(cont'd)
Meanwhile, judging by what the judge wrote, the oil company bent over backward to accommodate the Dakotas, repeatedly revising construction plans and pipe routes according to what had been presented to them by the Dakotas as sacred sites --- when the Dakotas deigned to present them.  Frankly, it seemed like pretty poor lawyering and leadership on the Dakota's side.  ILittlebear and I have discussed this, and his attitude is that the case should almost automatically been decided in the Dakotas' favor simply because the white man has screwed Native Americans for so long.  A lawyer determined to represent the Dakotas zealously would never take this approach.  Nor should the Dakotas themselves.  Like it or not, they live by American law, and have to prove their case like any other plaintiff in an American federal court.  I say this out of concern for and respect for THEIR rights, which it seems were not defended with enough vigor.