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Navajo Leaders Condemn Trump's Approval of Oil Pipeline Projects

Lars Plougmann
/
Creative Commons
A 2016 photo of the Dakota Access Pipeline, under construction in North Dakota

The top elected leaders of the Navajo Nation are criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to give the green light to two controversial pipeline projects.

On Tuesday, Trump issued executive orders seeking to expedite construction on the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, both of which have been challenged by Native American tribes and others. In a statement, Navajo President Russell Begaye and Vice President Jonathan Nez expressed particular concern about the Dakota Access Pipeline, which would carry oil from North Dakota to Illinois. That project was halted by former President Obama after massive protests by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and supporters. Begaye and Nez, who once traveled to North Dakota to show solidarity with protesters, said the pipeline threatens sacred tribal lands and a major water source for the Sioux Tribe. But in his statement, Begaye urged protesters to refrain from violence, adding, “Let’s. . .hope that the industry itself will seek alternate solutions.” Nez expressed concern about the future, saying, “If this is what we as Native nations have to look forward to then we need to stand together in protecting our lands and natural sources.” In a media conference call Tuesday, Bill McKibben of the environmental group 350.org called the Dakota pipeline “one of the most powerful environmental justice flashpoints in American history.”

Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
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