Standing Rock: What now?

After months of peaceful protesting, the water protectors at the Standing Rock reservation finally have a small victory. Early Sunday evening it was announced that federal authorities have chosen to halt the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Department of the Army announced in a statement that “the best way to complete that work [on the pipeline] responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing.”

As President Obama prepares to leave office, many believe that this could be his legacy. Just hours after the announcement went public, Obama was praised as the president who promised to look out for Native American people’s interests, and actually kept his word. While he is being applauded for putting citizens before corporate profit, we must contemplate why he took so long to act and if he will do more.

This stoppage came just one day after thousands of military veterans flew to North Dakota to act as human shields for the water protectors in Standing Rock, who for over four months have endured wrongful imprisonment, continuous persecution and a type of violent police repression that hasn’t been seen since the Civil Rights movements. We have to question why Obama chose this moment as the breaking point and not another point in the protests.

But this is not the moment to critique Obama’s decisions and motive but rather to look at what comes next. While this event marks a substantial victory for the protestors, it is most certainly a fragile one.

The project developers, Energy Transfer Partners LP and Sunoco Logistics Partners LP, announced that they remain “fully committed” to the completion of the pipeline, without plans to reroute around Lake Oahe, the water source that the protests revolve around. “Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way,” they said in a joint statement.

Additionally, the water protectors have little to no support from their state representatives. North Dakota Republican Congressman Kevin Cramer, who has openly supported the pipeline’s construction, chastised the Administration’s decision to halt the pipeline. Believing that the decision sends a “very chilling signal” to others looking to “build infrastructure” in the United States, Cramer announced that anything ranging from roads to water lines will be impossible to build “when criminal behavior is rewarded this way.” (He seems to forget that it was the police who were trespassing on private, Native American land not the other way around which makes the police the criminals, but that’s fine.)

Furthermore, the state’s governor, Jack Dalrymple, referred to the announcement as a serious mistake. He slammed the decision, which he believes does nothing to actually resolve the issue and “prolongs the serious problems faced by North Dakota law enforcement as they try to maintain public safety.” (What about Native Americans’ safety? Oh wait, they don’t matter, I forgot, silly us.)

But, as previously stated, the Native Americans’ victory may be short lived. The incoming Trump administration is more favorable to the pipeline constructors, and President-elect Donald Trump himself owned stock in one of the developers, Energy Transfer Partners.

The water protectors have no intention of stopping their fight, however. They organizers have declared every day in the month of December a day of “#NoDAPL” action, and are asking those who have supported them to remain in solidarity. With a harsh winter ahead, the encampment where protesters have been residing continues to grow, a living symbol of their collaborative organization in these divisive times.

President Obama must stand behind his decision and the people of Standing Rock. This cannot be a temporary victory but rather a permanent one, a move that is substantial and paves the way for lasting protection. He must speak up, but, more importantly, he must show up. His silence throughout this ordeal has been deafening, and enough is enough. President Obama has finally spoken out, but now he needs to finish the job.