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Scenes From the Last Days at Standing Rock
That was Dave Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux, sending a message to tribal members and protesters who have raised tents, teepees, yurts and bunkhouses in a sprawling camp here to fight against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. After months of protest, prayer and violent clashes with law enforcement, he was calling for a withdrawal from the snowpacked prairie.
But will the protesters stay, or will they go?
The fight over the pipeline is now shifting from the protest camps to federal courtrooms and regulators in Washington. The federal government said it would not allow a crucial section of the pipeline to cross under the Missouri River and ordered up a long environmental review to search for alternative routes.
The 1,170-mile pipeline is hardly dead. President-elect Donald J. Trump supports finishing the project, and his administration could act to undo the federal decision, handed down this week by the Department of the Army. It is largely already built, and the company behind the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, has denounced the latest move from Washington and vowed to press on.
A blizzard scoured the camp this week, lashing the tents and driving hundreds of demonstrators to seek shelter at the Standing Rock Sioux’s casino, about 10 miles down the road. North Dakota’s winter is deadly, and the storm was just a taste of what’s to come — which is why many government officials and now even tribal leaders want the protesters to pull back.
“We are thankful for their passion and commitment, and we are thankful for them all standing with us,” Mr. Archambault said in a video message on Tuesday. “It’s time now to enjoy this winter with your families. We need all to respect the host tribe’s wishes. We are asking all tribes to pass this on to their members.”
Some may leave. But at the start of the week, many said they were determined to stay, blizzards and all. Here are a few conversations with them about why.
