Pipeline fight threatens Obama’s tribal legacy

Tribes and their allies say President Obama can cement his legacy on American Indian issues by rejecting a controversial pipeline project near tribal land in North Dakota. 

Obama has looked to bring tribes into the fold as president, hosting an annual gathering of American Indian leaders that culminated with a summit this week. He also became only the fourth president to visit a tribe when he went to the Standing Rock Sioux’s reservation two years ago. 

{mosads}While Indian leaders have lauded Obama’s work on indigenous issues, they say his decision on the pipeline will be key in their assessment of his presidency.

“This is something that has been around for 200 years — the way Native Americans across the United States have been treated, it wasn’t good,” said Dave Archambault, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux. 

“To reverse that in eight years is impossible. To reverse all the wrongs in four years is impossible. To do anything in one year is impossible. So to define an individual in a moment of time on one particular issue, it’s pretty hard to do.”

Obama has received laudatory reviews from American Indians before; they say he’s been as strong an ally as they’ve had in the Oval Office. 

During a speech at his final Tribal Nations Conference on Monday, Obama listed off his accomplishments for tribes, from establishing a White House council on native issues to signing new protections for tribal women in an update to the Violence Against Women Act in 2013. 

“I’ve been proud of what we’ve been able to do together,” he said. “We haven’t solved every issue. We haven’t righted every wrong. But together, we’ve made significant progress in almost every area.”

Lawmakers added other accomplishments, from an expansion of tribal healthcare coverage in ObamaCare to increased funding for Native American issues. 

“The president understands Native Americans, understands the concept of sovereignty and tribal government, in a way that quite frankly none of his predecessors on either of the aisle has,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus.

“He set a very high bar for whoever the next president is.” 

Beyond his policies, Obama has simply paid attention to Indians’ problems, tribal representatives say. He spoke every year at the White House’s tribal nations summit, an event created when he entered office, and during his Monday speech, he said he visited more Native American communities than any other president.

“He is living up to a lot of the things that he said when he ran for president, and it’s all good,” Archambault said.

Dakota Access — and the administration’s broader review of energy permitting decisions near Native American land — is one of the last issues on Obama’s Indian agenda. 

Expectations for his Dakota Access review vary. Standing Rock, other Great Plains tribes and groups like the National Congress of American Indians are strongly pushing Obama to reject the pipeline.

But they acknowledge that’s a big ask for the president. 

“Life is based on relationships,” NCAI President Brian Cladoosby said. “We’re not always going to see things eye to eye in our relationship, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop, it doesn’t mean we quit talking.”

The pipeline fight came to the Tribal Nations Conference this week, where Standing Rock officials briefed other tribes on the issue and hosted a rally against the $3.8 billion project shortly after Obama spoke.

They are also asking Obama to expand tribal consultation — and potentially veto power — in the type of federal permitting decisions that yielded the Dakota Access pipeline. 

“Cities, counties, states — sometimes they have veto power,” said Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), the other co-chairwoman of the Native American Caucus. “We need to know if tribes are ever going to be given that same footing as tribal nations and treated as the units of government that they are.”

Cladoosby said the administration should look for “low-hanging fruit” that Obama can accomplish before he leaves office. That includes boosting the historic preservation reviews at the heart of a Standing Rock Sioux lawsuit over the Dakota Access project.

“[Dakota Access] brought it to the forefront, but we need to make sure that we look at the changes this president can make before he goes out of office that don’t necessarily need congressional action,” he said. 

“Every single tribe in the nation has been impacted by decisions that our trustee has made or corporations have made.” 

Obama didn’t mention Dakota Access or the permitting review directly on Monday. But he referenced it in passing, saying, “I know that many of you have come together across tribes and across the country to support the community at Standing Rock. And together, you’re making your voices heard.”

For Archambault and others, that alone was a welcome comment.

“I didn’t expect anything because I know that we’re in court,” Archambault said. “It was a message that we are being heard by his administration, and that was more than what I expected.”