The heart of the battle to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline from carrying excavated tar sands from Canada through the US on its way to export lies in a small community in South Dakota. Recently members of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe learned that their Tribal Council was working on a deal to build the power station on their tribal land that will provide electricity to the pipeline. The electricity is necessary to heat the pipeline in order to keep the thick bitumen and chemical additives flowing. In exchange, the community is to receive wind turbines and free electricity.
This power station is the heart of the pipeline that will keep the fluids flowing. Without it, the pipeline will not function. That is why members of the Lower Brule community view their struggle to stop the power station as essential. But they are facing opposition not only from TransCanada but also from their own Tribal Council.
Those who are organizing to stop the power station are doing what they can to educate and mobilize members of their community. They are asking for your help. They need funds to assist with outreach materials and banners. If you can make a donation or provide assistance, please contact:
Standing Soldier
PO Box 212
Lower Brule, SD 57548
(605)730-1433
They are mobilizing to have a presence at the next meeting which is an informational meeting organized by the power company on April 24. They are concerned that now that members of the community are aware of the deal being proposed, the power company will push for a swift agreement.
There is so much at stake if the pipeline is built and carries tar sand bitumen. The tar sands excavation is already poisoning the land, water and air in Alberta, Canada and causing significant health problems for the wildlife and communities there. If the tar sands travels through the US, it will poison the air, land and water here as well when it spills. And there is no question that there will be spills, only when and where they will occur. And finally, the tar sands is a climate bomb that contains so much carbon that it will hasten climate chaos.
Fortunately, communities are joining together to stop the pipeline. Below is a video that describes the Rosebud Sioux Prayer Camp and the Cowboy Indian Alliance that is coming to Washington, DC in the end of April. Please support this struggle in any way that you can. This fight affects all of us.
VIDEO: South Dakota Tribes Not Alone in KXL Fight
Above photo from Bold Nebraska Facebook page.