Standing Rock Tribal Chairman David Archambault, Who Helped Instigate #NoDAPL Protests, Running for Re-Election
Dave Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, waits to give his speech against the Energy Transfer Partners' Dakota Access oil pipeline during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
According to an official notice (see below) Standing Rock Sioux Chairman David Archambault will be one of ten candidates running to be chairman of the tribe.
Archambault led his tribe during the often violent, often unlawful #NoDAPL protests. He partnered the tribe with some far-left environmental groups, and put out a call nationally for activists to come to south central North Dakota, near the Standing Rock reservation, to protest.
The results were ugly. Toward the end of the protest it was easy to see some regret in Archambault’s public words about the protests, particularly his comments about how the activists camping out were treating the land.
Tribal sources I’ve spoken to have said they didn’t expect Archambault to run again, to his candidacy is a bit of a surprise. His race may well be an indication of how tribal members really feel about how the protests were handled (if not necessarily the argument the tribe was making against the pipeline).
“I don’t think he will,” a Standing Rock tribal member told me when I asked if Archambault can win.
There is a primary vote on July 19 from which the three candidates for tribal chair with the most votes will emerge for a general election to be held in September.
“Most tribal elections don’t get state wide attention,” my Standing Rock source tells me. “This one probably will. At least to primary for sure to see if Dave will make the cut.”
