Asheville City Council to vote on resolution in support of Standing Rock Sioux tribe

Press release from Asheville City Council member Gordon Smith:

ASHEVILLE, NC – On Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016 Asheville City Council will consider a resolution offering their support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been embroiled in a fight to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) construction project.

The project is currently planned to traverse the traditional treaty territory of the Standing Rock Sioux, cross near the northern boundary of the tribe’s reservation and tunnel under the Missouri River at Lake Oahe, North Dakota. The tribe maintains that they were never consulted about the project as required by federal regulations which govern the Army Corps of Engineers when issuing federal permits. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe also have several cultural sites, burials and historic sites which would be negatively impacted by the pipeline project.

In support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Asheville City Council Member Gordon Smith says, “Whenever communities are concerned about federal projects the Army Corps of Engineers has an obligation to consult with the community and when that does not happen all our communities can be placed at risk. Water is vital to all communities and when it is threatened it is a concern for us all.”

Council Member Smith and Mayor Esther Manheimer sponsored the resolution. “Asheville has distinguished itself as a leader in environmental protection and we stand with the people of Standing Rock in protecting our environment,” Mayor Manheimer commented.

In January of this year, City Council created Indigenous Peoples’ Day to replace Columbus Day in recognition of the contributions of Native communities including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians which is located 50 miles west of the city. “Our city is committed to recognizing and celebrating the diversity which makes our country rich and supporting communities which have historically been disenfranchised is an important way to demonstrate that commitment”, said Council member Smith.

Asheville joins a growing list of communities including major metropolitan areas to come out in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Vice Chief Richard Sneed said of the Resolution, “The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians stands in solidarity with the City of Asheville in its support of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. We applaud the leadership demonstrated by the Mayor and City Council as they continue to bring awareness to environmental and human rights issues.”

Below is the full text of the proposed resolution. If people would like to contact City Council to express support, they can email all Council Members at AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.com or attend the Council meeting on September 27, 2016 at 5pm.

For more information about this Resolution, you can contact City Council Member Gordon Smith at 828 279 2551 or gordonsmith@avlcouncil.com. Smith has been a Member of Asheville City Council since 2009. Smith introduced this resolution as well as the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Resolution earlier this year.

RESOLUTION NO. 16-__________

RESOLUTION STANDING IN SUPPORT OF THE STANDING ROCK SIOUX

WHEREAS, the City of Asheville understands the importance of recognizing the specific challenges facing the original inhabitants of this land and honoring their contributions symbolized through the declaration of Indigenous Peoples Day each October passed in January, 2015; and

WHEREAS, Asheville resides within the ancestral homelands of the Cherokee Nation and within an hour’s drive to the Qualla Boundary, the home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and the City of Asheville fully supports the right of every Federally Recognized Indian Tribe to exercise the full scope of their Tribal Sovereignty and to enjoy the benefits that accompany self-determination; and

WHEREAS, it is proper and fitting that whenever there are issues that are of national importance in Indian Country, or issues arise that impact Native Americans across the country, that we the City of Asheville demonstrate our willingness to stand in solidarity with those affected; and

WHEREAS, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, a Federally Recognized tribe located in North and South Dakota, has determined that the proposed route of the Dakota Access oil Pipeline creates a potential threat to the only source of drinking water for their people; and

WHEREAS, the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline would carry as many as 570,000 barrels of fracked crude oil per day for more than 1,172 miles from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota to Illinois, passing over sensitive landscapes including treaty protected land containing recognized cultural resources and across or under 209 rivers, creeks, and tributaries including the pristine Missouri River, which provides drinking water and irrigates agricultural land in communities across the Midwest; and

WHEREAS, any spill of oil into the Missouri River would irreparably harm the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s Treaty reserved lands, territories, waters and other resources; burial grounds, gravesites and other sacred sites of cultural, religious, and historical significance; and spiritual relationships and indigenous ways of life; and

WHEREAS, to date the Standing rock Sioux Tribe has received Letters of Support and Council Resolutions from over 250 different Native nations including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and

WHEREAS, despite deep opposition from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, as well as farmers, scientists, more than 30 environmental advocacy groups, and other Tribal nations along the proposed route, and without Tribal consultation or meaningful environmental review as required by federal law, in July, 2016 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit allowing construction of the fracked oil pipeline to move forward; and

WHEREAS, the Dakota Access Pipeline violates Article 2 of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty which guarantees that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe shall enjoy the “undisturbed use and occupation” of their permanent homeland, the Standing Rock Indian Reservation; and

WHEREAS, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 affirms the need to “protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise the traditional religions,” particularly in American Indian sacred places; and Tyler Emsky LEG Dakota Access Pipeline RES D1c Template last revised April 13, 2016; and

WHEREAS, Articles, 11, 12, and 25 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP), as endorsed by the United States in 2010, affirms that indigenous peoples like the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe possess the right to maintain and protect their culture, religion, practices, and relationship with their “traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories [and] waters”; and

WHEREAS, the UNDRIP Article 32 further provides that governments shall consult with indigenous peoples “in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources”; and

WHEREAS, the Society for American Archeology, with over 7800 professional archeologists in all 50 states, found that Section 106 of The National Historic Preservation Act particularly those mandates regarding consultation with tribes were not followed

WHEREAS, In a show of monumental cooperation not seen in the 140 years since the Battle of the Greasy Grass or Little Big Horn, members of the Lakota Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have united with the Oceti Sakowin, the Seven Fires Council – which include the confederation of Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nations – and established a peaceful encampment in Cannon Ball, North Dakota known as the Sacred Stones Camp to resist the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline with a cultural and spiritual presence; and

WHEREAS, On August 15, 2016 the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council led by Tribal Chairman David Archambault II called on Tribal nations and Indigenous people around the world to issue resolutions in support of the Standing Rock Sioux and the Sacred Stones Camp;

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASHEVILLE THAT:

We stand in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe as they exercise their sovereignty in protest of the encroachment upon their ancestral land, water and sacred sites by the Dakota Access Pipeline, and we call on all residents of Asheville to raise awareness about this important struggle for Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice and to support the Sacred Stones Camp efforts in any way they can; and

The City of Asheville calls upon the United States and the Army Corps of Engineers to obtain the free, prior and informed consent of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, prior to taking any federal action regarding the DAPL that would harm or destroy the Tribe’s ancestral lands, waters and sacred sites.