If the American government were to treat the indigenous population fairly in this decision, that might be a historical first. This week’s protests were scheduled before the recent announcement that the State Department will again delay the Keystone decision. He’s currently in Malaysia as part of an Asian tour. There was plenty of media in attendance, but President Obama was far from the scene. He said that stopping the pipeline is what the current generation owes to future generations, lest they be left with nothing but “a toxic cesspool.” The event was closed out with a rousing address by Gitz Crazy Boy, who is part Blackfoot and part Dene, and who works with children in Alberta. Throughout the day, speakers emphasized Native Americans’ tradition of respect for and unity with the land - in contrast with those who would pillage the land because they are “disconnected from their spirit,” in the words of Sun Dance Chief Reuben George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. Some groups led typical protest chants like, “Hey hey, ho ho, Keystone XL has got to go.” Meanwhile a group of Indians playing traditional drums provided a steady beat. But there was also a multiracial contingent of teenagers from Boston with social and environmental-justice action groups such as the Roxbury Environmental Empowerment Project. Although they included both cowboys and Indians, the majority appeared to be a more typical crowd for an environmental rally in Washington, D.C.: East Coast liberals with shaggy hair, beards, and sandals. “Our land is going to be poisoned, and it will poison our drinking water.” Based on the historical and scientific evidence, experts believe that Horinek’s fears are warranted, and that the State Department underestimated the threat of leaks in its environmental impact statement on Keystone. “The Keystone pipeline will inevitably leak,” predicts Horinek. ![]() If the rest of it is built, oil from the Albertan tar sands will course through it. The first leg of Keystone XL, from Oklahoma to the Gulf Coast, is already built near his home. and since Monday had spent all of his days at the encampment. The procession to the museum was led by ranchers on horseback and a group of Indians holding a wide banner reading, “President Obama: Protect Our Sacred Water.” Mekasi Horinek of the Ponca Nation in Oklahoma held up one end of the banner. On Saturday, they presented it to the National Museum of the American Indian. They also painted a tipi as a gift for President Obama. Indians inhabited the tipis during the week (but not overnight due to National Park Service rules), answering questions from curious passersby. To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Groups such as Bold Nebraska, which was one of the main event organizers, mobilized previously apolitical farmers and ranchers to come to Washington for the week, while Native American and First Nations advocacy groups like Idle No More brought their constituents, and national environmental organizations such as 350.org, the Sierra Club, and Public Citizen lent logistical support. The cowboys and Indians have come together, Thomas-Muller told Grist, because “rural landowners are being treated like Native Americans.” That is to say, their land is being stolen and despoiled. Ranchers, meanwhile, are having their land confiscated under eminent domain in order to get the pipeline built. Tar-sands drilling has led to cancer clusters and to contamination that affects locals’ ability to hunt and fish, says Clayton Thomas-Muller, a member of the Cree Nation from Alberta and a campaigner in Ottawa for Idle No More, an indigenous advocacy organization. ![]() And in Canada, First Nations near the tar sands in Alberta oppose the exploitation of the area, citing local health and environmental hazards. Native Americans say that the State Department has failed to consult them about the risks of running the pipeline near their lands and holy places such as burial grounds. Both groups are threatened by the Keystone proposal.
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