Today, President Joe Biden signed an executive order rescinding a key permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, effectively killing the project.
The following is a statement from Candi Brings Plenty, the ACLU of South Dakota’s Indigenous justice organizer:
“We recognize that Indigenous people have been at the forefront of the fight for environmental justice and protection. Tribal nations and communities are battling every day for the protection of their homelands and survival of ecosystems and ways of life. Construction of the Keystone XL pipeline or a spill from the project would cause irreparable and devastating impact to local communities and ecosystems.
“That’s why the ACLU of South Dakota supported water protectors our Indigenous partners and their right to protest the pipeline. It’s why we challenged the “riot boosting act” in court in 2019 and opposed similar legislation in 2020 – both unnecessary efforts to legislative peaceful protest in South Dakota that were sparked by a desire to suppress protests around the Keystone XL pipeline. The right to join with fellow citizens in protest or peaceful assembly is critical to a functioning democracy and at the core of the First Amendment. Hearing that President Biden canceled the Keystone XL permit is welcome news.”