Dakota Access pipeline protest may get Canadian boost with blockades: Manitoba chief

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – A Manitoba indigenous chief says there’s a desire for action – which could include blockades of Canadian pipelines and railways – in support of a protest against a North Dakota pipeline project.

Grand Chief Terry Nelson of the Southern Chiefs Organization says chiefs and others attended a meeting Saturday at the Dakota Tipi First Nation near Portage la Prairie to discuss how to react if the U.S. government clears demonstrators from a camp occupied by the Dakota Access pipeline protesters.

READ MORE: Dakota Access pipeline protesters refuse to follow orders to abandon camp

Nelson says one option includes blocking access to pumping stations along a pipeline operated by Enbridge, which has plans to acquire a stake in the U.S. pipeline project.

After the meeting, Dakota Tipi members held a pipe ceremony on the Trans-Canada Highway near Portage la Prairie, Man., temporarily blocking a lane of traffic.

The chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to close an area where demonstrators have been camping for months.

Some of the protests have resulted in violent confrontations, including one earlier this week that left one woman with a serious arm injury.