‘Our cause is just,’ says tribal leader in pipeline protest
STANDING ROCK SIOUX RESERVATION, N.D. — High on a hill overlooking the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball rivers, Dave Archambault II knelt and touched a stone that bears a handprint worn into it by thousands of his ancestors who have done the same for centuries.
There, the leader of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said a prayer for peace.
Below, Archambault can see Native Americans from across North America gathered at an encampment a half-mile away, joining his tribe’s growing protest against a $3.8 billion four-state oil pipeline that will cross the Missouri River nearby. It’s a project they fear will disturb sacred sites and impact drinking water for thousands of tribal members on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and millions further downstream.
“Our cause is just,” the laconic, soft-spoken 45-year-old said. “What we do today will make a difference for future generations.”