A herd of buffalo popping up out of nowhere? In the middle of a pipeline dispute with the native peoples? I'd say that's a sign: The animals have entered into agreement with our Creator, showing themselves as a sign. I've seen enough of both that they are legitimate belief systems, that there is REAL power behind both Christianity and the Spirituality of the Native Peoples. A sign shown to de-escalate in this area, on both sides. We are all #Americans, we all enjoy this land. The Tribal government, autonomous to an extent, can raise the issue to the United States government. But when the issue goes through all these governmental channels- tribal, county, state, federal- the message becomes garbled.
My own opinion is to be respectful of the land, to take up conservation and limit sprawl. I know that we cannot have it our ways- sprawl, pipelines, conservation, etc. We have government regulations on both oil and Native Peoples. Regulations on how to ship, what to ship in, and so on. Regulations on where you can live, how to receive benefit, hiring practices... Human safety and pipeline safety should go hand in hand, be open to all those potentially effected. Recent pipeline failures and responses have shown that these companies are probably not living up to this expectation. Theoretically, it should be simple. Many times though, theories are broken, proven wrong by action or further research. I'm for offshore drilling, however, I find I'm more against underwater piping of oil.
This is an issue at Standing Rock, as it should be across the rest of the nation. In Michigan, currently, there is an issue of a new oil pipeline from Mackinac City to St. Ignace, connecting the Lower and Upper Peninsulas. There have been underwater pipeline failures somewhat recently in Jackson and Kalamazoo. Flint could be considered: A different issue surely, but many of these residents in Flint and Kalamazoo and Jackson were and continue to remain without water to some degree. In some western states, water is becoming limited. I cannot say whether Standing Rock is in one of these areas, but what if they were? Should we be willing to destroy their water supply for maybe five hundred thousand barrels of oil? Currently, the United States produces NINE MILLIONS of barrels of oil. Both sets of numbers are daily figures, five percent of daily totals.
Some in the area may want the pipeline, as an economic stimulus to areas in Tribal control. Do you exclude their advancement in the overall American Dream? Do you bulldoze through sacred sites for jobs that are desperately needed? These are questions that should be going through everyone's head, from oil company, to government agency and average everyday citizen, no matter where each one of those may be. Do you know where you are? Do you know who you are? Do you know the history that lay behind it all? Does any of it overlap? The chances are high that one day, maybe not today, that one tribe or nations issues will be the same as the others issues.
Research links:
https://vimeo.com/189299392
http://econbrowser.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/us_oil_jan_16.png
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2016/09/14/five-things-to-know-about-the-north-dakota-access-pipeline-debate/
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