Cannon Ball, N.D. — Dave Archambault II, chair of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, today refuted White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s statements that the White House has been involved in any way with the Tribe.

“Spicer claimed that the Trump administration has been ‘constantly’ in contact with our Tribe. That claim is absolutely false,” Archambault said.

“We repeatedly asked for meetings with the Trump administration, but never received one until the day they notified Congress that they were issuing the easement. I was on a plane to Washington, D.C. when the easement was issued. It was an insult to me and to the Tribe. I cancelled the meeting upon hearing this news. We have since filed a lawsuit for the immoral and illegal issuance of the easement and suspension of the environmental impact study.”

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe remains adamant that the Dakota Access Pipeline is a dangerous project that threatens our water. The tactics to divide our fight against the real enemy, Energy Transfer Partners, are counterproductive and detract from the goal to stop the denigration of our sovereign rights to protect our treaty resources.

###