Pope Francis insisted on Wednesday that indigenous peoples must give prior consent for any economic activity on their ancestral lands an indirect critique as the Donald Trump administration seeks to advance construction on a $3.8 billion oil pipeline over opposition from American Indians. Francis met with representatives of indigenous peoples attending a UN agricultural meeting and said the key issue facing them is how to reconcile the right to development with protection of their cultures and territories.
“In this regard, the right to prior and informed consent should always prevail,” he said. “Only then is it possible to guarantee peaceful cooperation between governing authorities and indigenous peoples, overcoming confrontation and conflict.” The Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux tribes are suing to stop construction on the final stretch of the Dakota Access pipeline, which would bring oil from North Dakota’s rich Bakken fields across four states to a shipping point in Illinois.