Morally Unacceptable: U.S. Jesuits, Red Cloud Indian School, and St. Francis Mission Release Statement on Dakota Access Pipeline Decision
BY ISN STAFF | February 23, 2017
On Tuesday, February 22, 2017, the Jesuits of the U.S., together with the Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Reservation and St. Francis Mission on the Rosebud Reservation, released a statement expressing deep concern surrounding the recent decision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline. The decision to issue an easement allowing the pipeline to cross under the Missouri River north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation is a direct response to President Trump’s January 24 Presidential Memorandum urging the Army Corps to expedite the review and approval process.
“Suspending the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process previously ordered by the Obama Administration, which would have determined the safety, environmental and climate impacts of the pipeline and alternative route crossings, is morally unacceptable,” reads the statement. “It is particularly troubling given the Army Corps’ previous determination that the pipeline crossing affects tribal treaty rights and that more study and consultation with tribes is required.”

Dakota Access Pipeline approaching Missouri River [Paulette Moore]
Fr. Timothy Kesicki, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, said, “Jesuits have been working beside and ministering to native peoples for centuries. We stand in solidarity with native peoples in Standing Rock and around the world who are advocating for environmental and human rights in the face of extractive industry projects. Like Pope Francis, we recognize that water is a fundamental human right.”

Oceti Sakowin Resistance Camp in December [Joe Brusky]
In November, four Red Cloud students attended ISN’s Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, where they presented a workshop on impacts of the Dakota Access Pipeline to Teach-In attendees and participated in Ignatian Family Advocacy Day, speaking to their elected officials about this key issue in their community.

Red Cloud Indian School students and chaperones on Ignatian Family Advocacy Day [Doris Yu, Jesuits of Canada and the U.S.]
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