Cu's American Indian Law Clinic Represents Standing Rock Sioux Tribe at Dakota Access Pipeline, 1117 COBJ, Vol. 46, No. 10 Pg. 66
| Author | KATE FINN AND JESSE HEIBEL, J. |
BAR NEWS HIGHLIGHT
KATE FINN AND JESSE HEIBEL, J.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline precipitated one of the largest indigenous rights movements in recent American history. What started as a prayer camp established by a couple dozen tribal members to advocate against placement of the pipeline on ancestral territory culminated in thousands of supporters from around the globe traveling to the confluence of the Cannonball and Missouri rivers in rural North Dakota. While grateful for the support, the tribe's resources were quickly overwhelmed. Thus, in September 2016, the University of Colorado Law School's American Indian Law Clinic (AILC) entered into an agreement with the tribe to provide legal support for its opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Mobilizing Forces
First, the AILC established Standing Rock Legal Connect, a hotline for those looking to receive or contribute legal assistance. Legal Connect was run by AILC students and received more than 400 emails and phone calls from supporters. Those arrested during the direct actions were put in contact with the Water Protector Legal Collective, a legal team comprising criminal defense and civil rights attorneys located at the Oceti Sakowin Camp. For those looking to donate their time, the AILC compiled a volunteer database so the tribe could quickly access qualified legal professionals.
In September 2016, the AILC traveled to North Dakota to visit the reservation and witness the effects of the AILC's work on the tribe's efforts to protect its land and resources. Students held working meetings with the tribe's legal department and the lawyers based at the camp. The visit provided students with an invaluable opportunity to observe the extraordinary gathering of indigenous peoples, and provided students with a truer sense of the people and values their work was supporting.
As a direct result of meetings with the tribe, the AILC partnered with CU Law's Entrepreneurial Law Clinic to ensure that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's flag and logo were properly protected as the tribe's intellectual property.
Drawing on International Support
Next, the AILC worked with the Standing Rock, Cheyenne River, and Yankton Sioux...
To continue reading
Request your trial