Native Groups Lead Historic Action Against Dos Republicas Coal Mine

Native Groups Lead Historic Action Against Dos Republicas Coal Mine

by | Apr 24, 2016 | Mining & Drilling, Protests & Symbolic Acts

Via Censored News

EAGLE PASS, Tex. — Native American Groups gathered today for a historic rally and march to protest the open-pit coal strip mine in Eagle Pass, Tex. The protesters called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers  to rescind the mine’s permit, halt expansion and protect the land from further destruction. The project, owned by Dos Republicas Coal Partnership, mines lignite coal, which is transported by train from Maverick County across the border to be burned in a Mexican coal-fired power plant. The mine began operating several months ago, despite local opposition, and is harming the ancestral homelands of many Native groups and damaging sacred lands and more than 100 archaeological sites.

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“This mine has already caused irreparable damage, destroying multiple burial sites and erasing our cultural heritage in the process,” said Maria Torres, Tribal Chairwoman of the Pacuache Clan of Texas. “This land is our patrimonial heritage, and it holds the story of our ancient aboriginal people—how we lived and how we died. When we lose access to our land and to the ancient wildlife of the area, from the jaguarundi and ocelot to crucial plant life, we lose part of our heritage and our connection with Mother Earth.”

Many Native groups say they were not properly consulted by Federal agencies as required prior to granting the permits necessary for the coal mine to open. More than eight thousand Eagle Pass residents and allies signed a petition in opposition to the Dos Republicas mine before its opening.

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“This project is the worst example of environmental injustice I’ve seen,” said Dr. Jonathan Hook, former Director of Environmental Justice and Tribal Affairs for the EPA, Cherokee Nation citizen and Maverick County resident. “Everything about it is wrong. Given the incomplete processes and potential damage to one of the most vulnerable communities in the country, the Dos Republicas mine should have been stopped before it even started.”

Representatives from the Lipan Apache Band of Texas, Pacuache Band Coahuiltecan Nation, Carrizo-Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, and American Indian Movement of Central Texas were present at the Saturday event, which included Native regalia, drumming, and other cultural expressions along with large banners, signs, and puppets.

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“Native leaders, tribal members and allies from across the country are uniting here today, and they join thousands from the area who are standing up against this disastrous project,” said Dr. Tane Ward, and Native and decolonial organizer working with the Sierra Club. “It’s unclear why the state of Texas has been so supportive of the controversial mining project. Not only does it harm culturally rich and historic land, the Dos Republicas mine threatens the safety and livelihood of those who live nearby all so the coal can be shipped to Mexico and burned in coal plants. It’s time for this dangerous project to be stopped, once and for all.”

Read more about the Dos Replicas Mine at the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter’s website.

Great Sioux Nation Defends Its Waters From Dakota Access Pipeline

Great Sioux Nation Defends Its Waters From Dakota Access Pipeline

by | Apr 10, 2016 | Indigenous Autonomy, Obstruction & Occupation

Featured image: The spirit riders at Standing Rock show support for keeping the Missouri River waters clean.  Image by Steve Sitting Bear.

By Chelsey Luger / Indian Country Today Media Network

In the coming weeks or maybe even days, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will issue a decision as to whether or not they will allow the Dakota Access Pipeline, also known as the Bakken Pipeline, to be constructed.

Until then, citizens and allies of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires of the Great Sioux Nation) will continue to protest the pipeline, urging stakeholders to recognize the devastation that would ensue should the pipeline be built.

“The DAPL poses a threat to our people, cultural and historically significant areas,” said Paula Antonie, Chair of Shielding the People and a Rosebud Sioux tribal citizen. “We will stand by our Hunkpapa relatives in defending against any major environmental, public health and safety hazards within our treaty territory.”

The proposed pipeline would stretch for thousands miles across four states beginning in western North Dakota and ending in Indiana. It would cross the Missouri River mere feet away from the northern border of the Standing Rock Reservation, threatening to contaminate and destroy the waters.

“When this proposed pipeline breaks, as the vast majority of pipelines do, over half of the drinking water in South Dakota will be affected,” said Joye Braun, a community organizer from the Cheyenne River reservation. “How can rubber-stamping this project be good for the people, agriculture and livestock? It must be stopped.”

While the oil industry would like the public to believe that pipelines are a clean and efficient way of transporting oil with little risk, the data suggest otherwise. According to the Associated Press, there were 300 oil pipeline breaks in North Dakota alone during 2012–2013, and none of them were reported to the public. North Dakota is the second-largest oil-producing state after Texas.

