Native American Pipeline

Native Americans were confined to bleak reservations in vast stretches of the country, that no one thought was good for much of anything else. But those areas, ironically enough, turn out to be essential for the production and transportation of the last great stocks of hydrocarbons (Mckibben). Repeating history, our government and huge corporations are diving through hoops and trampling over morals, wreaking havoc on what little land indigenous people have left. A 1,172- mile, sweet crude oil pipeline, reaching from North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois, is set to be built through Indian reservations, accelerating the pulverizing destruction of our earth (Mckibben).
For centuries, Native Americans have witnessed people slowly destroy the planet …show more content…
To put it into perspective, that would mean more than 19 million gallons of crude oil would be traveling over the span of 1,200 miles every single day. The second there is a complication anywhere along the pipeline, the devastation it would cause would be irreversible. A spill from this pipeline would pollute the Missouri River, threatening the lives of the 17 million people who rely on it (Thorbecke). Not only would the expelled oil make the water undrinkable, but anyone who came in contact with the crude oil would experience burning of the eyes, skin, and irritation of the respiratory system. And the stakes are even higher for those who are in the proximity of burning crude oil, as their airway passages could be harmed, causing difficulty breathing and rapid heart rate (Special). But how often do pipeline accidents even happen? Is this just a huge hypothetical scare? Well, from 1985 to 2013, there have been roughly 8,000 pipeline accidents in the U.S. alone. These have caused more than 500 deaths, more than 2,300 injuries, and nearly $7 billion in damage. And since 2013, the number of accidents have only been exponentially growing …show more content…
Now, protesters have physically moved onto that property,” said NPR staff, in regards to the Dakota Access LLC, an Energy Transfer Partners subsidiary, seeking a restraining order against over 1,500 protesters blocking the construction on their property (Catron). But just because treaties have been broken before, doesn’t give us the right to continue to do so. This whole pipeline ordeal is illegal and perilous, and we know it. As said by Dave Archambault, “They want to pipe this oil and have eminent domain takings for the purpose of who? Who benefits from it? It’s the billionaires who have oil interests who want to make more money. So this becomes more about greed.” And sadly, it always