proposed Dakota Access Pipeline would carry as many as 570,000 barrels of fracked crude oil per day for more than 1,100 miles from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota to Illinois, passing over sensitive landscapes including treaty protected land containing recognized cultural resources and across or under 209 rivers, creeks, and tributaries including the pristine Missouri River, which provides drinking water and irrigates agricultural land in communities across the Midwest; and
WHEREAS: Despite deep opposition from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe as well as farmers, scientists, more than 30 environmental advocacy groups, and other Tribal nations along the proposed route, and without Tribal consultation or meaningful environmental review as required by federal law, in July, 2016 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit allowing construction of the fracked oil pipeline to move forward; and
WHEREAS: In a show of monumental cooperation not seen in the 140 years since the Battle of the Greasy Grass or Custer’s Last Stand, members of the Lakota Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have united with the Oceti Sakowin, the Seven Fires Council - which include the confederation of Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nations - and established a peaceful encampment in Cannon Ball, North Dakota known as the Sacred Stones Camp to resist the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline with a cultural and spiritual presence; and
WHEREAS: On August 15, 2016 the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council led by Tribal Chairman David Archambault II called on Tribal nations and Indigenous people around the world to issue resolutions in support of the Standing Rock Sioux and the Sacred Stones Camp, and
WHEREAS, the majority of the American Indian population in Saint Paul belong to the Oceti Sakowin, the Great Sioux Nation, have come together with their allies to oppose the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline through their protected treaty lands, threatening not only their water source, but millions of inhabitants downstream; and
Whereas, the Eastern Dakota creation story places the origin of the Dakota people's in what is now known as Saint Paul at B'dote, the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers; and
Whereas, the city of Saint Paul has recognized our appalling history of relations with American Indian tribes and their peoples and has made significant and on-going efforts to repair those relationships. In 2013, Saint Paul recognized the year as "The Year of the Dakota: Remembering, Honoring, and Truth-Telling.” Saint Paul has also invested in the restoration and protection of sacred sites within our city boundaries. These sites include Wakan Tipi as part of our current Lower Phalen Creek Project, Mounds Park, Kaposia, and the Wabasha Caves; and
Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved: By the City Council of the City of Saint Paul, that we stand in support of the Indigenous opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline and we call on all residents of Saint Paul to raise awareness about this important struggle for Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice and to support the Sacred Stones Camp efforts in any way they can.