October 28, 2011- Native Americans got President Obama’s attention during a speech he was giving in Denver this week. As Native protesters held banners saying, “President Obama, Yes You Can Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline” and “Honor Indian Treaties,” Tom Poor Bear, Vice-President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, called out to the president from the back of the packed auditorium. Obama interrupted his prepared speech and acknowledged Poor Bear, saying, “I hear you. No decision has been made. I know your deep concern about it. We will address it. “
Poor Bear and other Native protesters had held banners outside the venue for hours, waiting for the president’s appearance on the Auraria campus of the University of Colorado. Plunging temperatures, rain, and snow did not deter them from taking their message to the man who can – and will – decide whether to permit construction of a pipeline that would carry oil from Canada’s tar sands to Texas’ Gulf coast. The pipeline would cross Native lands, putting them at risk of a host of environmental impacts. The National Congress of American Indians and tribes in Canada and the US have urged President Obama to reject the pipeline plan. His administration is expected to announce their decision before year’s end.
For more information, please see:
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/189955-obama-speech-interupted-by-anti-keystone-hecklers
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/26/us-obama-keystone-idUSTRE79P6OI20111026
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/26/keystone-xl-pipeline-obama_n_1033067.html
Click HERE For Cultural Survival’s action alert, and to send a message to President Obama about Keystone XL.