Delegates from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have already met with representatives from several federal agencies, including the Army Corps, urging them to reevaluate the environmental impact of the project. The interests of the Standing Rock Sioux were not taken into consideration in the initial environmental assessment. While the Corps decision will have an influence, it won’t be the end of the fight.

“The Corps will get sued either way,” explained Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault. “If they approve of the pipeline, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will sue them. If they reject it, Energy Transfer Partners will sue them.”

Archambault explained that unlike Keystone XL, which President Obama rejected last November, an executive order will not hold the same weight in this project. While Keystone XL was a federal project crossing the U.S.–Canada border, Dakota Access is a private project and does not cross an international boundary. In addition, most of the landowners along the way have already issued voluntary easements on their property.

Meanwhile, several grassroots groups, tribal citizens, and concerned allies who oppose the pipeline have banded together to work on getting their message out. This conglomerate of activists are calling themselves “Chante tin’sa kinanzi Po” or “People, Stand with a Strong Heart!” Their mission statement says this:

“ ‘They claim this mother of ours, the Earth, for their own use, and fence their neighbors away from her, and deface her with their buildings and their refuse.’ —Chief Sitting Bull. His way of life is our way of life—standing in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline is our duty.”

On April 1, Chante tin’sa kinanzi Po set up a horse ride to celebrate the founding of a Spirit Camp that they erected along the route of the proposed pipeline near the community of Cannon Ball in North Dakota.

The camp is called Inyan Wakhanagapi Othi or Sacred Rock, which translates as the original name of the Cannon Ball area.

Dozens of riders and supporters joined in the spirit ride. All are welcome to show support at the campsite, which will be active for an undetermined period of time, or until no longer necessary. They urge all supporters to write letters to the Corps on behalf of tribal interests.

“We do not need oil to live, but we do need water,” said Waniya Locke, a descendant of the Standing Rock nation. “And water is a human right, not a privilege.”

VIDEO: 102 Buffalo Escape Capture in Yellowstone

VIDEO: 102 Buffalo Escape Capture in Yellowstone

by | Mar 24, 2016 | Biodiversity & Habitat Destruction

Featured image: Buffalo head south, away from Yellowstone’s dangerous trap. Photo by Stephany Seay, Buffalo Field Campaign.

By Buffalo Field Campaign

It gives us great pleasure to share some incredibly positive news with you. Two days after the heartbreaking media tour of Yellowstone’s Stephens Creek capture facility, where one hundred and fifty wild buffalo were “processed” and shipped to slaughter or otherwise condemned, the bulk of the trap was empty and Yellowstone was hungry to capture more bison. Haunted by what we had witnessed there, our hearts sank as large groups of buffalo approached the trap. As expected, Yellowstone park wranglers — those who work at the trap — attempted to capture these buffalo families. First they went after a group of seventy-two buffalo, then another group of thirty. But in a beautiful twist of fate, the buffalo sensed the danger and were determined to save themselves from slaughter. Watch this video to see what happens.

BFC patrols are busy day and night, in every kind of weather, helping buffalo and motorists stay safe on the highway as spring migration brings the buffalo to their traditional calving grounds. Photo by Stephany Seay, Buffalo Field Campaign.

BFC patrols are busy day and night, in every kind of weather, helping buffalo and motorists stay safe on the highway as spring migration brings the buffalo to their traditional calving grounds. Photo by Stephany Seay, Buffalo Field Campaign.

As of this writing, there have been no other captures at Stephens Creek. Fifty-seven orphaned calves and yearlings remain captive, with Yellowstone telling us they don’t know how long they will be held or what their fate will be. There are currently no other buffalo near the trap, though the Park Service intends to keep it open through the end of March. Thankfully, the majority of buffalo have left the Gardiner Basin.

West of Yellowstone, in the Hebgen Basin, spring migration is beginning. BFC patrols have been extremely busy from early in the morning through late at night, warning traffic of buffalo along the highways. They are attempting to migrate to their favored, traditional calving grounds on Horse Butte, but there is still a lot of snow to negotiate. We’ve had some very warm days and extremely cold nights, so the snow is like concrete and difficult for the buffalo to navigate or forage through. Their best chances for food are along the south-facing slopes and the river and creek beds, where grass is slowly starting to become exposed. It’s a very difficult time for the buffalo and all wildlife, having survived one of the harshest winters in the lower-48 states and having all their fat stores used up and with the Earth providing very little nutrition as of yet. But buffalo are strong survivors and they will come, bringing the next generation. Wild buffalo should be safe on Horse Butte, thanks to Governor Steve Bullock’s decision to grant some year-round habitat. But, we will not know for sure until the decision is accepted or not at the next Interagency Bison Management Plan meeting on April 6, in West Yellowstone and until we see how the Department of Livestock interprets the decision.

