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| Blood Nation women blockade/Photo Arnell Tailfeathers |
Non-Indians target Blood
Nation, Kawacatoose and Fort Peck
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
The New York Times obtained concealed documents from the government and drilling industry that show hydraulic fracturing of gas and oil wells is even more dangerous than previously known.
“The second issue at hand is the nature of the deal between KRI, Murphy Oil, and Bowood Energy. We believe this to be highly problematic for a number of reasons: Blood Tribe members were not consulted during the negotiations of this deal even though the drilling will occur on Blood Tribe land.
“KRI and the Blood Tribe Chief and Council neglected to maintain any degree of transparency during and after the negotiations. Ultimately, leaving a large population of tribal members completely unaware of the situation until after the deal was made.
“Above all else, the health and well-being of Blood Tribe members and all future generations will be compromised due to the rash and reckless decision by KRI and Blood Tribe Chief and Council to sign this deal with Murphy Oil and Bowood Energy.”
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
Non-Indians have targeted First
Nation and American Indian lands in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, and Fort
Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in Montana, throwing large sums of money at
elected leaders for oil and gas drilling, with no regard for future generations
or the environment.
Blood Nation women formed a
blockade to halt fracking on their land on Friday, exposing a non-Indian corporate
scheme behind the new fracturing Mother Earth for dollars.
Lois Frank said the Blood Nation
members were never consulted about the widespread oil and gas drilling and
fracking that they are now faced with in southern Alberta, near the Montana border.
In the corporate flush of dollars,
an in-between fixer has emerged, the non-Indians at Native American Resource
Partners in Utah. NARP is designed to entice First Nations and American Indian
elected leaders with large sums of money. NARP, as shown on its website, is
owned by non-Indians who use the name “Native American” because the company
targets Native American lands for exploitation.
NARP owners began destroying the
land for oil and gas drilling on Southern Ute in Colorado and on Uintah and Ouray
lands in Utah, before expanding into Canada.
NARP’s investment money comes from
another corporation of more non-Indians, Quantum, based in Houston, who are
exploiting natural resources around the world.
Besides entering into an agreement
with the Blood Nation, NARP also entered into an oil and gas deal with Fort
Peck in Montana. The Fort Peck Energy Company formed a new co-partnered
Tribal energy company with NARP in August, according to the Fort Peck Journal.
NARP provided capital dollars to Fort Peck.
Fort Peck Energy Company is
initially owned 50 percent by the Tribe and 50 percent by NARP, with the
capital investment made by Quantum, Fort Peck Journal reported.
NARP also provided dollars to the
Kawacatoose First Nation in Saskatchewan, focusing on treaty land rights, in
August.
NARP announced a partnership with
the Kawacatoose First Nation (Kawacatoose) of Saskatchewan, Canada. “The
newly-created company, Kawacatoose Energy Company, will pursue the development
of resource projects on lands and minerals secured by the Nation through the
Saskatchewan Treaty Land Entitlement program (TLE,)” according to the press
statement.
On the Blood Nation in Alberta in
April, Kainaiwa Resources, Inc., the natural resource development company of
the Blood Nation, announced that it had formed Kainai Energy in
partnership with NARP.
Kainai Energy entered into two
joint venture agreements, with NARP kicking in $100 million in capital
commitment, according to the Blood Tribe's press release.
“In forming Kainai Energy, the
Blood Tribe has retained all of its rights to royalty payments from development
of its reserve land by industry partners Murphy Oil Company Ltd. (“Murphy”) and
Bowood Energy Ltd. (“Bowood”), while securing needed capital to participate in
its own resource development. The Tribe has also retained exclusive rights to
reserve lands outside the existing joint ventures for future development.”
Kainai Energy will initially focus
on the existing joint venture areas in the Alberta Bakken, the press release
states.
Hydraulic fracturing poisoning
drinking water and rivers
Hydraulic fracturing is already
poisoning drinking water and rivers, according to the New York Times.
The New York Times obtained concealed documents from the government and drilling industry that show hydraulic fracturing of gas and oil wells is even more dangerous than previously known.
The secret documents from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and drilling industry participants,
prove hydraulic fracturing wastewater from gas drilling operations contains
high levels of radioactive contaminants. It is being released into waterways
supplying drinking water.
The process of injecting “fracking”
fluid at extreme pressure creates fissures in the rock formations and extracts
gas that was previously trapped.
Drilling companies use between two
and five million gallons of “fracking” fluid in the hydrofracking of just one
gas well. This toxic cocktail is a mixture of water, sand and hazardous
chemicals. Then, 50 percent to 75 percent of fracking fluids stay in the
ground, potentially leaking into soil and ground water by way of rock faults or
faulty well casings, according to the New York Times.
Then, the situation becomes more
critical. The used fracking fluid, called produced water, once it comes back
up, is even more dangerous after exposure to rock deep in the earth. This
drilling wastewater is hazardous waste because it now also contains heavy
metals, radioactive elements such as radium,
known carcinogens including benzene and other toxins.
Sewage treatment facilities of the
wastewater are incapable of removing some contaminants from drilling
wastewater, including radioactive contaminants. These releases are discharged
into rivers and waterways and are currently contaminating drinking water
sources.
The media is playing its role in
the exploitation and destruction of Mother Earth, cheerleading for revenues and
economic development, without researching the detrimental effects of oil and
gas drilling, or fracturing, on the land and health of the people.
Blood Nation: Toxic drilling and
deals
Blood Nation members released this statement on Friday:
Blood Nation members released this statement on Friday:
“The first issue is the toxic
nature of the drilling and its capacity to do irreversible damage to the land
and water on the Blood Reserve and surrounding areas. Furthermore, fracking
poses a major threat to human health, wildlife and livestock.
“The second issue at hand is the nature of the deal between KRI, Murphy Oil, and Bowood Energy. We believe this to be highly problematic for a number of reasons: Blood Tribe members were not consulted during the negotiations of this deal even though the drilling will occur on Blood Tribe land.
“KRI and the Blood Tribe Chief and Council neglected to maintain any degree of transparency during and after the negotiations. Ultimately, leaving a large population of tribal members completely unaware of the situation until after the deal was made.
“Above all else, the health and well-being of Blood Tribe members and all future generations will be compromised due to the rash and reckless decision by KRI and Blood Tribe Chief and Council to sign this deal with Murphy Oil and Bowood Energy.”
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