News
Page 8
Street Roots •
Feb. 17-23, 2017
Street Roots •
Feb. 17-23, 2017
News
Pipeline projects’
revival hits close to
home in Northwest
Page 9
s illi
BY STEPHEN QUIRKE
Trump has tapped two Republican senators
from Washington state to lead his transition at
the Environmental Protection Agency: Don
resident Donald Trump made headlines
Benton of Vancouver and Doug Ericksen of
last month when he signed executive
Ferndale. Ericksen’s state Senate district has
orders fast-tracking the Dakota Access
been the battleground for the dead-for-now
Pipeline in North Dakota and Keystone XL
proposal to build the largest coal export
pipeline in South Dakota - two oil pipelines
terminal on the continent - directly adjacent to
that have generated unprecedented opposition
Native fishing sites and directly on top of the
from Native American tribes and an enormous
burial grounds for the Lummi Nation. Benton’s
solidarity movement from non-native
district holds the still contentious Tesoro-
supporters.
Savage oil terminal - a proposal that would
In early December, the Army Corps of
handle 15 million gallons of oil per day, and
Engineers refused to grant the final permit
move an additional 36 oil trains per week
needed for the Dakota Access Pipeline but
through the Columbia River Gorge, making it
quickly reversed course after Trump’s Jah. 24
the largest oil terminal of its kind in the United
executive orders, granting the final easement
States — one vigorously opposed by the Yakama
to drill under Lake Oahe early this month.
N ation.
T h e R o se b u d Sio u x of S o u th D a k o ta have
In May, the Army Corps of Engineers dealt a
called the approval of Keystone
major blow to the Gateway Pacific terminal
XL “an act o f war against our
when it affirmed Lummi treaty rights and
people,” and the Cheyenne River
denied the company a major p erm it And in
Sioux have already filed a lawsuit
January, Washington’s outgoing Public Lands
to block further construction and
Commissioner, Peter Goldmark, officially
operation of the Dakota Access
followed that up by adding the Lummi Nation’s
Pipeline, which they say threatens
burial grounds at Xwe’chieXen (pronounced
their only source of drinking
Coo-chee-ah-chin) to the Cherry Point Aquatic
water.
Reserve - 45 acres the company wanted for
On Feb 11, demonstrators shut
construction. Ericksen responded by
down the northbound lanes of
introducing Senate Bill 5171, which would force
Interstate 5 in Bellingham, Wash.,
the new commissioner to rescind this order
for an hour to demonstrate
and potentially clear the way for another federal
opposition to the Dakota Access
reversal.
Pipeline and the executive order.
Elden Hillaire is the chairman of the Lummi
But as more people mobilize to
Natural Resources and Fisheries Commission.
take the streets and organize
Street Roots spoke to him to get a Lummi
against the pipelines, some are
perspective of Standing Rock Indian
keeping their eye on similar
Reservation, the primary site of resistance to
projects closer to home.
the Dakota Access Pipeline; the Gateway
Like these two oil pipelines, energy projects
Pacific coal terminal; and Ericksen’s intentions.
in the Pacific Northwest have stumbled over
Native treaties - the same foundational
S te p h en Q uirke: The Lum mi have spent
documents that allowed the Oregon
years fighting this terminal at Cherry Point. How
Constitution to be enacted and provided the
did it feel when the Army Corps finally denied the
first grants of land that served as the legal
company’s permit in May?
foundation for statehood. In exchange for these
E lden H illaire: Well, it was definitely a good
land grants, the treaties guaranteed the tribes
time. I don’t know if I’m a half-full or half-empty
continuous cultural access to traditional
kind of a guy. It’s just one of the battles. It
ecological resources - including the traditional
wasn’t the war - the war continues. But it was
food and water whose health rests on the
a shining moment for a community to know
absence of strip mines, gushing oil pipes, and
that we’re protecting all of our ancestors that
mountains of coal d u st
are buried there.
Many of these fossil fuel export projects
S.Q.: Did you see a connection between what
have faltered due to opposition from tribes,
happened at Standing Rock and what happened
with government agencies citing Native
to the burial grounds at Xwe’chieXen?
positions when denying permits. But like the
government’s flip on the Dakota Access and
E.H.: Yeah - they’re protecting water; we’re
Keystone XL pipelines, some of these
protecting water. And they’ve got that island
proposals may be up for a sudden reversal -
there that has remains on i t They
particularly where a federal permit is their only
demonstrated in Seattle that the uplands are
major obstacle.
going to shift, regardless of the state of their
STAFF WRITER
P
Eiden Hillaire
Elden Hillaire, of
the L um m i Nation,
discusses threats to the
region’s tribal lands
on the heels o f Trump’s
executive orders
concerning the
Dakota Access and
Keystone X L pipelines
"One of the amaz
ing things about
Standing Rock is
that it brought so
many different
cultures together,
from the Maoris,
the Alaskan, from
South America to
South D akota....
