A new United Nations report has criticized the United States government over its handling of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline, which has faced massive resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North Dakota as well as members of hundreds of other Native American nations.
The report says the U.S. government had failed to communicate with and consult Native Americans and showed a “lack of good faith involvement.” The report was delivered to State Department officials Friday.
On Saturday, protesters rallied at Columbus Circle in New York City to oppose the pipeline, which is currently in the final stages of construction following the Trump administration’s approval.
“I think it’s especially meaningful to be at the statue of Christopher Columbus” Isha Racho said. “I was born and raised in New York, and every time I pass it, it just reminds me how much we blatantly love to rub it in the faces of our indigenous people that this land is stolen. But I’m here at the protest because the fight’s not over. A lot of people think it has been finished for weeks or months, but it’s not over, we are still out here, we are still protesting in solidarity, and it is our duty to win, and it is our duty to keep fighting.”
