Page 5 - Flathead Beacon // 10.29.14

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NEWS
Tribes Ask Feds to Halt Oil Leases
OCTOBER 29, 2014 | 5
W•O•R•D•S of the Week
AN INDEX OF RECENT NEWSMAKERS
OTTAWA ATTACK
A lone gunman shot a Cana-
dian soldier before storming Parliament Hill, which houses the nation’s government, last week in an apparent terror- ist attack. The shooter was killed inside Parliament.
EBOLA
A fourth American has Ebola, the deadly virus from Africa that has killed thousands and sickened many more. The New York City doctor had recently been overseas help- ing victims of the virus.
HALLOWEEN
It’s the season for tricks and treats. Be sure to check out this week’s Arts and Enter- tainment section for a run- down of some spooky events across the valley.
TODDLER DEATH
A Ninepipes man has been charged with negligent homicide after he shot a 3-year-old boy in the back on accident last week.
ELECTION DAY
The midterm elections are in less than a week, on Nov. 4. Make sure to register and vote in races for U.S. Senate and House, Flathead County commissioner, and much more.
Calling it an “historic day,” tribal leaders of the Blackfoot Confederacy urge withdrawal of oil and gas leases in the sacred Badger-Two Medicine
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Beacon
BROWNING – In a sign of cultural and political solidarity, tribal chiefs and lead- ers representing the Blackfoot Confeder- acy and throughout Indian Country con- vened Oct. 24 to sign a proclamation they hope will ban energy development in the sacred Badger-Two Medicine area flank- ing Glacier National Park.
The Confederacy, made up of the Blackfeet in Montana and three bands in Canada, met and passed a joint proclama- tion urging the U.S. Department of Inte- rior to cancel what they allege are illegal oil and gas leases in the Badger-Two Medi- cine area, located at the wild intersection of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Gla- cier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, and so named for the two pristine rivers that spill from its surrounding mountains.
In doing so, the Confederacy added its voice to an unprecedented alliance of American Indian tribal nations who have called on the federal government to re- solve the decades-long dispute over oil and gas leases in the 165,588-acre Badger- Two Medicine, forever protecting the area from private industrialization.
“This is our traditional territory, a place we celebrate, a place that influenced our language, and we’ve come together as a culture to protect it,” John Murray, Blackfeet Tribal Historic Preservation Of- ficer, said.
Tribes from Montana, Wyoming and
Blackfeet Tribal Business Council Chairman Harry Barnes, left, and leaders of the Blackfoot Confederacy prepare to sign joint proclamations urging the withdrawal of oil and gas leases in the sacred Badger-Two Medicine area. TRISTAN SCOTT | FLATHEAD BEACON
the Canadian province of Alberta also banded together and issued joint procla- mations, insisting that the government cancel the leases in the Badger-Two Medi- cine, which is designated as a Traditional Cultural District by the National Register of Historic Places.
The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council also approved sending a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, complementing the proclamation and demanding swift action by the federal government.
“This is an historic day,” Murray said. “This proclamation by the Confederacy shows clearly that this is not just an im- portant issue for the Blackfeet, but for In- dian Country.”
“We are living our history today, but more importantly, we are helping to cre- ate our children’s history,” added Harry Barnes, chairman of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council.
Murray, a Blackfeet historian who grew up roaming the mountains of the
Badger-Two Medicine, said the area is a traditional place of cultural power for the tribes, where Montana’s rolling prairie runs headlong into the Rocky Mountains, and is known as “Miistakis” – the “Back- bone of the World” – where the Blackfeet creation story began.
The Badger-Two Medicine cradles sacred mountains with revered names, Murray said, such as Morning Star, Scar- face and Spotted Eagle – names drawn from the beginnings of Blackfeet culture. It is also home to grizzly bears, wolves and wolverines.
“This is our cultural territory, it’s where our language began, our creation story,” Murray continued. “We took our language from nature. And in one genera- tion we lost our culture. But there is a re- naissance happening with the Blackfeet and that culture is starting to blossom again. We’ve been silent for a long time, but we stand together today.”
See Tribes PAGE 24
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