Lakota Sioux Discusses Keystone Pipeline Tonight

From ISU News

 The proposed TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline has raised concerns for Native Americans, ranchers and environmentalists. Two leading opponents from the affected region will speak at Iowa State University on Oct. 10.

Tom Poor Bear and Randy Thompson will present "The Keystone XL Pipeline and the Protection of American Lands" at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Their talk is part of the university's National Affairs Series and is free and open to the public.

Poor Bear is the vice president of the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota Nation and a longtime American Indian activist. He is a leader in the Native American opposition to the pipeline, which would carry tar-sands crude oil mined in Alberta, Canada, 1,700 miles across the Great Plains to Gulf Coastrefineries. The Oglala Lakota Nation argues the pipeline not only violates territorial rights granted to them in an 1868 treaty, but also puts their water resources at great risk. The proposed pipeline would cross several important rivers and streams, as well as a system that pumps water from them to the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Indian Reservations.

Randy Thompson is a farmer and rancher from Nebraska who became a leading opponent to the pipeline out of concerns that his land would be condemned. "Stand with Randy" events were organized across Nebraska to support his efforts. Although a new proposed route for the pipeline no longer threatens his land, he continues to speak out about how the project threatens other Nebraska farms and ranches.