Tribe at center of pipeline protests launches solar farm
Source: Associated Press
Dave Kolpack, Associated Press
Updated 12:01 pm CDT, Friday, July 26, 2019
Photo: Jose Luis Magana, AP
FILE - In this March 10, 2017, file photo, America Indians and their supporters protest outside of the White House in Washington, to rally against the construction of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline. The American Indian tribe at the center of tumultuous protests against the Dakota Access pipeline is showing off its solar farm that backers are billing as the largest in North Dakota. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's solar project is meant as a first step toward clean energy independence and a way to power all 12 of the reservation communities. The grand opening is Friday night, July 26, 2019.
CANNON BALL, N.D. (AP) — The American Indian tribe at the center of tumultuous protests against the Dakota Access pipeline plans to unveil a solar farm Friday that came about partly due to the tribe's fierce opposition to the oil pipeline's environmental impact.
Located just 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the pipeline, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's solar project is meant as a first step toward clean energy independence and a way to power all 12 of the reservation communities in North Dakota and South Dakota. It also shows that the protests that began in 2016 and ended in 2017 weren't for naught, even though the pipeline began carrying oil more than two years ago, said Cody Two Bears, the project leader and executive director of Indigenized Energy, which promotes energy within the Sioux Nation.
Two Bears said the solar project "pays tribute to everyone who's come to Standing Rock and all their hard work and tireless dedication toward protecting our people and land."
Organizers invited actors Shailene Woodley and Mark Ruffalo, two vocal opponents of the pipeline, presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, and other public figures to a Friday evening kickoff event. Ruffalo, co-founder of The Solutions Project, a nonprofit that promotes clean and renewable energy, and Woodley visited the protest camp where thousands of people lived for months and sometimes clashed with law enforcement. More than 700 people were arrested during the protests.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Tribe-at-center-of-pipeline-protests-launches-14184480.php
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Two Bears said the solar project "pays tribute to everyone who's come to Standing Rock and all their hard work and tireless dedication toward protecting our people and land."
