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Dakota Access Pipeline Protesters 'Disappointed' With Obama's Inaction

© REUTERS / Carlo AllegriU.S. President Barack Obama sits after addressing the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., September 20, 2016.
U.S. President Barack Obama sits after addressing the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., September 20, 2016. - Sputnik International
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Despite meeting with Dakota Access pipeline protesters, US president Barack Obama hasn't done much to resolve the ongoing conflict between the government and tribes, a Standing Rock Sioux official told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Obama’s inaction regarding protests against a controversial gas pipeline in the state of North Dakota has dismayed members of Native American tribes affected by the project, Standing Rock Sioux representative Linda Black Elk said.

“We are horribly hurt and disappointed by his lack of action, especially his lack of words,” Elk said this week. “He hasn’t even really said much and certainly hasn’t said anything about the fact that he was here, he talked to the kids and to our people. It’s very sad and very disappointing.”

Activists Call Police Brutality as Dakota Access Pipeline Protester May Lose Arm - Sputnik International
Activists Call Police Brutality as Dakota Access Pipeline Protester May Lose Arm
In 2014, Obama visited the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, near which the final portions of the $3.7 billion Dakota Access Pipeline are being built. In a speech in the reservation town of Cannon Ball, where protesters are now camped, Obama said that as president he would honor the “sacred trust” between the federal government and Native Americans, respect tribes’ sovereignty and uphold treaty obligations.

“Obama was here, he came to Cannon Ball, he was right there,” Black Elk said. “He ate pizza with our kids, he laughed with them, he watched them dance at a powwow. He made a lot of promises to us.”

Earlier in November, Obama responded to a question about the ongoing pipeline protests by saying, “We’re going to let it play out for several more weeks and determine whether or not this can be resolved in a way that I think is properly attentive to the traditions of the first Americans.”

The president’s passivity is troubling to many tribal members. On Tuesday, Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault urged Obama to immediately take action against the project to stem escalating violence between law enforcement and protesters.

"Once again, we call on President Obama to stop this pipeline and the violence resulting from it, and to deny the easement," Archambault stated in a news release. "The reckless escalation of violence by the Morton County Sheriff’s Department is unconscionable and preventable. It must stop now."

A log adorned with colorful decorations remains at a Dakota Access Pipeline protest encampment as construction work continues on the pipeline near the town of Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., October 30, 2016 - Sputnik International
Sioux Tribe Head Urges Obama to Stop North Dakota Access Pipeline After Clashes
The tribal leader was referring to a legal easement, or land-crossing right, that the US Department of Interior is considering for final-stage construction of the pipeline. If granted, the easement would allow the companies behind the pipeline to build a tunnel to carry natural gas under the Missouri River’s Lake Oahe reservoir as part of the project’s 1,172-mile route.

The US Army Corps of Engineers, which reviews pipeline-construction permits for the Interior Department, has said it’s seeking additional information from the Standing Rock Sioux, who object to the pipeline route because it threatens sacred tribal lands and would pollute water from Lake Oahe.

The pipeline is envisioned to transport domestically produced light crude oil from North Dakota through the states of South Dakota and Iowa to Illinois

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