Cheyenne River tribe claims Keystone XL contractors escorted off reservation

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe says trucks they believed were contractors connected with TC Energy, formerly known as TransCanada, was escorted off its reservation on Monday night.

Concerned tribal members first noticed vehicles parked in Eagle Butte after 5 p.m. Monday and contacted tribal officials, who determined that the vehicle's tank cargo was for the Keystone XL pipeline, according to press release from the tribe. The vehicle wasn't involved with TC Energy or the Keystone XL pipeline, according to TC Energy.

The tribe's police department responded and escorted the vehicles off the reservation in the direction they had arrived because a tribe resolution requires all Keystone XL-related trucks and escort vehicles be turned around immediately to leave the reservation, according to the press release. 

Chairman Harold Frazier said in a statement that any vehicles or personnel working on the Keystone XL pipeline aren't welcome on the reservation. 

"This is Sioux Territory, we will not stand for more encroachments and defilement of our land," Frazier said in a statement. 

According to the state, a truck was stopped in Eagle Butte when a couple people saw it and got in front of it, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Tony Mangan. The truck left the reservation and no injuries or arrests occurred, nor were state officials or Highway Patrol involved in the incident, he said.