The things they're
bringing out right
now are bringing
us a ll together,
tribally and non-
tribally. It's just
amazing the
support and the
outcry for them,
and that continues
today."
ELDEN HILLAIRE,
CHAIRM AN OF THE
L U M M I NATURAL
RESOURCES AN D
FISHERIES COMMISSION
P H O T O BY STEPH A N M IC H A E L S W W W .2 N D W IN D P R O D U C T IO N S .O R G
Lum m i tribal members bum a faux multimillion-dollar check in protest of a proposed coal terminal in Cherry Point, Wash.
drilling apparatus. So these graves could
collapse on themselves, and they’re off into the
river, and they’re lost for years, lost forever. So
there are a lot of similarities. We canoed; they
rode horses - it’s a different mode of
transportation.
Their only recourse is litigation at this point,
so I’m hoping tomorrow we start that
discussion about how we’re going to support it.
I’ve been bugging our lawyers in the hallways
for a couple of weeks.
S.Q.: In October, traditional Lum mi tribal
chief Bill James traveled with a delegation to
support the Standing Rock Sioux and to share the
experience of defending fishing rights against the
coal terminal. Do you think people are now
learning lessons from Standing Rock?
E.H.: Yes, I think so. One of the amazing
things about Standing Rock is that it brought so
many different cultures together, from the
Maoris, the Alaskan, from South America to
South Dakota. It’s kind of like this immigration
thing; it’s bringing so many minorities together,
and we’re finding those connections. We felt it
all along with genocide. As much as people
want to deny it, it happened right here in
America. The things they’re bringing out right
now are bringing us all together, tribally and
non-tribally. It’s just amazing the support and
the outcry for them, and that continues today,
up to the blocking of 1-5 on Saturday. It’s just
drawing us together, as much as Trump and his
new administration is trying to find a way of
tearing us. a p a rt The ink had barely dried on
his immigration order, and they were shutting
down airports all over the country! I’m just so
amazed and appreciative of how people will
come together and stick together.
S.Q.: Do you think demonstrations like the
large highway demonstration in Bellingham
against the Dakota Access Pipeline are helping
create awareness?
E.H.: It spoke loudly, and it got the attention
of a considerable amount of people. It was in
support of Standing Rock, but the other thing
is this immigration law that Washington is
fighting with the president, which was
definitely layered into th a t Especially being
First Nations people, we can kind of relate to
immigration from a larger perspective
(laughing). Interesting that a president of
European descent can talk about immigration.
This country was built on i t We have to
co-exist
S.Q.: Since the Army Corps acknowledged
Lummi fishing rights and rejected the permit, the
state of Washington took a surprising step this
January and added Xwe’chieXen to the Cherry
Point Aquatic Reserve. Now, Sen. Ericksen has
introduced a bill to remove this protection. Could
that really happen? I f so, could the Army Corps
also reverse its decision?
E.H.: Definitely. At least, that’s my belief.
I’ve seen the Corps do it for environmental
factors. They did a complete impact Study when
they wanted to put in the harbor down in
Oregon, and the environmental impact study
said, “No no no,” but they put it in anyway.
S.Q.: I f the Army Corps were to reverse its
decision to protect Lum mi fishing rights, will the
Lum mi Nation take them to court?
E.H.: It’d likely be our first avenue of
response.
S.Q.: In some ways, adding Lum mi land to the
Aquatic Reserve seems to act like a backstop for
treaty rights enforcement. Could other steps be
taken by state and local governments to protect
similar places under threat?
E.H.: There always is. Our tribal council
recently had a meet-and-greet with city of
Bellingham, City Council of Ferndale, Whatcom
County Council, and they’re'talking about these
very same things. A lot of it gets into the
economics of the region, but you know we’re
the third-largest employer in Whatcom County
right now, and probahly the second if you
include Northwest Indian College. It’s not like
we’re sitting dormant and draining the
economy around us. I think it was a good
testam ent when (the tribal) council chose to
give every tribal member $1,000 this
December. That’s $5 million in the local
economy, an infusion all at once.
A lot of discussion early on in public
hearings over coal was people saying they’re
losing tax revenue. An 11-year-old girl from
Bellevue schools was up here, and she
questioned how they could lose something they
don’t have. She told them, “You can’t lose it if
you don’t have it” (laughs). It took an 11-year-
old to open people’s eyes, and I couldn’t have
said it any better.
S.Q.: There have been a lot of ups and downs
in this fight over the years. Has the persistence of
the coal lobby taken away from other work? What
more could be done if people simply acknowledged
and respected Lum m i fishing rights?
E.H.: I’ve always pondered that question
internally, but the fight is the fight The war
continues. We were kind of set on that path in
1855 by some of our ancestors.