Food choices in the early spring are slim, but this pregnant mama makes due. Photo by Stephany Seay, Buffalo Field Campaign.

Food choices in the early spring are slim, but this pregnant mama makes due. Photo by Stephany Seay, Buffalo Field Campaign.

The buffalo and BFC need you right now. Many of the volunteers who have been with us all winter will be leaving soon due to spring commitments. We are losing a fair number of people just as our busy season begins. If you have the time and desire, please consider volunteering with us. BFC provides room, board, gear, and training to our volunteers — all you need to do is get here. Please check out our volunteer page to learn more. We hope to see you on the front lines in the land of the last wild buffalo!

The Buffalo Trap

The Buffalo Trap

by | Mar 22, 2016 | Biodiversity & Habitat Destruction

By Buffalo Field Campaign

Last week’s report and photos about what we, and the buffalo, experienced during the two-day media tour of Yellowstone’s bison trap could barely scratch the surface of the horrible things we witnessed. This brief video footage will bring you much closer.

On March 8th and 9th, Yellowstone National Park organized a media tour of their Stephens Creek bison trap, where 150 wild buffalo were being held captive for slaughter and potentially quarantine. All of what you see taking place here is paid for with your federal tax dollars. Some of the footage was shot by BFC’s Mike Mease and some was captured by the Park Service’s GoPro cameras. One hundred fifty of America’s last wild buffalo were run through the gauntlet of Yellowstone’s Stephens Creek capture facility; 93 buffalo were shipped to slaughter by the InterTribal Buffalo Council and the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, both of which are signatories to the Interagency Bison Management Plan. Another 57 buffalo — all orphaned calves and yearlings — are still being held in the trap.

Every person working at the trap is employed by Yellowstone National Park. The Montana Department of Livestock has Yellowstone trained so well, that the Department isn’t even present except when escorting buffalo to the slaughterhouses. These acts by Yellowstone National Park are horrific and criminal. There should not even be such a facility inside the world’s first national park, much less anywhere else. There is no justification for the Park Service to commit these atrocities. Yellowstone justifies its actions under the banner of the Interagency Bison Management Plan, which it could pull out of anytime. They may face a lawsuit by livestock interests if they did so, but, so what? So much new information has come to light, so much change has come to the landscape, and such a groundswell of public support has emerged for wild, migratory buffalo, that a lawsuit might be hugely beneficial. The callous behavior of Yellowstone Park Rangers and biologists who are harming the buffalo reveals the gross disconnect that these people have from the sacred beings whom they are charged with protecting, and how wantonly they are willing to betray, not only their mission, but the sacred buffalo that the whole world expects them to protect.

This video will break your heart. After watching, you will want to do something. Here are a few suggestions: Share this video with everyone you know, send it your local and regional media, and share it with the White House and your members of Congress. Tell them all to visit Buffalo Field Campaign and learn more. 

Many thanks to the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the rest of our stellar legal team who made this media tour possible by representing BFC’s media coordinator Stephany Seay and journalist Christopher Ketcham in a lawsuit to gain full access to the trap. Showing the world even this brief glimpse of what Yellowstone is doing to the beloved buffalo — in service of Montana cattle ranchers — will bring us that much closer to putting an end to this madness, and bringing this trap down.

Burns Paiute Make First Visit After Armed Takeover of Malheur Refuge

by | Mar 20, 2016 | Indigenous Autonomy

By Jacqueline Keeler / Indian Country Today Media Network

On Monday, February 29, nearly two months after armed militants took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the Burns Paiute Tribe was finally allowed to visit it. The refuge is their ancient wintering grounds and filled with culturally-sensitive sites and even burial grounds of their ancestors. On Thursday, 14 more militia members were arrested, including two more members of the Bundy family who led the armed standoffs in Oregon and Nevada against federal authorities.

“I’m glad they cleaned up all those urinals they made,” Burns Paiute tribal councilman Jarvis Kennedy told ICTMN. “They went in with Hazmat suits on and got all of that out of there and covered it up. When I first saw it kind of made me mad. That’s our burial ground area.”

