The death of the ‘Zombie Pipeline’

SPEARFISH – Asking tolerance for starting this news story in first-person, I just couldn’t resist when I received a letter June 10 saying, “Talli Nauman, the Keystone XL Pipeline has been officially terminated!”

I have been at the helm of the media coverage on the Native-led resistance to this megaproject, its predecessor Keystone I, and the proliferation of oil pipeline undertakings since then. So, I know that this particular one has garnered a reputation in Indian country as the “Zombie Pipeline”.

Could it really be dead this time, after so many reversals of permit status over the decade that the Canadian TC Energy Corp. has sought to complete it across 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty territory?

Sure enough: An announcement from corporate headquarters June 9 stated, “The company confirmed today that after a comprehensive review of its options, and in consultation with its partner, the Government of Alberta, it has terminated the Keystone XL Pipeline Project.”

All 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty tribes, as well as the National Congress of American Indians, are on record in opposition to KXL.

TC Energy Corp., previously TransCanada Corp., gave up the ghost one-half year after U.S. President Joe Biden’s inaugural day revocation of KXL’s presidential permit. During that sixth-month period, the company continued seeking local easements.

Native pipeline fighters remained on alert, monitoring activity at supply and construction facilities to prevent permit violations along the soon not-to-be-built pipeline section from Canada through Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska.

The company will “continue to coordinate with regulators, stakeholders and Indigenous groups to meet its environmental and regulatory commitments and ensure a safe termination of and exit from the project,” TC Energy Corp. promised in its announcement.

That same day, a judge for Haakon County in Philip sentenced Cheyenne River Sioux tribal member Jasilyn Charger, 25, for locking herself to a KXL pump station in a Nov. 21 act of civil disobedience to delay construction.  Charger will serve six months’ probation and pay a fine for trespassing on her treaty land.

“It hurt a lot to be talked to like I had no right to this land and that what I did was wrong,” Charger said of the sentencing. “The courts will never be on our side as long as our treaty rights are not recognized.” She thanked her moral supporters and remarked to her followers, “Today we celebrate a death of a black snake, KXL.”

The judge postponed sentencing for Cheyenne River Sioux tribal member Oscar High Elk, 30, until July 7 on charges stemming from police activity Dec. 23 at the Rootz Camp he co-founded on the KXL route. High Elk raised $10,000 cash bond for his release from Haakon County Jail on Jan. 6. He faces one first-offense felony charge, as well as 11 misdemeanor claims, which could result in a prison sentence of nearly two dozen years and fines up to $48,000.

At Cheyenne River Sioux tribal headquarters in nearby Eagle Butte, jubilation over the news of the pipeline’s demise was evident immediately during a No KXL Victory Gathering in the streets, where a convoy of vehicles — horns honking and flags flying — played traditional drum songs at high volume while occupants cheered.

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chair Harold Frazier bolstered the akeesha shared across Oceti Sakowin homelands and beyond, saying, “I would like to thank all the people who sacrificed, stood up, took action, worked and prayed to protect our nation and Unci Maka.

“To the countless water protectors who have fought the constant battles in a thousand places to defeat this existential threat to us all, every action you took was an answer to a prayer,” Frazier said.

“I would like to thank United States President Joseph Biden for understanding the damage to this planet projects like this would cause and cancelling the permit needed to cross the medicine line with Canada,” he added. “An acknowledgement of the importance our actions have to this planet was provided when you took the bold step of action making you a champion for all of us.”

He called the resistance “a long fight,” saying, “Pipelines continue to threaten our treaty territory, water and relatives, and we must not forget those that are still standing on sacred ground in front of giant enemies. Let today be an example of what is possible when we take action to change the course of history for the better.”

His meaning about giant enemies was well received by thousands of Enbridge Energy Inc. Line 3 pipeline opponents, mobilized at the Mississippi Headwaters for a weeklong Treaty People Gathering in the Anishinaabe ancestral lands of Northern Minnesota. Their goal was to convince the Biden Administration to detain the Canadian company’s construction. (See story this issue by Darren Thompson.)

“While there is victory today in the KXL fight, people continue to risk their lives and freedoms at Enbridge Line 3,” said Nick Tilsen, NDN Collective president and CEO, who attended the Line 3 gathering. Jade Begay, Climate Justice Campaign director for the NDN Collective, added:

“The end of KXL is an affirmation that persistence works, that intersectional organizing works, and that when we center our efforts in our Indigenous values and in our respect for water, land, and our people, we win. I pray this victory will invigorate organizers and water protectors across the country — who are currently fighting DAPL, Line 3, Line 5, and other harmful pipelines that threaten communities of color, water, and land — to keep persevering.”

Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney M. Bordeaux responded to the KXL announcement, “This is great news for the tribes who have been fighting to protect our people and our lands. The treaties and laws guarantee us protections, and we are committed to see that those laws are upheld.”

