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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The proposed Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is a
31,172-mile pipeline being developed by Energy Transfer
4Partners and its affiliates, which would carry approximately
5450,000 barrels of crude per day from the Bakken oil fields
6through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois, where
7it would connect with a second pipeline being converted to
8carry much of the oil to refineries and export facilities on
9the Gulf Coast of Texas; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The DAPL would cross under the Missouri River at
11Lake Oahe, which provides drinking water to the Standing Rock
12Sioux tribe, as well as under or through the Mississippi,
13Illinois, and Kaskaskia Rivers, multiple community water
14supply lake watersheds, and community water supply zone river
15intake one protection areas in Illinois; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The Missouri, Illinois, and Mississippi Rivers
17irrigate agricultural land in communities across the Midwest,
18serving nearly 10 million people; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The DAPL would also run through the ancestral
20lands and waters reserved for the traditional use of the
21Standing Rock Sioux Tribe by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851,
22including the Missouri River, burial grounds and gravesites,

 

 

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1and other sacred sites of cultural, religious, and historical
2significance; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Treaties with American Indians, such as the Fort
4Laramie Treaty are recognized by the United States Constitution
5as "the supreme law of the land", and require consultation and
6cooperation by the United States with its Indian treaty partner
7before any federal action is taken that affects treaty lands,
8territories, waters, or other resources; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978
10affirms the need to "protect and preserve for American Indians
11their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and
12exercise the traditional religions", particularly in American
13Indian sacred places; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois recognizes through 17 Ill.
15Adm. Code 4170.100 "that all human burials and human skeletal
16remains be accorded equal treatment and respect for human
17dignity without reference to ethnic origins, cultural
18background, or religious affiliation. These regulations apply
19to all prehistoric and historic American Indian, historic
20Illinoisan, pioneer, Civil War and other human skeletal remains
21found in unregistered graves, and associated grave artifacts
22and grave markers found upon or within any public or private
23land in the State"; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Articles, 11, 12, and 25 of the United Nations
2Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP), as
3endorsed by the United States in 2010, affirms that indigenous
4peoples like the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe possess the right to
5maintain and protect their culture, religion, practices, and
6relationship with their "traditionally owned or otherwise
7occupied and used lands, territories [and] waters"; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Article 32 further provides that governments
9shall consult with indigenous peoples "in order to obtain their
10free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project
11affecting their lands or territories and other resources,
12particularly in connection with the development, utilization
13or exploitation of mineral, water, or other resources"; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The Illinois Human Rights Act "prohibits
15discrimination in Illinois with respect to employment,
16financial credit, public accommodations, and real estate
17transactions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex
18(including sexual harassment), national origin, ancestry"; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The history of governmental actions in the United
20States with respect to American Indians makes it imperative
21that existing treaty and statutory obligations securing
22American Indian rights be strictly observed; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The United States Army Corps of Engineers failed
2to consult with or obtain the free, prior, and informed consent
3of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe as required by the Treaty of
4Fort Laramie, Executive Order 13175, UNDRIP Article 10, and
5other federal and international laws, before issuing a
6"Mitigated Finding of No Significant Impact" that would result
7in an easement for horizontal directional drilling for the
8DAPL; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Any spill from the pipeline into the Missouri
10River would irreparably harm the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's
11treaty reserved lands, territories, waters, and other
12resources; burial grounds, gravesites, and other sacred sites
13of cultural, religious, and historical significance; and
14spiritual relationships and indigenous ways of life; and
 
15    WHEREAS, According to the Prairie Rivers Network, the DAPL
16would put the water supply of 27,382 people at risk in Illinois
17and it would cross at least 56 named rives in the State; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The Mayor and City Council of Urbana; the Mayor of
19the City of Seattle; the City Councils of Portland, Oregon; St.
20Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota; Affiliated Tribes of
21Northwest Indians, comprised of 59 Indian Nations in the
22Northwest; and nearly 200 Indian Nations, are among the

 

 

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1governmental bodies that have taken formal action to support
2the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and oppose the DAPL; therefore,
3be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
5NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
6support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's opposition to
7construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) across the
8Tribe's ancestral lands, waters, and sacred sites; and be it
9further
 
10    RESOLVED, That the State of Illinois calls upon the United
11States and the Army Corps of Engineers to obtain the free,
12prior, and informed consent of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe,
13prior to taking any federal action regarding the DAPL that
14would harm or destroy the Tribe's ancestral lands, waters, and
15sacred sites; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That the State of Illinois is urged not to expend
17any resources to support this pipeline or actions against the
18protesters.