Trevor Noah comments on Dakota Access Pipeline

On Thursday’s episode of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah took on the topic of the Dakota Access Pipeline, detailing how the project has been rerouted to Native American lands to avoid a predominantly white populace.

Noah beings by joking that you might have heard about the Dakota Access Pipeline because you’ve been supporting the cause on Facebook, or you’ve heard it as a question on Jeopardy!: “The way America is screwing over Native Americans for the 200th year in a row. What is the Dakota Access Line?!”

Noah gives a brief overview of the situation — which has been ongoing since April — in which the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and supporters have been protesting to block the completion of an interstate oil pipeline that will run under their sacred, ancestral land. “It’s hella disrespectful to lay pipe in someone else’s yard,” quips Noah.

The comedian goes on to joke, “Once you hear from the head of the pipeline, you will have no concerns whatsoever.” In a clip thta follows, Kelcy Warren, CEO of Energy Transfer Partners, says that “absent of human error — and what I mean by that is absent someone digging into the pipeline which does occur, even though there are signs that will be everywhere that say, ‘Before digging, please call this number Most leaks are caused by human error.” Further, he insists, “Our pipeline is very, very safe.”

Noah then brings up the point that when previous concerns were raised about a potential oil spill and the line’s proximity to Bismarck — a predominantly white city — the pipeline was rerouted to go under the river right next to the Standing Rock Reservation.

“That’s right,” says Noah, “this pipeline is NSFW: Not safe for whites.” Adding, “It’s just interesting to me, that the people with the longest history of getting f—ed over in American are the ones who are getting f—ed over.”

He ends the segment by once again pointing to the injustice towards the Native American population: “America has spent centuries moving native peoples from place to place — maybe just this one time, you can be the ones who move?”

Watch the video below.