By Bill Moore
Known as the Sioux, the Lakota of America’s Great Plains have fought fiercely for their rights, especially when it endangered their wellbeing, first Red Cloud’s War and the Lakota War of the 19th century, then the siege of Wounded Knee in 1973. Now they see the authorization of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline as an ‘act of war against our people.’
As soon as the U.S. House of Representatives voted to authorize the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to move tar sands oil from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast, the president of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe issued the following statement on behalf of his people.
“The House has now signed our death warrants and the death warrants of our children and grandchildren. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe will not allow this pipeline through our lands. We are outraged at the lack of intergovernmental cooperation. We are a sovereign nation and we are not being treated as such. We will close our reservation borders to Keystone XL. Authorizing Keystone XL is an act of war against our people.”
“Death warrants?” “Acts of war?”
Strong words, especially coming from a native American leader whose ancestors fought bloody wars in the 19th century against white settler and military encroachment on their tribal lands from Minnesota to the Rock Mountains. Just to refresh everyone’s memory…
Read More at EV World.
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