Iowa Official Says Pipeline Should Avoid Burial Site
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The state archaeologist says the planned Bakken oil pipeline should avoid a sacred Native American burial site in northwest Iowa's Lyon County.
The Des Moines Register reports that John Doershuk toured the site Friday with state and federal officials and Sioux tribal leaders whose ancestors ceded the area to the federal government in 1851.
Doershuk says in a follow-up report that the site has significant cultural and historical importance for the Upper Sioux Community, Standing Rock Sioux tribe and other Sioux people.
The Iowa Utilities Board has scheduled a meeting Monday to discuss allowing Dakota Access LLC to begin building the pipeline in Iowa. It's unclear whether a change of the route will be required to avoid the burial site.
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