The Environmental Debate, Third Edition

Politicizing the Environmental Debate, 2000–2017 255

American Indian and Alaska Native tribal gov-

ernments; and

WHEREAS, a major oil transmission pipeline is

planned to extend from northern Alberta, Can-

ada, from areas that have sand mixed with tar

and oil, called “tar sands,” to refineries in the

United States; and

WHEREAS, the route of the pipeline, called

Keystone XL because it is the second oil trans-

mission pipeline to be constructed by the same

company that built the first Keystone pipe-

line, crosses through Indian country in north-

ern Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, North

Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska, near and

potentially over, many culturally significant

areas for Tribal Nations within those provinces

and states; and

WHEREAS, based on the relatively poor envi-

ronmental record of the first Keystone pipeline,

which includes numerous spills, U.S. regulators

shut the pipeline down in late May, 2011, and,

A.National Congress of American
Indians Resolution Opposing
Keystone XL Pipeline
WHEREAS, we, the members of the National
Congress of American Indians of the United
States, invoking the divine blessing of the Crea-
tor upon our efforts and purposes, in order to
preserve for ourselves and our descendants the
inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations,
rights secured under Indian treaties and agree-
ments with the United States, and all other rights
and benefits to which we are entitled under the
laws and Constitution of the United States, to
enlighten the public toward a better understand-
ing of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cul-
tural values, and otherwise promote the health,
safety and welfare of the Indian people, do
hereby establish and submit the following reso-
lution; and

WHEREAS, the National Congress of Ameri-
can Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and
is the oldest and largest national organization of

Document 174: The National Congress of American Indians and Bill

McKibben et al. Oppose the Keystone XL Pipeline (2011)

The Keystone Pipeline System, the first three sections of which began operating in 2010, delivers Canadian

crude oil to U.S. Midwest markets, to Cushing, Oklahoma, and to the Gulf Coast. Although near completion,

Phase IV, the Keystone XL Pipeline, designed to carry oil from the tar sands of Alberta to Texas refineries, was

opposed with protests by environmentalists, Nebraska landowners, and native rights activists, and a bill to

approve its completion was vetoed by Barack Obama in 2016. Phase V, the Dakota Access Pipeline, ran into

opposition in 2016. In one of his first actions as president, Donald Trump gave a go-ahead for the completion

of both sections of the pipeline. Objection to the Keystone Pipeline stems from concerns that pipeline leaks

could cause contamination of major drinking water sources. However, the transport of oil and gas by rail and

sea probably pose a greater risk than pipeline transport..

Native American opposition was encouraged by an increasingly vocal movement of indigenous peoples to

protect their lands and culture. The mobilization of protesters was coordinated by Bill McKibben, the author

of The End of Nature, and his climate change action organization 350.org. It started with a letter calling for

civil disobedience that was signed by Maude Barlow, Wendell Berry, Tom Goldtooth, Danny Glover, James

Hansen (see Document 137), Wes Jackson, Naomi Klein (see Document 176), McKibben, George Poitras, David

Suzuki and Gus Speth and appeared in both The Nation and grist.org (an online environmental magazine). A

similar letter calling for protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline appeared in 2016.

350.org/1Sky.org,was founded in 2007 by McKibben and seven students at Middlebury College as

a web platform to support collaborative campaigns aimed at bringing diverse organizations together

in support of national and international action to deal with climate change.