Thirty nine young members of the Oceti Sakowin Nation in North Dakota ran through Columbus on August 1st on their way to the Nation's Capital. The group of young people left Cannonball, NC on July 15th setting out on the 2,000-mile relay-run to Washington, D.C. in protest of the construction of the Dakota Access/Bakken Pipeline. The group is being hosted in Columbus by the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio, Sierra Club Ohio Chapter, and local Church groups.
For much of this year, Native and non-Native activists in the Midwest have been battling the construction of the Dakota Access/Bakken Pipeline. The proposed 1,154 mile Pipeline would transport 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day across North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois crossing over the Missouri River twice. The pipeline route will disrupt sacred Native American Indian land, including burial grounds in Northwest Iowa. In 2013 to 2013 alone, there were 300 oil pipeline breaks in the state of North Dakota, which caused destruction to the environment and polluted local drinking water.
The Texas company planning to build the pipeline received approval from the Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday to move forward with the project.
"Even though the Army Corps approved the permits, it hasn't changed how we feel about the pipeline," said runner Bobbi Jean Three Legs. "We will follow through with our mission to protect mother earth and the Missouri River because this pipeline will break".
"Our Oceti Sakowin relatives' decision to stand up for what they believe in and make a commitment to do something about it truly resonates with many of us across Indian Country," said Ty Smith, Project Director Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio. "As Natives, we know and understand their cause, and that the message they carry is not only on behalf of their own lands, waters, and people, but all of us. As each day passes it is becoming more and more choices. We here at the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio not only support the Access Pipeline, but as well, wish to thank them all personally for reminding us that we all have a part to play in this global responsibility - for today's decisions/actions will undoubtedly have a lasting effect on our future generations to follow."
THe Oceti Sakowin youth are expected to reach Washington D.C. on August 5th, where they plan to deliver more than 140,000 signatures to President Obama and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asking them to stop the construction of the project. Ten million people live in the area that drains into the Missouri River, including 28 native tribes, 10 states, and a small part of Canada.
"We are grateful for the several community churches and the Native American Indian Center for supporting these courageous and committed youth", said Jen Miller, Director of the Sierra Club Ohio Chapter. "Today, Columbus demonstrates that we care about environmental justice issues. We call on everyone to push for clean, renewable energy policies, so that we can move beyond dirty fossil fuels and the impacts they have on communities across our country and the globe".