The head of a Native American tribe who has led months of demonstrations against the construction of an oil pipeline in North Dakota on Tuesday said the group would keep up its protests through the state’s bitter winter.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is weighing asking protesters to move to a location with heated buildings or upgrading the infrastructure at the protest camp on tribal land, tribal chairman David Archambault II said in a telephone interview.
The effort to ensure the continuation of protests came after demonstrators last week clashed with police and as North Dakota allocated millions more in funds to support law enforcement at the pipeline.
“We have to make sure we are proactive and find a way to ensure their [protesters’] safety,” Archambault said, adding that the state has “extreme temperatures” in winter.
Many are staying in tents or traditional tepees at a camp near the construction site and would require improved accommodation during winter, Archambault said.
“There are a lot of people who are committed to this who will stay” through the winter, he said.
Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for Dakota Access, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The 1,885km pipeline, being built by a group of companies led by Energy Transfer Partners LP, would offer the fastest and most direct route to bring Bakken shale oil from North Dakota to US Gulf Coast refineries.
The project has faced months of protests from the tribe, as well as environmental activists, who say it threatens local water supplies and tribal sites.
Last week, protesters and law enforcement clashed as police swept demonstrators from a separate camp on private property and more than 140 protesters were arrested.
On Monday, a protester was charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer after authorities said she shot at police during the incident.
Archambault said the companies building the pipeline had “backed the tribe into a corner.”
He condemned the shooting.
“The tribe has maintained that this be a peaceful and prayerful demonstration,” he said.
Law enforcement agencies from eight US states, including South Dakota, Minnesota and Ohio, have assisted the Morton County Sheriff’s Department in handling the protesters, according to a department spokeswoman.
On Tuesday, North Dakota’s Emergency Commission approved an additional US$4 million loan to support law enforcement at the pipeline.
Meanwhile, rock musician Dave Matthews on Tuesday announced a concert to support the protesters.
Matthews said he would headline a concert on Nov. 27 in Washington to raise money for supplies and legal assistance for the protesters.
The rocker said that more acts would be announced for the show at the historic DAR Constitution Hall, to be followed a day later by anti-pipeline activism across the US capital.
“How can we continue to allow oil money to dictate our environmental and social policies? The people of Standing Rock, and those who are supporting them, are standing up for their children and all of our children,” Matthews said in a statement.
Additional reporting by AFP
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