Sioux Tribe Chairman Meets with Obama to Discuss Dakota Access Pipeline

"LOS ANGELES  – Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s Chairman Harold Frazier will meet with President Obama [Tuesday] at a private round table event held in Los Angeles. He will ask the president  to protect the rights of the Lakota people, their sacred sites, and waters of the Missouri River.

The chairman will specifically address the need for an Environmental Impact Statement and the easement application that is currently pending before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He will also address the issue of protection of the pipeline company activities by out of state law enforcement agencies, potential civil rights violations and allegations of police brutality against peaceful water protectors.

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal member and attorney for the Tribe, Nicole Ducheneaux, explained the need for an Environmental Impact Statement saying,  'A full environmental impact statement is needed on this project rather than just an environmental assessment. This project will undoubtedly have significant effects on the environment for generations to come. An undertaking of this risk and magnitude demands the level of in depth review and analysis that only an EIS can provide.'"

Levi Rickert reports for Native News Online October 25, 2016.