Wait, so you are saying that during planning of the pipeline they should not have raised the issue, but instead wait until the pipeline was coming upon the sacred grounds to mention it?

I agree with the first paragraph. I guess I’m not so cynical re the second. A lot of important projects have been fast tracked that would otherwise be mired in NIMBY politics forever.

It appears that the tribe didn’t even identify the sacred sites until a recent court filing. In fact, they claim that the builders used…

I mean, that’s an interesting theory, but pipelines do require some clearance, and I’ll be honest, I’m suspicious about whether you are using specious sources to get that information.

The funny thing is, the pipeline DOESN’T go through the reservation. It was initially proposed to go through the reservation, but the Dakota Access Pipeline company was able to secure a better deal (cheaper price) from private landowners, rather than go through the reservation. The private lands that the pipeline is…

It’s hard for me to imagine a fraudulent survey. The people that conduct the surveys don’t work for the pipeline- they work for consulting firms. They’re nerds who love archaeology. It seems more likely any misconduct would be on the part of the pipeline company.

Were they bit on private land? I think the laws vary quite a bit on what force you are allowed to use against trespassers. Doesn’t make them right, but since in many western states you can shoot a trespasser, it doesn’t mean they did something illegal

Before a pipeline (or cell tower, power line, etc.) can be built, there is a permitting process the company goes through to get approval from an insanely long list of government agencies. If you go through reservation land, that list includes both the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the local tribal authorities.

I used to do pipeline permitting in North Dakota. It’s surprisingly difficult to route a line. Even in North Dakota there are obstacles EVERYWHERE (e.g., rough terrain, other pipelines, cultural sites, environmentally sensitive sites, migratory bird routes, people’s homes and water wells, etc.). This reservation is…

As I understood it, it had already been approved through whatever the necessary legal channels were. You can sort of tease this out if you take a cynic’s eye to the the Democracy Now! article. If it had even the slightest chance of being illegal, they would have been all over it. Other articles on NPR and from local…

My understanding is that none of this is happening on tribal lands. There of course is the bad history or reservations and what actually should constitute tribal lands, but none of this is.

It's not owned by them. The burial space is about half a mile north of the reservation's boundary. The tribe technically does not have rights to it. That is likely because the burial site could have been "lost" and was not included in the parameters of the reservation when it was originally drawn up, and could have…