LaDuke, Indigo Girls present environmental panel at SKC
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PABLO — The Indigo Girls and two-time vice presidential candidate Winona LaDuke held an environmental justice panel in the Johnny Arlee/Victor Charlo Theatre at Salish and Kootenai College on Saturday.
The event entitled “Environmental Justice in Montana: Protecting the Land for Future Generations” hosted local and international environmental activists, who discussed the impact pollution has on indigenous communities, natural resources and wildlife.
Eriel Deranger, Pat Smith, who represented Gail Small, Francis Auld and Rich Janssen discussed issues regarding environmental justice.
Deranger, from Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations of Canada, discussed the pollution from the tar sands oil development in Northern Alberta. The recent tar sand industry is corrupting the area around her native home, damaging the fish, wildlife and the Boreal Forest.
According to Deranger, the tar sands development has left an increased amount of fish deformities and high levels of toxic substances such as arsenic in the fish.
The hazardous industry creates large polluted pools of water as a by-product. Some of the lakes that she describes as a “toxic cocktails leeching into the rivers” are over 30 kilometers. Last year, 1,606 ducks died when they stopped on the tar-filled lakes and according to Deranger, bears, moose, caribous and rabbits have also perished in the pools.
“As you can see, all our hunting, fishing and trapping are being destroyed,” Deranger said.
Deranger explained that the isolated community can only be accessed by plane for most of the year, and with the toxic fish and the loss of game, the indigenous people are forced to purchase high-priced food items at the local store. The consumption of cheaper, processed foods is changing the diet of the native people and leading to the development of diseases such as obesity and diabetes within the small community.
Deranger is hoping to initiate a stronger public awareness by speaking at such panels and to build support for such indigenous communities throughout North America.
“I really hope that people in Montana join in the fight against tar sands,” she said.
Smith, a lawyer from Arlee, represented Small at the panel. He discussed the 35-year struggle with coal development on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.
He said the biggest issue involves the quality — not quantity — of water after introducing a mining industry to an area.
“As Native American people, we know water is sacred,” he said.
Auld was next in line to speak. He serves as a cultural officer for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
“Speaking of sacred sites is sensitive,” Auld began. “And I have to be careful with the information shared. So if I sound like a politician, excuse me.”
Auld went on to describe geographical places that were formerly sacred to the tribes before being manipulated. He touched on the area surrounding Kerr Dam, stating that the spiritual beings have been forced to move away from the area, leaving a vast hole in the cultural and spiritual tradition of the native people.
He also referenced Chief Cliff, revealing that he had encouraged some of his nieces and nephews to form the Chief Cliff Coalition. The group has begun to write letters protesting the potential Chief Cliff mining development.
“(All) American people have the right to enjoy things, but the purpose is different,” Auld said. “So we can continue to talk and have dialogue.”
Rich Janssen is the CSKT Environmental Protection Division Manager continued on the theme of Chief Cliff.
“I don’t want to see rock being mined from a site considered sacred,” Janssen said.
He also discussed illegal dumping on tribal lands, mentioning that the eyesores continue to be a financial burden left for the tribe to clean up.
After briefly speaking about the coal bed methane development in Alberta that will affect Flathead Lake, he launched into the issue of keeping invasive species out of Flathead Lake.
Invasive species have already infected bodies of water in Idaho and on the Noxon Reservation, but haven’t reached Flathead Lake yet and Janssen would like to keep it that way.
If managed properly, the tribal members and Lake County residents will be able to live and enjoy Flathead Lake for seven generations, he said.
After the speakers had finished addressing the public, LaDuke asked all four to mention something that the general populace can do to help preserve their environment.
Janssen said that the tribe was looking into renewable energy and urged the audience to recycle, despite the hassle.
Deranger became impassioned when it was her turn to address the audience.
“We are literally at the tipping point of catastrophic climate change,” Deranger said. “We need to end our addiction to oil.”
She added that it’s imperative to support Indian people’s rights in the struggle to protect the environment.
LaDuke ended the panel, addressing the audience for a few minutes before calling upon the Indigo Girls to perform.
“Most of my adult life, I’ve been called an activist,” LaDuke said.
Denying the term, she insisted she was only acting as a responsible person. After describing the United States as the “richest country in a seat of privilege,” she asked that all present become leaders in ending the addiction to oil.
Following the discussion, LaDuke welcomed her friends Emily Saliers and Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls to perform a few songs.
Saliers and Ray frequently show support of environmental justice by playing at such environmental events.