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe announced a June 15 Wopila and Celebration with lunch to feature speakers Russell Eagle Bear and Paula Antoine, founder of the Rosebud Sioux Tribes Oyate Wahacanka Woecun (Shield the People) Spirit Camp on the KXL Pipeline route. Established in 2014, it was the first of dozens more of its type to muster prayer and popular opposition in the anti-pipeline movement.

Antoine recalled the camp’s legacy in a social media post, saying, “We would often say if we move forward we move together: one heart, one mind, one prayer. We were all concerned for the depredation the planet-killing project KXL would inflict upon our people, land, and resources.

“We continued through scorching hot days, through blizzards, through rainy nights and other nights blessed by infinite stars. Together we prevailed. We were told to carry … our prayers as we would our children … for the next seven generations,” she said.

Nez Perce tribal leader Gary Dorr, a camper at Wahacanka Woecun and an intervenor unsuccessful in preventing the South Dakota Public Utility Commission permit for the line, called for the agency to revoke the permit. Joining him were intervenors of the grassroots non-profit Dakota Rural Action, who also demanded TC Energy Inc.’s release of easements it acquired – “especially those gained through the use or threat of eminent domain,” the statewide organization said.

“It’s overwhelming to think about — having been harassed for 13 years, and now it’s over,” said DRA member and KXL easement-affected rancher John Harter. “This was the right decision for the tribes and for affected landowners, but now we need to have our property rights restored.”

Fort Belknap Indian Community President Andy Werk commented, “The TransCanada announcement is a relief to those of us who stood in the pipeline’s path. We were not willing to sacrifice our water or safety for the financial benefit of a trans-national corporation. We are thrilled that the project has been canceled.”

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Sicangu Lakota Oyate) and the Fort Belknap Indian Community (Assiniboine (Nakoda) and Gros Ventre (Aaniiih) tribes) in coordination with their counsel, the Native American Rights Fund, sued the previous Administration of President Donald Trump for numerous violations of the law in the Keystone XL Pipeline permitting process.

Indigenous Environmental Network and North Coast Rivers Alliance also filed suit against the federal Bureau of Land Management, Army Corps of Engineers, State Department, Interior’s Fish & Wildlife Service, their leaders, and Trump in 2020.

Fort Peck Assiniboine Council Chair Lance Fourstar said he is “overwhelmed with joy to have heard the news that … the highly carcinogenic, benzine diluted tar-sand bitumen pipeline project is dead. This pipeline has threatened residents and Indigenous people along its proposed route,” he noted. “A giant has been taken down with prayers, persistence and hope for a better future for generations not yet alive.”

The Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Reservation’s water supply system became a potential victim of the project’s threat to clean water for Native and non-Native area residents, he said. “Our water protectors are owed a great debt of gratitude for their persistence in this fight, never giving up or giving in. Our community and the Assiniboine Nation went on record to oppose the KXL Pipeline. I am declaring, ‘Mission Accomplished’.”

The Winnebago Tribe applauded the termination, sparing “potential environmental disaster,” it said. The tribe has consistently opposed the issuance of the KXL permits and is “hopeful this termination spurs the end of other harmful fossil fuel projects.”

Winnebago Tribal Chair Victoria Kitcheyan called it “a victory for not only Indian country, but for all Turtle Island,” and said, “It is also an important opportunity for TC Energy and all other companies to reexamine their role in protecting the environment.”

KXL easement-affected Bold Nebraska constituent Art Tanderup, who deeded part of his ranch on the Ponca Trail of Tears back to the tribe, noted, “After a decade, it is a good day that TransCanada has realized that there is no future in tar sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline. But it is imperative that all permits granted in Nebraska be revoked, especially the Nebraska Public Service Commission’s permit. The further taking of easements by TransCanada must stop, and current easements must be returned to the landowners.”

Veteran Native pipeline fighter and Indigenous Environmental Network Frontline Community Organizer Joye Braun responded to KXL’s pullout, saying, “Oh my goodness, it’s really dead.” The first camper at the 2016-2017 Standing Rock mobilization against DAPL, she thanked relatives young and old for helping build a “powerful coalition that changed the world’s discussion on climate change” from the bottom up.

“Now, Justin Trudeau, get your dirty ugly tar-sands pipe out of Oceti Sakowin territory, and while you’re at it, stop Line 3, stop Line 5, too. We don’t want that ish polluting us down here!” she admonished Canada’s Prime Minister. Enbridge Energy Inc. is building Line 5 in Michigan despite the state governor’s revocation of its permit.

Canada’s Alberta Province, the source of the tar-sands for all these projects, had shored up TC Energy Inc. to the tune of $7.5 billion (Canadian) in 2020, as hopes waned for pushing KXL through treaty-protected territory. The provincial government said it expects to lose $1.3 billion (Canadian) on the failed prospect.

(Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@gmail.net)

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