The building of the Keystone pipeline was approved under president Donald Trump on March 24th, 2017. The pipeline would be built over the land of the territories of numerous tribes from the Dene and Creek Nations to the Omaha, Ho-chunk and Panka tribes.This is just one example of countless instances of American legislation dishonoring the sovereignty of Native Americans. Tribes who spoke with officials were reduced to speak to those of the lower level.
The pipeline not only proposes a serious threat to their livelihood, but that of their land. Climate
change is affecting Indigenous communities at a much higher rate than their counterparts. Native
Alaskans are being hit most severely by the extreme ice melting. Pacific islanders are being most
affected by the super tropical storms. Indigenous people in the rainforests of South America have
been experiencing rapid destruction of their environment by logger companies. Indigenous
people of North America are most impacted by forest fires, chemical spills, and oil spills. Many are forced to migrate and move out of their homes and in turn adapt to modern western society. Indigenous culture is disappearing at a rapid rate.
Indigenous people will be the first to be impacted by climate change because they are
considered the subaltern. Similar to Spivak’s subaltern, their voices are silenced by those in power and able to make a change. Meeting with low level government officials reveal that indigenous voices are not valued or heard. The passing of the pipeline bill by the house, senate, and president completely silences every protestor and petitioners voice.
This issue becomes systemic because of the lack of protection and lack of legislation put in place
to prevent Indigenous people from being impacted by climate change. It is easy for colonist
oppression to occur because of categories of identity such as skin color, hair color, clothing, and
Geographical region.
In order for this to change, the voices of Indigenous people need to be amplified and
upheld by those in positions of power. Indigenous people would need to be granted resources to
participate in positions of power. This is not the land of The United States. The United States has no rights to this land or the resources on it.
United Nations. (n.d.). Climate change for indigenous peoples. United Nations. Retrieved
September 26, 2021, from https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/climate-change.html.
January 20, 2021 M. D. (2021, June 30).
What is the Keystone XL Pipeline? NRDC. Retrieved
September 26, 2021, from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/what-keystone-pipeline
Native American tribes unite to fight the Keystone Pipeline and government ‘disrespect’. The World
from PRX. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://theworld.org/stories/2015-02-
19/native-american-tribes-unite-fight-keystone-pipeline-and-government-disrespect.
Flavelle, C., & Goodluck, K. (2021, June 27). Dispossessed, again: Climate change hits Native
Americans especially hard. The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/27/climate/climate-Native-Americans.html.