Top court to rule on consultation process over energy projects
By John Paul Tasker, CBC News, July 25, 2017
The Supreme Court will deliver two landmark rulings Wednesday that could lead to fundamental changes for Canada’s energy sector and its relationship with Indigenous Peoples.
At issue is the Crown’s constitutional obligation to consult with Indigenous Peoples before approving the construction of a pipeline or allowing a natural resources project to proceed. The top court is expected to give further details on just how much consultation is required, and who should be doing it. Read the rest of this entry
by Freshet Collective, June 14, 2017
The long, arduous battle has continued in Mandan and Bismarck courts for more than 600 water protectors facing charges for resisting the Dakota Access pipeline. The Freshet Collective has grown from a bail fund to a collective of legal organizers, committed to serving the needs of those who put their lives and liberty on the line to stand up for Indigenous sovereignty and protect the sacred. We support water protectors with open cases through outreach, legal education, attorney coordination, travel arrangements, hospitality, and court solidarity. Read the rest of this entry
Judge James Boasberg’s 91-page decision says U.S. Army Corps ‘did not adequately consider’ oil spill impacts; no ruling on whether to keep DAPL operational
Indian Country Media Network, June 14, 2017
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the law in its fast-tracked approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), a U.S. District Court Judge in Washington D.C. has ruled. Judge James Boasberg said the Corps did not consider key components of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in granting the Lake Oahe easement under the Missouri River when directed to do so by President Donald Trump shortly after his swearing-in. Read the rest of this entry
Red Fawn Fallis.
by CAROLINE GRUESKIN, Bismarck Tribune, June 3, 2017
The woman accused of shooting at police officers during an October pipeline protest is petitioning the court to get out of jail before her July 17 trial. Read the rest of this entry
Haudenosaunee man Todd Williams has been ordered to pay thousands in legal fees after disrupting work in protest at Enbridge dig sites in Hamilton this year. (Adam Carter/CBC)
Haudenosaunee men spent months protesting at Enbridge dig sites
By Adam Carter, CBC News, May 31, 2017
Todd Williams spent months sparring with Enbridge all over Hamilton, trying to disrupt the company’s pipeline operations. And now it’s costing him.
After a legal battle with the oil giant that centred on the company’s property rights versus Indigenous treaty and hunting rights, Williams and another Haudenosaunee man, Wayne Hill, were ordered by a Superior Court in Hamilton this month to pay Enbridge $25,381.81 in legal fees. The costs award comes after Enbridge won an injunction barring them from maintenance dig sites. Read the rest of this entry
Aaron Shawn Turgeon, also known as Prolific the Rapper.
by CAROLINE GRUESKIN, Bismarck Tribune, May 25, 2017
A Dakota Access Pipeline protester accused of endangering a police plane with his drone was found innocent of all charges on Thursday.
At the conclusion of a one-day bench trial, Judge Allan Schmalenberger determined that Aaron Shawn Turgeon, also known as Prolific the Rapper, did not put the pilot of the surveillance plane or the protesters below at substantial risk of bodily injury under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.
Police arrest a protester against the Dakota Access Pipeline near Cannonball, North Dakota, December 2016.
by Alleen Brown, Will Parrish, and Alice Speri, The Intercept, May 27, 2017
A shadowy international mercenary and security firm known as TigerSwan targeted the movement opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline with military-style counterterrorism measures, collaborating closely with police in at least five states, according to internal documents obtained by The Intercept. The documents provide the first detailed picture of how TigerSwan, which originated as a U.S. military and State Department contractor helping to execute the global war on terror, worked at the behest of its client Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the Dakota Access Pipeline, to respond to the indigenous-led movement that sought to stop the project. Read the rest of this entry
NoDapl Protectors Dangle from the ceiling at the Vikings Bears game, January 1, 2017. Adam Bettcher – Getty Images
US Bank releases new guidelines that are indigenous people friendly
No more Dakota Access Pipelines (DAPL) for U.S. Bank.
The giant bancorporation has just amended its Environmental Responsibility Policy to ban funding oil and gas pipelines.
According to its new guidelines, “The company does not provide project financing for the construction of oil or natural gas pipelines. Relationships with clients in the oil and gas pipeline industries are subject to the Bank’s enhanced due diligence processes.”
By Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press, May 21, 2017
By Kai Nagata