April 24: Cowboys & Native Americans protest Keystone XL

An unusual alliance has joined forces to protest the proposed Keystone XL pipeline - cowboys and Indians - that is, cattle ranchers and Native Americans.

The Keystone XL pipeline would bring crude oil extracted from the tarsands of Canada down to be refined into petroleum products in Texas and Louisiana in America.

Our Washington correspondent Priscilla Huff reports:

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They travelled more than one thousand miles to protest the Keystone XL pipeline.
Ranchers - cowboys - and Native Americans rode their horses through the streets of Washington to a teepee tent encampment.

Ben Gotschall is a rancer from Nebraska.

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"We wanted to make a big push, um, this week here at the capital and send a message to President Obama and the rest of the country, we're not backing down and we're united and we're going to fight together."

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The American Petroleum - which represents America's huge energy firms - has been pushing hard for the construction of the pipeline, spending thousands on television advertising.

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The keystone XL pipeline is ready to be built! Its all up to the President!"

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The Obama administration continues to defer a final decision, recently announcing another delay in final findings.

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Allowing the Keystone pipeline to be built requires a finding that doing so would be in our nation's best interest.

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Historically enemies - thanks to the long years of settlers driving the native americans off the vast prairies
cowboys and indians came together in Washington for a series of demonstrations to say, the Keystone XL pipeline is not in America's best interest.

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Their key concern is that a leak would contaminate the Ogallala Aquifer - an underground river which is the main source of fresh drinking water for midWestern states such as the Montana and South Dakota.

Samantha Jones is a member of Rosebud Sioux Tribe of Nebraska.

"How can you wake up one day and tell your children, you can't drink the water? Y'know, that's sad! I don't like to think about that. But it would be really, to sit here also to have a voice for all the animals that don't have a voice, that can't say we don't want this, its gonna affect a lot of people. We just really hope they reject it and stop it."

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The proposed route of the pipeline crosses the reservations of Native American tribes -
Aldo Aldo Seoane (SAY-oh-ah-nay) is with the Shielding the People Project

"Our civil rights are being violated, our treaties aren't being honored and we have a nation to nation agreement with the government and the government isn't acknowledging that relationship and they are continuining to violate it. Um, the president is not following his own policy on consulations. The National Historic Preservation Act isn't being followed. And, the proposed pipeline is going right through culturally sensitive areas."

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While campaigners on both sides of the Keystone XL pipeline think the simplest solution is for the U.S. State Department to complete its review, already some are eyeing an end run around President Obama, for the U-S Congress to pass legislation to force approval.

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And that's why this unusual alliance of cowboys and indians spent part of their week in Washington lobbying Congressmen to see their side, to reject the pipeline and protect the land.
Priscilla Huff, Washington

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