WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Obama’s inaction regarding protests against a controversial gas pipeline in the state of North Dakota has dismayed members of Native American tribes affected by the project, Standing Rock Sioux representative Linda Black Elk said.
“We are horribly hurt and disappointed by his lack of action, especially his lack of words,” Elk said this week. “He hasn’t even really said much and certainly hasn’t said anything about the fact that he was here, he talked to the kids and to our people. It’s very sad and very disappointing.”
“Obama was here, he came to Cannon Ball, he was right there,” Black Elk said. “He ate pizza with our kids, he laughed with them, he watched them dance at a powwow. He made a lot of promises to us.”
Earlier in November, Obama responded to a question about the ongoing pipeline protests by saying, “We’re going to let it play out for several more weeks and determine whether or not this can be resolved in a way that I think is properly attentive to the traditions of the first Americans.”
The president’s passivity is troubling to many tribal members. On Tuesday, Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault urged Obama to immediately take action against the project to stem escalating violence between law enforcement and protesters.
"Once again, we call on President Obama to stop this pipeline and the violence resulting from it, and to deny the easement," Archambault stated in a news release. "The reckless escalation of violence by the Morton County Sheriff’s Department is unconscionable and preventable. It must stop now."
The US Army Corps of Engineers, which reviews pipeline-construction permits for the Interior Department, has said it’s seeking additional information from the Standing Rock Sioux, who object to the pipeline route because it threatens sacred tribal lands and would pollute water from Lake Oahe.
The pipeline is envisioned to transport domestically produced light crude oil from North Dakota through the states of South Dakota and Iowa to Illinois
