Brandon's Impotent Rage
18th November 2014, 21:22
From The Daily Kos: (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/17/1345551/-Congress-Commits-an-Act-of-War-Against-the-Great-Sioux-Nation?detail=email)
When Congress voted to approve the Keystone Pipeline they committed an act of war against the Great Sioux Nation. Apparently they completely forgot to check with the Sioux who live on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, who in February adopted tribal resolutions opposing the Keystone XL project. Or maybe Congress didn't forget but rather chose to ignore them.
Of course the U.S. government has hardly ever taken Native American concerns seriously, so it would be a surprise if that happened now, but Rosebud Sioux (Sicangu Lakota Oyate) Tribal President Scott said his nation has yet to be properly consulted on the project, which would cross through tribal land. Concerns brought to the Department of Interior and to the Department of State have yet to be addressed, he said in a statement. http://summitcountyvoice.com/... (http://summitcountyvoice.com/2014/11/15/environment-south-dakota-native-americans-describe-house-vote-on-keystone-xl-pipeline-as-an-act-of-war/) Congress apparently also neglected to consider possible legal issues like, I don't know, maybe a treaty or two.
The proposed route of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline crosses directly through Great Sioux Nation (Oceti Sakowin) Treaty lands as defined by both the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties and within the current exterior boundaries of the Rosebud Sioux Reservation and Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. Tribal president Scott articulated the position of his people quite clearly.
“The House has now signed our death warrants and the death warrants of our children and grandchildren,” Scott said. “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,” he said . Oh, snap!
But wait! The borders of a sovereign nation have never really been an impediment to the ambitions of oil companies and their bought and paid for U.S. government representatives. Until, perhaps, now. This seems like a problem that won't be going away anytime soon. It gives President Obama all the more moral and legal authority to veto the project if and when it is approved by both houses. And if there happen to be enough turncoat Democrats to override a veto then surely the issue will be taken up in court, probably all the way to the SCOTUS, where it would be hard to imagine Roberts wanting to soil his legacy any further by breaking a treaty with a sovereign nation. I can't wait to see how this all plays out.
I end this diary with the words of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate Tribal President Scott of the Great Sioux Nation.
“The Lakota people have always been stewards of this land. We feel it is imperative that we provide safe and responsible alternative energy resources not only to tribal members but to non-tribal members as well. We need to stop focusing and investing in risky fossil fuel projects like TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline. We need to start remembering that the earth is our mother and stop polluting her and start taking steps to preserve the land, water, and our grandchildren’s future.”
So, once again, the United States government has completely ignored treaties previously made with an American Indian tribe, and is now willingly violating the tribal sovereignty of the Lakota nation by building Keystone pipeline right through the middle of the Lakota reservation.
Imperialism: shedding blood from sea to shining sea since 1492.
When Congress voted to approve the Keystone Pipeline they committed an act of war against the Great Sioux Nation. Apparently they completely forgot to check with the Sioux who live on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, who in February adopted tribal resolutions opposing the Keystone XL project. Or maybe Congress didn't forget but rather chose to ignore them.
Of course the U.S. government has hardly ever taken Native American concerns seriously, so it would be a surprise if that happened now, but Rosebud Sioux (Sicangu Lakota Oyate) Tribal President Scott said his nation has yet to be properly consulted on the project, which would cross through tribal land. Concerns brought to the Department of Interior and to the Department of State have yet to be addressed, he said in a statement. http://summitcountyvoice.com/... (http://summitcountyvoice.com/2014/11/15/environment-south-dakota-native-americans-describe-house-vote-on-keystone-xl-pipeline-as-an-act-of-war/) Congress apparently also neglected to consider possible legal issues like, I don't know, maybe a treaty or two.
The proposed route of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline crosses directly through Great Sioux Nation (Oceti Sakowin) Treaty lands as defined by both the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties and within the current exterior boundaries of the Rosebud Sioux Reservation and Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. Tribal president Scott articulated the position of his people quite clearly.
“The House has now signed our death warrants and the death warrants of our children and grandchildren,” Scott said. “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,” he said . Oh, snap!
But wait! The borders of a sovereign nation have never really been an impediment to the ambitions of oil companies and their bought and paid for U.S. government representatives. Until, perhaps, now. This seems like a problem that won't be going away anytime soon. It gives President Obama all the more moral and legal authority to veto the project if and when it is approved by both houses. And if there happen to be enough turncoat Democrats to override a veto then surely the issue will be taken up in court, probably all the way to the SCOTUS, where it would be hard to imagine Roberts wanting to soil his legacy any further by breaking a treaty with a sovereign nation. I can't wait to see how this all plays out.
I end this diary with the words of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate Tribal President Scott of the Great Sioux Nation.
“The Lakota people have always been stewards of this land. We feel it is imperative that we provide safe and responsible alternative energy resources not only to tribal members but to non-tribal members as well. We need to stop focusing and investing in risky fossil fuel projects like TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline. We need to start remembering that the earth is our mother and stop polluting her and start taking steps to preserve the land, water, and our grandchildren’s future.”
So, once again, the United States government has completely ignored treaties previously made with an American Indian tribe, and is now willingly violating the tribal sovereignty of the Lakota nation by building Keystone pipeline right through the middle of the Lakota reservation.
Imperialism: shedding blood from sea to shining sea since 1492.