This August 2012 article “Tapping Into the Land, and Dividing its People” describes the controversies of whether the Blackfeet tribes should allow oil companies on to their 1. 5 million acre reservation on order to drill for oil. This issue causes divide within the peoples on the reservation because of their Blackfeet beliefs of how the land is living and very sacred and whether or not to go against those beliefs in order to gain jobs and wealth overall. The two different parties within this issue are the Blackfeet tribe verses the modern oil companies.
Specifically the natives in this reservation were upset because their land is sacred and living in their perspective so they don’t want oil companies pushing them aside to ruin their peaceful area. On the other hand there is the problem of high poverty in this region. Unemployment has been up to 70 percent and they are in high need of jobs even though they are very scarce. Oil has been a huge part of the United States source of wealth for the past century “Oil exploration began here in the 1920’s largely on the plains along the eastern edge of the reservation, but it died off in the early 1980’s.
Over the past 4 years with new fracking technology and rising oil prices have lured drillers back. ” This resource is and has been very vital to the country and worldly economy, therefore oil companies are looking everywhere for them to be able to turn profit on more oil. The Blackfeet tribal members believe strongly that their land is very sacred and living, therefore drilling on it will go against their beliefs and potentially pollute the air and water. These natives have lived on this land for centuries and oil drilling will possibly ruin it.
The oil companies have tried to stay clean and do many mandatory tests on the lands air and water to make sure fracking isn’t polluting them. Except they aren’t totally leaving any trace on the environment, some damage still occurs such as to the roads from high use from large drilling equipment and minor chemical spills around cites. The future of this issue seems to be that due to the very high unemployment and therefore high poverty and alcoholism, the Blackfeet citi have to continue allowing drilling on their land because of all the solutions it supplies to their people such as jobs and wealth.
An opinion from the article of a Blackfoot member “Ms. Matt” opposes the fracking, she believes that the streams, meadows and mountains are family members. “They braid native sweet grass to burn in prayers and collect berries and herbs for food, medicine and ceremonies. ” Furthermore she goes onto explain how it would ruin how their land has been for the past several centuries and how their future generations will see it. On the other hand another Blackfeet related member “Ron Crossguns” who works for the Blackfeet tribes oil and gas division believes the opposite of “Ms. Matt”.
“Mountain’s are just mountains, he said, don’t try to make the mountains holy, they are just there for animals to feed on, people to hunt on and possibly for people to drill into. ” Crossguns believes that times have change in the modern world and in result we all have to adjust to them and in this situation to fix our poverty and alcoholism issues we need to get people working for these oil drilling companies. Both of these Blackfeet members mentioned in the article are deemed as very credible through other sources, not only just this specific one about this issue.
First off Ms. Pauline Matt is concluded as a credible source for her view on the issue on oil drilling on the Blackfeet reservation. She is a known member of the Blackfeet tribe and her ancestors have lived on this sacred land for centuries, in addition she also has lived here her whole life and stays true to the past her native tribes morals and beliefs about their land. From the opposite side of the issue, Ron Crossguns was also concluded as a credible source for explaining his view about fracking on the Blackfeet reservation. He is a member of the Blackfeet Oil and Gas Department. He is also a source from an interview that was put into documentary about the blackfeet. Most Native Blackfeet citizens believe that the oil drilling should cease.
An article from April of 2015 explains how a “Blackfeet chief blasts oil leases. ” The chief “Old Person” from the Blackfeet Tribal Business Committee released a letter he sent to President Obama asking for him to cancel leases for the oil companies in the area. He also states that “These ancient lands are among the most revered landscapes in North America and it shouldn’t be sacrificed, for any price. ” Old Person believes he has some of the authority to cancel the remaining leases, to protect their remaining land and culture. Another outside opinion is from Blackfeet Headwaters Alliance member “Jack Gladstone” said, “drilling near Chief Mountain would be an affront to the extended Blackfeet and Blackfoot tribal nations in the United States and Canada. ” He believes that these lands are and have been very sacred to these people for the past several centuries. Therefore drilling on these mountains would destroy that.
Gladstone states, “It would be like drilling on Mount Sinai, Moses had to take his sandals off there because it was sacred ground. If sandals were inappropriate on sacred grounds, I’d think the oil and gas rigs would be inappropriate also. ” Native Americans were here in North America thousands of years before anyone else. Therefore shouldn’t they get the “first come, first serve” option to anything here? Instead they have been forcefully pushed away from their sacred lands many times. The act of drilling on the sacred Blackfeet reservations is very destructive to what they believe and to all they have left. Furthermore personally I believe the government and specific peoples throughout history have pushed the natives to this country around more than they have ever deserved and now should be able to live exactly the way they want on the only land left for them without any issues.
