{"id":9792,"date":"2020-02-19T19:43:05","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T00:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/oglala-officials-demand-probe-into-50k-propane-donation-from-kxl\/"},"modified":"2020-02-19T19:43:06","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T00:43:06","slug":"oglala-officials-demand-probe-into-50k-propane-donation-from-kxl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/oglala-officials-demand-probe-into-50k-propane-donation-from-kxl\/","title":{"rendered":"Oglala officials demand probe into $50K \u2018propane donation\u2019 from KXL"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Throughout the Canadian pipeline promoter\u2019s 10-year permit application process, allies in BOLD Nebraska have supported Lakota tribal resistance to construction. (Photo courtesy BOLD Nebraska)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

PINE RIDGE \u2013 The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council Finance Committee has ordered an independent investigation into the tribe\u2019s receipt of a $50,000 check from TransCanada Corp., setting Feb. 20 as the due date for results.
\nThe tribal government is on record as opposing the construction promoted over the past 10 years by TransCanada Corp. of the Keystone XL Pipeline across unceded 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty territory. The Canadian company changed its name to TC Energy Corp. last year.
\nThe Finance Committee voted 4-0, with one abstention, for \u201cour attorney to do a full investigation on how the $50,000 check from KXL TransCanada was solicited and who all had knowledge of this check and why it was made to the Oglala Sioux Tribe and how the time frame of this whole process went up to Jan. 29, 2020, when Tribal Council was made aware of this check.\u201d
\nThe committee also voted to remove its chair, La Creek District Rep. Cora White Horse, from the position \u201cdue to no confidence\u201d for failing to inform the rest of the committee when she found out about the check\u2019s existence, which she said was Jan. 14.
\nOn Feb. 1, Oglala Sioux Tribal Council Treasurer Mason Big Crow announced that the tribe had rejected the $50,000 donation and sent the money back to TransCanada Corp. last year.
\n\u201cCurrently, the Oglala Sioux Tribal Treasurer and the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council officially does not accept donations from KXL or TransCanada Oil Pipeline Companies,\u201d the Treasurer\u2019s Office said in a written statement.
\n\u201cIn keeping with our stance against KXL and TransCanada, the donation in question was rejected and sent back to TransCanada by the Oglala Sioux Tribe and our Office back in November of last year (2019),\u201d it said.
\nAll 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty tribes, and many others have signed multiple resolutions and treaties opposing oil pipeline construction.
\nThe Tribal Council discussed the issue prior to the posting of the statement, during a special session on Jan. 29.
\nAt that time, Tribal Council Rep. Nakina Mills asked about the status of the check and Tribal Council Rep. Richard Greenwald said, \u201cWe, as a tribe, said, thanks but no thanks,\u201d according to a transcript the Treasurer\u2019s Office furnished.
\nLaCreek Tribal Council Rep. Cora White Horse then informed the Council that her LaCreek District government had resolved at its most recent meeting to accept the $50,000, \u201cbecause the original donation was in the name of LaCreek District and Pass Creek District.\u201d
\nMinutes from the LaCreek District Council meeting of Jan. 15 reflect that South Dakota state-chartered Wild Horse Butte Community Development Corp. Executive Director Kimmie Clausen told the more than two dozen participants that she had a check in the amount of $50,000.
\nShe said that half of it \u201cwill need to be distributed to Pass Creek District.\u201d
\nShe noted, however, that the check was made out to the Oglala Sioux Tribe and \u201cOST won\u2019t cash the check because of political issues,\u201d the minutes read. \u201cThe OST president is against the pipeline,\u201d they say.
\nDistrict Council Rep. Desiree White Eyes moved to \u201csend the check back\u201d to the Tribal Council and get two replacement checks of $25,000 for each of LaCreek and Pass Creek districts. Council Rep. Linda Louden seconded the motion. It passed unanimously with a 21-0 vote.
\nThe amount must be distributed \u201cfairly to district members for propane or electricity assistance,\u201d according to the resolution.
\nAt a Tribal Land & Natural Resources Committee meeting on Feb. 3, LaCreek District Tribal Committee Rep. Craig Dillon said he carried the check to Big Crow after the District Council vote. When Big Crow did not agree to cash the check, he returned it to someone in his district, who he didn\u2019t name.
\nThe discussions caused Tribal Council representatives to question the adequacy of tribal laws regarding state-chartered entities on the reservation.
\nPass Creek District Council President Consuelo Means and Vice President Julie Bad Wound distanced their district from the controversy.
\nMeans issued a statement saying she \u201chad no knowledge of the check from the Keystone XL Pipeline.\u201d She noted, \u201cWe have not had a district meeting for the month of January due to respect for the families who have lost a family member.\u201d
\nShe went on to declare, \u201cWe never agreed to accept any money from Keystone XL, nor would we ever accept money from them. We, along we others, have supported the water protectors in North Dakota. Some of our own community members have taken the trip to support and camp to help in any way.\u201d
\nThe check in question is dated Nov. 29 and drawn on Citibank North America. It is, marked \u201cPAY TO THE ORDER OF OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE\u201d and is accompanied by a paystub printed on TransCanada Keystone XL letterhead. The paystub describes the payment as a \u201cpropane donation.\u201d
\nThe paystub was submitted to the recipient in the form an invoice denoting gross and net amounts of payment due as $0,000.00.
\nAnother $50,000 check to the Oglala Sioux Tribe that is intended for the LaCreek District, according to Dillon, is on hold until the authorities can discern the rules for disbursement. It is from the Eastern Band of Cherokee.
\nAs Oglala Lakota officials scurried to trace the paper trail of TransCanada Corp\u2019s donation, their allies at the non-profit BOLD Nebraska to the south called out pipeline management for reneging on its commitment to the project.
\nTC Energy Corp advertises, \u201cWe are committed to working with indigenous communities to explore project opportunities that benefit and align to their community interests, as well as address concerns, recognizing that activities have the potential to affect their lives as rights-holders distinct relationships with the land.\u201d
\nHowever, on Feb. 13, CFO Don Marchand said the company\u2019s commitment is no longer firm.
\n\u201cIf we can get comfort that the risk-reward proposition is attractive to us, we will proceed. If we can\u2019t line all that up, the project will stay where it is,\u201d he said.
\nThe company\u2019s 2019 fourth quarter profit margins suffered because its Keystone I Pipeline leak in North Dakota in October required a shutdown that reduced shipping and sales volume.
\nBOLD Nebraska team member Jane Kleeb responded: \u201cSo after over 10 years, this company that has been spending millions to try to push its dirty tar-sands pipeline across the fragile Sandhills and precious Ogallala Aquifer is \u2018not ready to commit\u2019 to the project?\u201d
\nSomebody should tell TransCanada: \u201cWe were never into you,\u201d she said.
\nBOLD Nebraska has set meetings for landowners on the pipeline route Feb. 20 and 28, when the Holt County Board of Supervisors will hold permit application hearings.<\/p>\n

(Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@gmail.com<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Throughout the Canadian pipeline promoter\u2019s 10-year permit application process, allies in BOLD Nebraska have supported Lakota tribal resistance to construction. (Photo courtesy BOLD Nebraska) PINE RIDGE \u2013 The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council Finance Committee has ordered an independent investigation into the tribe\u2019s receipt of a $50,000 check from TransCanada Corp., <\/p>\n

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