Resolution Declaring Opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline, and Declaring Solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux and Resolutions from the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and Ya-Ka-Ama

Put forth by 1st District Commissioner and Vice Chair Dmitra Smith. This resolution passed with a 9-0-1 vote. One Commissioner abstained and one was absent.

WHEREAS, the Dakota Access pipeline proposes to construct a 1,200 mile pipeline with a capacity of 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day, to cross the Missouri River immediately above the mouth of the Cannon Ball River on the Standing Rock Reservation; and

WHEREAS, the original proposal route calling for the Dakota Access pipeline to cross the Missouri River north of Bismarck, ND was rejected because of its potential threat to Bismarck’s water supply; and

WHEREAS, recent oil spills, including the release of 860,000 gallons of oil near Tioga ND in October of 2013; at least 50,000 gallons of oil released into the Yellowstone River upstream from Glendive, Montana in January of 2015, and the release of 1,100,000 gallons of tar sands crude in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River in July of 2010, demonstrate the danger to downstream communities, fish and wildlife from oil and gas pipelines such as the Dakota Access; and

WHEREAS, the current route of the Dakota Access pipeline poses a serious threat to the water systems serving communities of the tribes within the Great Plains region, including the Standing Rock Reservation, The Cheyenne River Reservation, The Oglala, Rosebud and Lower Brule Sioux tribes; and

WHEREAS, the current route of the Dakota Access pipeline would cut across treaty lands and through ancestral burial grounds, with the potential to damage and destroy sacred sites of great historic, spiritual and cultural significance; and

WHEREAS, the United Nations Rights of Indigenous Peoples Declaration adopted in 2006 confirms the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination, recognizes subsistence rights and rights to lands, territories and resources; recognizes that indigenous peoples deprived of their means of subsistence and development are entitled to just and fair redress; outlaws discrimination against indigenous peoples; and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them, as well as their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development; and

WHEREAS, the United Nations General Assembly 2011 resolution of the Human Rights Council noted that sustainable development and the protection of the environment can contribute to human well-being and the enjoyment of human rights; and conversely, that environmental damage can have negative implications, both direct and indirect, for the effective enjoyment of human rights; and recognized that, while these implications affect individuals and communities around the world, environmental damage is felt most acutely by those segments of the population already in vulnerable situations; and

WHEREAS, the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians and the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, the Ya-Ka-Ama, as well as the northern California cities of Berkeley, Davis, Oakland and Sebastopol have passed resolutions in opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline and in support of the Standing Rock Sioux;

Now, Therefore Be It Resolved that on this 15th Day of November, 2016 the Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights strongly declares opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline, and declares support for and solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the official resolutions of the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and Ya-Ka-Ama.