The Sioux Tribes’ continuing opposition to the DAPL

Abstract

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v US Army Corps of Engineers (Standing Rock V) is the most recent in a series of cases where Sioux Tribes have challenged the legal authorisation for the Dakota Access Pipeline (“DAPL”) to protect the water flowing through their unceded ancestral lands. This note provides some of the background to explain why the various Sioux Tribes oppose the DAPL and the significance of Standing Rock V. In doing so, it showcases the complexity of administrative and environmental United States law that tribes must engage with as well as why this case, although limited in scope and likely a step towards additional rounds of litigation, is an important win for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.