Happy Earth Day! How ironic is it that the final day for comments on the KXL is today. Fighting this proposed black snake for 3+ years I have had the honor to meet and learn a lot about this land, and its people. I have learned of why people are fighting this project for many different reasons.
Water is the key to this whole fight for all. Starting at the source, the dirty Alberta Tar Sands Region. They use 4-6 barrels of water to make 1 barrel of bitumen. The water is contaminated and is effecting the lives and health of the people, animals, and fish down stream. First Nations peoples lives and way of life are directly impacted, as they are not allowed to safely hunt, collect and live off the land like they have done for thousands of years.
Happy Earth Day! How ironic is it that the final day for comments on the KXL is today. Fighting this proposed black snake for 3+ years I have had the honor to meet and learn a lot about this land, and its people. I have learned of why people are fighting this project for many different reasons.
Water is the key to this whole fight for all. Starting at the source, the dirty Alberta Tar Sands Region. They use 4-6 barrels of water to make 1 barrel of bitumen. The water is contaminated and is effecting the lives and health of the people, animals, and fish down stream. First Nations peoples lives and way of life are directly impacted, as they are not allowed to safely hunt, collect and live off the land like they have done for thousands of years.
In South Dakota, the Mni Wiconi (Lakota for “Water is Life”)water pipeline provides fresh drinking water to the entire South Western portion of the state, the water is contaminated from years of uranium and gold mining.
The most famous fight is the over the Ogallala Aquifer, in some spots in Nebraska, the aquifer is above ground. So this deadly serpent would live in the aquifer, spreading its venom at a moments notice.
Cultural Artifacts is the second reason to fight this. The entire route has been lands for the native peoples of the US and Canada for years. Tribes were mobile and moved to different camps at different times of the year, so to go out and look at a piece of land to determine if it was a sacred spot or has cultural significant is very hard to do.
However, we have the Caddo Nation that had a major historical site that is very well documented in a book from the 1930’s in the Texas-Oklahoma border on the banks of the Red River. This is on the land currently owned by Julia Crawford Tiggs, her land is full of artifacts yet TransCanada has used eminent domain to obtain her land and to destroy this site.
In Nebraska we have the Ponca “Trail of Tears” in which 280 left Northern Nebraska to Northern Oklahoma, 140 survived. The KXL is planned to cross this sacred trail 3 times in Nebraska. The Ponca were never informed or consulted on this to date.
The largest cultural issue is the Lakota Treaty of 1851 and 1868. 2 Tribes have recently come out with resolutions stating that all treaty lands are considered sacred. The KXL would run through their Treaty lands from Montana to through Nebraska.
Enbridge Energy is quietly maneuvering to increase the flow of their recently completed Alberta Clipper from 450,000 barrels to 570,000 barrels per day, with another increase in the near future to the capacity of 880,000. Coupled with their planned line reversals from Sarnia, Ontario Canada to Portland Maine, and from Flanagan, IL to Cushing OK, and from Cushing, OK to Houston TX, they can silently obtain 2 export ports with a Presidential Permit for up to 20 miles of land from the Canadian Border to the first shut off value in North Dakota.
Will we invade Canada next for the human right violations they are conducting in obtaining the tar sands? We have invaded the mid-east countries for human rights and oil supply.
Big Oil is out to get us all…. It is time to stand up, be idle no more and let President Obama and Secretary Kerry know that “They have a Situation in the great plains” The Natives are gathering with the ranchers and they are telling them to stay the hell off our lands.