The Fort Belknap Indian Community and Rosebud Sioux Tribe, represented by the Native American Rights Fund, continued their fight against the illegal permitting of the Keystone XL Pipeline with two filings in the US District Court of Montana. The tribes filed a response to TransCanada’s motion for summary judgment and a memorandum in support of their own motion for partial summary.
In these filings, the Tribes highlight that TransCanada admitted that the Keystone XL pipeline would cross Rosebud mineral estates held in trust by the United States. This undisputed fact, that the pipeline would cross Rosebud mineral estates held in trust, has several legal implications:
- Trespassing into Rosebud’s mineral estates, held in trust, without Rosebud’s consent is a violation of the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties.
- The activities described in the project’s Environmental Impact Statement, namely rock ripping, blasting, trenching, top soil removal, and replacement of removed materials as backfill would adversely affect Rosebud’s mineral estate. Federal agencies have a duty to prevent mineral trespass and protect Indian lands and tribal mineral estates.
- TransCanada must comply with Rosebud law. The mineral estates qualify as Indian lands and the Tribe has jurisdiction over them.
The publicly available maps that the Tribes have seen show that the pipeline corridor also would cross Rosebud surface and mineral estates.
According to NARF Staff Attorney Natalie Landreth, “What we have seen in these recent filings is that TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline route crosses Rosebud-controlled lands. If and when TransCanada provides sufficient maps of the pipeline’s route, we expect that we will see even more affected tribal lands. These lands are Indian lands. As such, they are protected by treaties as well as tribal and federal laws. As much as they would like to, TransCanada cannot ignore the laws that protect Native American people and lands.”
Also in the filings, the Tribes point out that, contrary to defendants’ arguments, neither the president’s foreign affairs power, nor his role as commander in chief provide him authority to permit the pipeline. The authority to permit the pipeline falls within Congress’s exclusive and plenary power to regulate foreign commerce.
#HonorTheTreaties
Learn more about Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. Trump.
The post TransCanada Filing Confirms Pipeline Will Cross Indian Land appeared first on Native American Rights Fund.
The Fort Belknap Indian Community and Rosebud Sioux Tribe, represented by the Native American Rights Fund, continued their fight against the illegal permitting of the Keystone XL Pipeline with two filings in the US District Court of Montana. The tribes filed a response to TransCanada’s motion for summary judgment and a memorandum in support of their own motion for partial summary.
In these filings, the Tribes highlight that TransCanada admitted that the Keystone XL pipeline would cross Rosebud mineral estates held in trust by the United States. This undisputed fact, that the pipeline would cross Rosebud mineral estates held in trust, has several legal implications:
- Trespassing into Rosebud’s mineral estates, held in trust, without Rosebud’s consent is a violation of the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties.
- The activities described in the project’s Environmental Impact Statement, namely rock ripping, blasting, trenching, top soil removal, and replacement of removed materials as backfill would adversely affect Rosebud’s mineral estate. Federal agencies have a duty to prevent mineral trespass and protect Indian lands and tribal mineral estates.
- TransCanada must comply with Rosebud law. The mineral estates qualify as Indian lands and the Tribe has jurisdiction over them.
The publicly available maps that the Tribes have seen show that the pipeline corridor also would cross Rosebud surface and mineral estates.
According to NARF Staff Attorney Natalie Landreth, “What we have seen in these recent filings is that TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline route crosses Rosebud-controlled lands. If and when TransCanada provides sufficient maps of the pipeline’s route, we expect that we will see even more affected tribal lands. These lands are Indian lands. As such, they are protected by treaties as well as tribal and federal laws. As much as they would like to, TransCanada cannot ignore the laws that protect Native American people and lands.”
Also in the filings, the Tribes point out that, contrary to defendants’ arguments, neither the president’s foreign affairs power, nor his role as commander in chief provide him authority to permit the pipeline. The authority to permit the pipeline falls within Congress’s exclusive and plenary power to regulate foreign commerce.
#HonorTheTreaties
Learn more about Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. Trump.
The post TransCanada Filing Confirms Pipeline Will Cross Indian Land appeared first on Native American Rights Fund.