Sicangu
Scribe Scribblings
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Waln
Sicangu
LakotaCensored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
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| Lakotas halting the tarsands megaloads on Pine Ridge. Photo by Andrew Iron Shell, published with permission at Censored News. |
I
have attended many tribal council meetings and the only areas I have ever heard
them discuss are preparedness and response. What about counterterrorism, border
security, recovery, immigration and cybersecurity? Our tribal governments could
create our own DHS “to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient
against terrorism and other hazards.”
Last
week a group of Lakota people stopped a caravan in the Eagle Nest District on the
east side of the Pine Ridge Reservation. The caravan, including two semi-trucks
overloaded with oil treater vessels, were detained for several hours in the
town of Wanblee, SD. The blockade ended when the Oglala Sioux Tribal police
turned out in full force and arrested five individuals who bravely stood their
ground against these oversized trucks that were trespassing through Lakota
Territory to avoid South Dakota weigh stations.
The
incident made national headlines in a matter of hours. There are many people
all over the world curious to learn what the disposition of the criminal case
against the tribal members will be. The Lakota people who turned out to support
one another on highway 44 were only looking out for their land, air and water.
They were warriors working “to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and
resilient against terrorism and other hazards.”
The
Oglala Lakota Nation and the Black Hills Treaty Council have gone on record
opposing tar sands mining operations in Canada and the building of the proposed
Keystone oil pipeline. Both the tribe and treaty council are also in support of
the Mother Earth Accord (http://www.treatycouncil.org/PDF/DOC000.pdf) which was adopted by
numerous tribes and presented to President Barack Obama.
OST
President John Yellow Bird Steele and RST President Rodney Bordeaux have both
publicly stated their opposition to the tar sands mining operations in Canada.
In fact, both tribal presidents have also expressed their opposition to the
proposed Keystone XL pipeline to federal officials, including President Barack
Obama, in Washington, DC.
When
we make a statement opposing tar sands mining and oil pipeline construction it
means we do not support anything associated with these operations. The
equipment which was being transported on the rigs through the Pine Ridge Rez
last week is built specifically to treat oil in preparation for transport
through pipelines. I believe the people in Wanblee were only carrying out the
language contained in the approved resolutions of their official tribal
government and treaty council when they stopped the trucks and asked them to
turn around.
Five
people were accused of disorderly conduct, arrested by tribal police and were
held for a few hours in a tribal jail before being released. There is now word
on the moccasin telegraph about how the individuals who were arrested might
have more charges brought against them in tribal or even federal court. I would
be interested in attending any trial these tribal members might be subject to
so I could write about it and keep my readers informed.
The
people who were involved in the blockade had many witnesses who are residents
of the Eagle Nest District. I hope everyone who was there last week attends the
trial to see if the tribal members who were taken to jail by the tribal police
are treated fairly by the tribal court.
Furthermore,
I believe our tribal governments need to fast track some laws about overweight
vehicles traveling the roads running through our lands. I received reports
stating these rigs were carrying loads weighing 229,155 pounds. The crew
transporting the equipment said it would take a very long time to turn them
around. In the end they were escorted to the reservation border by tribal
police. How much revenue could the tribe have taken in if there was a weigh
station at every reservation entrance point?
There
are so many trucks on the road now and who knows what they are carrying. The
covered loads appear highly suspicious. Look at highway 83 which runs through
the Rosebud Rez. Overloaded semi-trucks traveling 70-80 mph are extremely
hazardous. They are a threat to our homeland security. Many tribal members have
died on highway 83 after crashing with a semi-truck.
Our
homeland will never be secure as long as these trucks are allowed free passage
through our lands. Who will clean up the mess if there is ever a hazard waste
spill from a semi-truck next to Sicangu Village or in downtown Mission? How
many Lakota children will be affected if this ever happens?
If
our tribal governments and elected officials are really serious about their
written, approved statements against tar sands oil mining and the construction
of new oil pipelines, they have to be ready to use their authority as a
sovereign nation to back up the people and the homelands they represent. Tribal
governments can only make their own legislation stronger by giving the state of
South Dakota notice that the transport of oil mining or pipeline construction
equipment is banned on any roads running through our reservations.
Our
tribal governments must work “to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and
resilient against terrorism and other hazards.” It is their job.
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