Standing Rock Sioux Chairman asks the United Nations for protection of the tribe's sovereign rights
Today, David Archambault II, Standing Rock Sioux Tribal chairman, addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, to garner international opposition to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline near his reservation straddling North and South Dakota.
So glad to see Standing Rock Sioux chairman invoking sovereign interests of the Oceti Sakowin on the international stage.
My transcript follows, and the full video is below the fold.
Our tribal nation is a sovereign nation, located in the United States. Our sovereignty is recognized by the United States through the legally binding treaties of 1851 and 1868, signed by our traditional Lakota government, the Oceti Sakowin, then passed by the United States Senate and proclaimed by the president of the United States. I'm here because oil companies are causing the deliberate destruction of our sacred places and burials. Dakota Access Pipeline wants to build a pipeline under the river that is the source of our nation's drinking water. This pipeline threatens our communities, the river and the earth. Our nation is working to protect our waters and sacred places for the benefit of our children not yet born. But the oil companies and the government of the United States have failed to respect our sovereign rights. Today the pipeline construction continues although it has temporarily stopped near our nation this company has knowingly destroyed sacred sites and our ancestral graves with bulldozers. This company has also used attack dogs to harm individuals who tried to protect our water and sacred sites. I condemn all violence, including the use of guard dogs. While we have gone to the court in the United States, our courts have failed to protect our sovereign rights, our sacred places and our water. We call upon the human rights council and all member states to condemn the destruction of our sacred places and to support our nation's efforts to ensure that our sovereign rights are respected. We ask that you call upon all parties to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline to protect our environment and our nation's future, our culture and our way of life.