President Obama’s action concerning the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL,) albeit long-awaited, is a major step in the right direction for Native American rights. In an MSNBC interview on Tuesday, Obama stated that the federal government is exploring rerouting options for the Dakota Access pipeline objects. This statement comes in the wake of months of protests and demonstrations by Native Americans and environmentalists at the Standing Rock camp in North Dakota.

Obama expressed to MSNBC that “as a general rule [his] view is that there is a way for us to accommodate sacred lands of Native Americans.” However, Obama also stated that he’s “going to let it play out for several more weeks.” While Obama’s “general rule” is a noble sentiment, no promise of aid has been made, and it is likely that the federal government will not intervene, leaving the Native Americans to fight off yet another injustice on their own.

A central issue surrounding the #NODAPL (No Dakota Access Pipeline) movement is that the proposed oil pipeline would destroy land sacred to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. Furthermore, the Native Americans protesting have emphasized that “water is life.” This pipeline would contaminate the nearby Missouri River, effectively destroying the Standing Rock Sioux’s main source of life. Conveniently, the DAPL was originally proposed to travel through Bismarck, a predominantly white community. When concern was raised over the possibility of an oil spill contaminating this city’s water supply, the proposal was altered so that a potential break in the pipe would affect the Native Americans on their reservation. There is a clear racial disparity here, with a city benefiting from its whiteness and a historically exploited minority group suffering the disadvantages - without the conduction of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) either.

This Native American land has never been ceded, which grants the Standing Rock Sioux full legal right to claim eminent domain on their land. The #NODAPL movement is not unique in character. Native American rights have been ignored and largely nonexistent since the first European whites “discovered” America. What so many of us fail to remember is that the United States was not “terra nullius” - nobody’s land; it was inhabited by complex, sovereign nations with their own traditions, customs, and governments. Protesters have been peaceful at Standing Rock, but law enforcement has not. Demonstrations have often taken violent turns with pepper spray, dogs, and guns being used against Native Americans who are peacefully protesting and oftentimes just praying together in solidarity. It is time for us to elevate Native American rights to a subject of national priority. We often forget about this subjugated, oppressed group, mainly focusing on black rights as a nation. Instead of diverting our attention away from either minority group, we should instead refocus it onto the larger issue of human rights.

For a more detailed version of the events surrounding the DAPL, check out this cartoon piece: https://thenib.com/gathering-of-the-tribes