Description
The letter below was sent to the Army Corps of Engineers by the Iowa Commission on Native American Affairs in response to a then-proposed, now-completed Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) that sends oil from northwest North Dakota to Illinois crossing through four states. Key components of the issues raised in the letter below and in the ensuing protests was the path of the pipeline through burial sites which have a connection to the Sac and Fox Tribe, a name given to the Meskwaki Nation by the federal government in 1932, as well as concerns over spillage from the pipeline which could have impacted the Iowa River that runs through the Meskwaki Nation Settlement. At the time of this letter, the initial plans for the path of the pipeline had just been released by the Army Corps of Engineers in December 2015. Despite concerns raised from U.S. government's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, protests followed legal challenges brought by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. By December 2016, President Barack Obama would deny a permit for the final portion of the DAPL in response to the Standing Rock Protests. However, as one of President Donald Trump's first acts in office he would overturn this decision. Once legal challenges were exhausted by March 2017, the pipeline was completed in April 2017 and has been operational since May 14, 2017.
Transcript of Letter from Iowa Commission on Native American Affairs about Dakota Access Pipeline
Source-Dependent Questions
- What concerns were raised by the Iowa Commission on Native American Affairs about the proposed pipeline?
- How did a response by a government agency help future protests? Predict how this kind of response from a government agency might impact future protests?
- Consider the charge in the letter, "none of the key federal agencies to date have been in direct consultation with the affected Native Nations/Tribes in Iowa." Did the letter show a shifting in how government agencies support Native American rights since Wounded Knee or was the response the same? Support your answer with evidence from both documents.
Citation Information
Iowa Commission on Native American Affairs, 28 April 2016. Courtesy of Iowa Department of Human Rights