Although I expect the encampment to be occupied for awhile longer, this is a wonderful conclusion for the Native Americans. They were right. I am so pleased they were able to keep their land and their traditions. It is a great victory for them.
The encampment will probably stand for a short while simply because of a trauma bond with the land. It is difficult for them to feel safe immediately. The occupiers of the encampment now have to balance the wellness and well being of the people against their victory. The law now protects them and they can disband into their homes for the remainder of the winter. Perhaps an occasional ceremonial prayer can occur during the winter to continue to bless the land, but, warm housing has to be replaced by their sacrifice.
December 4, 2016
By the Sacramento Bee Editorial Board
Thousands of American Indians (click here) and their supporters gathered in a frozen expanse of North Dakota for what could’ve become a needlessly violent showdown Monday with police at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
Instead, on Sunday afternoon, the federal government did the right thing and capitulated. The Army Corps of Engineers announced that it would not approve the final permits to complete construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline – a leg of which would’ve crossed under Lake Oahe, a sacred site and a source of drinking water for the tribe of Indians.
“It’s clear that there’s more work to do,” the Corps’ assistant secretary for civil works, Jo-Ellen Darcy, said in a statement. “The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing.”...
