Jan 27, 2017 - TransCanada Applies for Presidential Permit to Build the Keystone XL Pipeline

Just two days after the Trump administration announced its executive actions to move forward with the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline and re-open the door for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, TransCanada submitted a Presidential permit application to the U.S. Department of State for approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline is a 1,179-mile long pipeline that would run from the oil sands in Alberta to Nebraska where it would link to an existing pipeline on-route to the Gulf Coast for export. It would carry up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day.

In 2015, President Obama denied the permit after intense opposition from Native Americans, ranchers, and environmentalist. The opposition gave birth to the infamous Cowboy and Indian Alliance.

In 2013, a Spirit Camp was erected on the Rosebud Sioux reservation in South Dakota to block the pipelines route similar to the Sacred Stone Camp on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation.

Spirit Camp at Rosebud

Canada’s Tar Sands, which is the third largest oil reserve in the world, has been dubbed the “most destructive project on Earth” creating serious environmental damage and severely impacting 1st Nations communities including the Mikisew Cree First Nation, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Fort McMurray First Nation, Fort McKay Cree Nation, Beaver Lake Cree First Nation Chipewyan Prairie First Nation, and the Metis.

According to Greenpeace, “The tar sands are huge deposits of bitumen, a tar-like substance that’s turned into oil through complex and energy-intensive processes that cause widespread environmental damage. These processes pollute the Athabasca River, lace the air with toxins and convert farmland into wasteland. Large areas of the Boreal forest are clearcut to make way for development in the tar sands, the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.”

Response to the Trump administrations decision to green light the Dakota Access pipeline and re-open the door for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline was immediate as actions and rally’s were held across the country.

Protectors occupy Wells Fargo in Seattle after Trump’s decision to green light the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines. Photo/video credit: Lindsey Wasson

Tribe’s, ranchers, and environmentalist have vowed to continue their fight and opposition to the pipelines and other invasive projects that threaten Tribal treaty rights, water, sacred sites, and the health on Mother Earth.

by Wakíƞyaƞ Waánataƞ (Matt Remle- Lakota)