RELATED: ‘It’s So Disgusting’ Malheur Militia Dug Latrine Trenches Among Sacred Artifacts

The 178,000-acre refuge was once part of the Malheur Indian Reservation that was the homeland of Northern Paiute tribes like Wadatika, the name Burns Paiute people called themselves after small seeds they harvested along Malheur and Harney Lakes.

Kennedy said he couldn’t get into specific details as to how the federal authorities are going to proceed with cleanup. The painful process will proceed to remove a road the occupiers constructed, as well as three different trenches they dug where they dumped trash and human feces. The FBI had reported last month that one of these trenches was close to culturally-sensitive sites on the refuge. The tribe received a plan from the archaeologist for assessment of damage and loss of cultural artifacts and sites.

“I think they got a case against them,” Kennedy told ICTMN. “[The militants] were dumb enough to make a video of themselves making the road and digging. They also left fingerprints on the controls of the heavy equipment they operated.”

On Wednesday, the Burns Paiute Tribal council met with Bureau of Indian Affairs regional director, Stanley Speaks in Portland. He assured them that the BIA would offer assistance for expenses the tribe had incurred for extra law enforcement patrols and for the aftermath. The tribe provided full 24-hour police coverage for their community during the 41-day occupation of the refuge.

“The Chief of Police of Warm Springs Reservation sent us two officers to help us, then two more,” Kennedy explained. “They were each on a five-day shift.”

While in Portland, the tribal leaders also met with the U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch who thanked the tribe for all their support during the occupation. She also thanked the people of Burns and Harney County “who had to endure an occupation of their town.”

Tribal members and townspeople faced harassment and threats from the armed occupiers who invaded their community. Native men were a particular target in town. Tribal leaders, local law enforcement and Fish and Wildlife employees all reported out-of-state vehicles driving slowly by their homes at night and had their families threatened. Fish and Wildlife staff were all sent away during the occupation for their safety and have only just returned.

Kennedy says there is still a lot of animosity, especially from businesses in the town of Burns that were backing the occupation. The local Verizon franchise owner had her truck plastered with stickers supporting the militants. She took the stickers off after the Verizon corporate office demanded she do so, but tribal members are still boycotting her business.

Another local business owner, an optometrist, who was an outspoken supporter of Bundy and his followers has also lost tribal business. The tribe is “hurting them in the wallet,” Kennedy says.

However, the occupation also brought out their supporters in the community and the tribe discovered they had many allies they could count on when it really mattered.

“It’s good to have allies on our side,” says Kennedy. “We have to work with the town. We are a sovereign nation and we believe in having a good neighbor policy.”

On Thursday, the FBI arrested 14 more militants, including two more Bundy brothers, who join their father Cliven Bundy and brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy in jail. Also arrested was Jerry DeLemus, a co-chair of New Hampshire’s committee to elect Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner.

All 14 were charged with armed assault against federal law enforcement officers during the 2014 standoff in Nevada when an armed group of supporters of Cliven Bundy successfully forced the Bureau of Land Management to stop removal of Cliven’s cattle from federal land. The rancher had over copy million in unpaid grazing fees to the federal government.

Also on Thursday, Ammon Bundy the leader of the takeover at Malheur, released a video from jail in Portland, Oregon. He says he’s not ashamed and doesn’t regret what he did because he knew “it was right.”

Since his arrest, Ammon has tried to recast the armed occupation as an act of free speech and played down the guns he and his followers brandished. In interviews and on social media the militants claimed they were willing to die to return federal land to “the original owners”—ranchers, miners and loggers. In his recent video, he termed the 41-day takeover “a demonstration.” Malheur and the BLM grazing land the Bundys use in Nevada are both unceded territories belonging to the Paiute and Shoshone peoples.

“They are in jail,” Councilman Kennedy said about Ammon and his followers, “It’s like we said at our first press conference when this all started. We were here first before they came here and we are going to be here after they are all gone. They are all gone and we now have to deal with that mess.”

Meanwhile back at the refuge, tundra and trumpeter swans, northern pintails, red-winged blackbirds, and sandhill cranes have all been seen. Over 320 species call the refuge home either for short stopovers as they head north or for nesting. Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Facebook page shared a photo of arriving swans saying, “Normalcy rests on the wings of these birds and is exactly what those of us who live here and everyone that has made Malheur a part of their lives have needed.”