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Navajo President Calls for Obama to Intervene on Dakota Access Pipeline

Andrew Cullen/Reuters

The president of the Navajo Nation wants the Obama administration to end construction of the 1,200-mile Dakota Access Pipeline. Russell Begaye says the law enforcement response to demonstrators opposed to the project puts the lives of Native Americans at risk. Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports. 

President Begaye says the demonstrators, or Water Protectors, in North Dakota have been met with excessive force. They’ve been shot with rubber bullets and concussion grenades, and sprayed with water cannons in freezing temperatures. Begaye has asked President Obama to order the U.S. Justice Department to uphold the Water Protectors’ right to assemble.

Begaye and Navajo Vice President Jonathan Nez recently traveled to the demonstration near the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. They visited camps and spoke with other tribal leaders. Thousands are gathered there in opposition to the $3.8 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline. They say it threatens water supplies and tribal sacred sites.

North Dakota’s governor this week issued an immediate evacuation order of the area due to winter weather and unauthorized camping.

Ryan Heinsius joined KNAU's newsroom as an executive producer in 2013 and became news director and managing editor in 2024. As a reporter, he has covered a broad range of stories from local, state and tribal politics to education, economy, energy and public lands issues, and frequently interviews internationally known and regional musicians. Ryan is an Edward R. Murrow Award winner and a Public Media Journalists Association Award winner, and a frequent contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered and national newscast.
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