The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota hosts more than 1,000 fracking wells. Photo by Talli Nauman / Native Sun News
The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians acted quickly to ban fracking on the reservation and it was women who led the way, YES! Magazine reports. Tribal women met in the summer of 2011 to discuss hydraulic fracturing and its effect on water and the environment. They also were concerned about the negative impacts being seen on the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, where an increase in crime, drugs and sex trafficking have been attributed to energy development. “People are fearful,” Cedar Gillette, who was a domestic violence advocate on the MHA Nation, told YES! Magazine. By November, the women gathered enough information about the controversial practice. They made their case to the tribal council, whose members voted unanimously to ban fracking even if it meant walking away from new revenues. "This area is where our ancestors did their farming; the springs run through here, and this is how generations survived," Chairman Richard McCloud told YES! Magazine. "The fracking ban will protect our water so future generations can continue to survive.” Get the Story:
In North Dakota's Booming Oil Patch, One Tribe Beat Back Fracking (YES! Magazine 1/21) Federal Register Notice:
Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands (March 26, 2015)
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