South Dakota tribes applaud cancellation of Keystone XL Pipeline, Thune decries 'bad decision'

Sioux Falls Argus Leader

In this Feb. 1, 2012, file photo, miles of pipe for the stalled Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline are stacked in a field near Ripley, Okla.

Tribal leaders in South Dakota are applauding President Joe Biden's day one move to halt the Keystone XL Pipeline at the country's northern border, calling the action a willingness to listen to Native American voices.

Tribes in South Dakota have been opposed to and protesting the pipeline's construction for more than a decade. Biden canceled its permit as part of a number of promises to address climate change.

President of the Oglala Lakota Nation, Kevin Killer, said Wednesday night the cancellation of the pipeline permit “sends a strong message to tribal nations, and symbolizes a willingness to build on government-to-government relationships established through our treaties,” referencing the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie treaties of the Great Sioux Nation.

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Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Harold Frazier said the project posed a danger to tribal land and people.

“This project has scarred our territorial and treaty lands with its presence and threatened our people like a dagger to our throats,” Frazier wrote Wednesday night. “We have witnessed the invasion of our land and the genocide of our families – this project is an extension of the racial, environmental and social injustices we have suffered."

Sen. John Thune on Thursday released a statement on Twitter, calling Biden's action a "bad decision."

"Disappointing to see the new admin jump at the first opportunity to eliminate a project that provides high-paying jobs to 11,000 Americans & bolsters energy security," Thune wrote. "Blocking the Keystone XL pipeline — after years of work already put in— is a bad decision. This admin can’t ask for unity & bipartisanship one minute but continue to push bad left-wing policy the next."

The Keystone XL pipeline route runs diagonally across South Dakota from the northwest to the southeast. Nine counties will be affected by the construction, which is expected to begin next summer.

A portion of an existing Keystone pipeline runs through the eastern part of South Dakota. The proposed new Keystone XL Pipeline would run through the state diagonally from the northwestern corner to Tripp County in south central South Dakota. The pipeline doesn’t run directly through any reservations in the state, though it borders the Cheyenne River Reservation on the south and Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations on the north.

The pipeline was set to run through the original treaty lands of the Oceti Sakowin, Killer said.

In 2018, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Fort Belknap Indian Community sued the Trump Administration for what they said were violations in the pipeline permitting process. A federal court ruled the permit applied only to the border and not the entire pipeline. Tribes sued the Bureau of Land Management for issuing the permit for the pipeline at the border because they said granting the right-of-way violated the United States’ treaty to protect tribal lands and natural resources.

Some South Dakota officials are concerned the state could see protests over construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline in the state next year, not unlike in North Dakota in 2016 when protesters camped for seven months to stall construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Protesters eventually were forcibly evacuated on Feb. 22, 2017, shown here.

Rosebud has almost 35,000 members, many of whom reside in the territory that the pipeline would cross, the lawsuit said, including in Tripp County, where the tribe has trust lands and historic, cultural and religious sites

Critics of the pipeline said it would create a threat of oil spills and it would increase the extraction of oil sands, considered one of the most greenhouse-gas intensive energies.

Supporters say it would create jobs and run on renewable energy.

Thune, Sen. Mike Rounds and Rep. Dusty Johnson sent a letter to Biden on Tuesday night, urging him to allow the pipeline to continue, saying it would yield a “significant economic impact” to the state. Part of the millions in property taxes would be “reinvested in our schools, rural communities and local infrastructure,” they wrote.

They signed off imploring Biden to “recognize the potential for this modern infrastructure project to serve as a model for how America can rebuild and update our energy sector.” They pointed twice to Biden’s campaign that promised the “spirit of collaboration.”

The Lakota People's Law Project said Wednesday the decision to cancel the pipeline is a "pivot point" to recognize "the health of our Earth."

Indigenous justice organizer for the South Dakota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union Candi Brings Plenty said Wednesday night Indigenous people have been at the forefront of the "fight for environmental justice and protection." The ACLU South Dakota intervened in a "riot boosting" bill last year. In March, Gov. Kristi Noem signed a revised version, which revived the state’s criminal and civil penalties for rioting and inciting a riot. A federal judge said part of the state’s laws were unconstitutional because they targeted those protesting the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Email reporter Danielle Ferguson at dbferguson@argusleader.com or follow on Twitter at @DaniFergs.