We have a very strange sense of ownership in the Western world. I say it’s strange because ownership in the general sense of owning something only fully extends to some people. Imagine one child sitting by himself playing with a truck. A second child comes along, goes up to the child playing with the truck, takes it away and declares that the truck is now his/hers. The parents watching the children then intervene, comforting the child whose toy was taken and disciplining the child who took it away.
Unfortunately, this sort of scene does not extend to certain groups of people outside of the preschool world. For centuries, indigenous peoples have had land, resources, even their own people, abruptly taken from them with no repercussions to the offender. There are no parents or teachers to step in and discipline or even halt the aggressor. There’s no comforting embrace that surrounds Native Americans, making everything OK. Ever since Europeans "discovered" North America, Native Americans have had to move around to accommodate the needs of them. And apparently, 2016 is not the time that this stops. The Dakota Access Pipeline has now shouldered the white man's burden to continue the American legacy of displacing indigenous peoples.
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I want to give DAPL the benefit of the doubt, though. I'd like to think that they have very seriously thought about the repercussions of their actions in trying to build this pipeline through the Missouri River, the major water source Standing Rock Reservation and everyone downstream. Pros of building the pipeline include creating thousands of new jobs for construction and oil processing, reducing dependence on foreign oil and diversifying the use of railroads that currently transport oil (which is also a riskier method of oil transport). I'll admit, the economic potential is huge. However, the establishment of another pipeline is not good news for all.
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe vehemently opposes this project, arguing that it will "disturb sacred lands and the way of life for Native Americans in the upper Midwest." Furthermore, the land affected by this was actually given to the Sioux by the United States in 1851. On top of all of this, there is always the risk that the pipeline will burst and severely contaminate the Missouri River and other areas leading to catastrophic environmental consequences. In addition, building this pipeline further emphasizes and prolongs our dependence on oil when our focus should be on developing renewable and affordable sources of energy (an endeavor which could also create many more jobs, stimulating the economy). Some sources even report that in the summer of 2015 when final plans for construction were underway, no one from Standing Rock was even consulted about the project, even though this is required by law.
While clearly, the short-term benefits of the pipeline appear very favorable, the long-term implications for the environment and federal government-Native American relations will not passively rest in the shadows of DAPL's success. This situation is actually a classic example of how the teenage brain works, weighing the immediate benefits over any future, more serious risks. In essence, DAPL is acting like a teenager, underdeveloped cortically and eager to take risks for glory. Anything that functions that way should be questioned.
In fact, people are questioning this. Native Americans, environmentalists, veterans and civilians are not letting the construction go unimpeded. Approximately 2,000 veterans have already self-deployed to Standing Rock in North Dakota to protect protestors refusing to allow DAPL to ravage their land and the environment.
Finally, thousands of people are united in protest of the gross disregard for all Native Americans throughout this country. Even if this pipeline did not threaten their's and others' water source, the mere infringement on their land is reminiscent of the despicable disrespect Native Americans have been shown ever since Columbus. Trevor Noah said it pretty well: it's our turn to move.
