Members of the Cowboy Indian Alliance — a coalition of tribal members, ranchers, and landowners from the Great Plains — are camping out on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., united in one cause: opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline.
Finding common cause over protection of clean water and a mistrust of the Canadian pipeline company Transcanada, they’ve come to meet with elected officials, connect with allies, and strengthen relationships with one another. Some, like Texas landowner Lori Collins, already have the completed portion of the pipeline running through their fields. Others who live along the path of the northern segment, which is yet to be approved, hope that a strategic partnership between natives and settlers will help prevent the same thing from happening to them.
“Today, boots and moccasins showed President Obama an unlikely alliance has his back to reject Keystone XL to protect our land and water,” said Jane Kleeb, Executive Director of Bold Nebraska, one of the key organizers of Reject and Protect.
Legendary musician Neil Young and actress Daryl Hannah were amongst the crowd of thousands who rallied on the National Mall and then marched past the Capitol building. “We need to end the age of fossil fuels and move on to something better,” Mr. Young told the crowd.
“Every time Keystone XL gets delayed it just gives us more time to speak up and tell the truth about this dangerous pipeline,” Meghan Hammond, a sixth-generation Nebraska rancher told the crowd of thousands. Ms. Hammond worked with her family to build a crowd-funded, clean-energy powered barn on her property, directly on the proposed route of Keystone XL.
