Native youth send message to President Barack Obama to reject Keystone XL Pipeline.

Native youth from tribes in South Dakota send a video to President Barack Obama with one simple message: reject the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline.

The video features several youth who call the project a threat to their treaty rights. They say the pipeline will create more pollution and put their people at risk.

“South Dakota remains our home," said Valeriah Rose Big Eagle, a member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe. "These lands we populate have sacred meaning to the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota people and the future of the Oceti Sakowin. President Obama, please protect our children and future generations by irrevocably rejecting the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.”

YouTube: Message to President Obama from L̇̇̇akota youth

Big Eagle is one of the organizers behind a petition on We Are Power Shift that urges Obama to deny the presidential permit needed for the pipeline. More than 7,300 have supported the cause so far.

“We hope President Obama lives up to the promises he made to Indigenous youth, and protects their future," said Dallas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network. "These youth are asking him to reject the KXL pipeline. Let’s see if he listens.”

Last week, Obama issued a veto of S.1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act. He said the measure was premature because the State Department is still reviewing the permit requested by TransCanada, the Canadian company behind the project.

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