"Last month, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) released the draft of a bill intended to “unlock the potential of Indian energy resources.” The bill would amend the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to ease restrictions on extractive industry’s activities on tribal lands, including the elimination of federal drilling fees, the reduction of federal environmental oversight, and the exemption of tribes from non-federal taxes on energy development projects. Through these marked limitations on federal environmental regulation of tribal energy projects, and the concomitant promotion of a “one-stop-shopping” federal permitting process for energy companies seeking to exploit tribal energy resources, the bill pits tribal sovereignty against environmental stewardship. All of this is in service of prolonged reliance on fossil fuel energy resources.

But at what cost to the environment, and in fact to true tribal sovereignty? David Lester, Muscogee Creek and the executive director of the Council of Energy Resource Tribes, condemns the current status of tribes as “energy colonies to the U.S. economy” due to inequitable royalty payment rates and the exploitation of tribal labor for energy development. Lester encourages tribes to “resist the temptation to sign leases,” and instead to cultivate true sovereignty and self-determination through tribal control over energy development processes via tribal-owned energy corporations.

Aside from the impairment on tribal economic sovereignty that could arise from the fossil fuel rush catalyzed by the proposed energy bill, extreme negative environmental impacts resulting from increased mining and drilling – air pollution, water contamination, and the destruction of land and wildlife – bring long-term health and cultural impacts that will impair community strength and limit the potential for real tribal sovereignty. Dorgan’s bill does not provide for environmental equity and protection for tribes, nor for a truly sustainable American energy economy."

Get the Story:
Caitlin Sislin: Sovereignty versus stewardship (High Country News 4/28)

Committee Hearing:
LEGISLATIVE HEARING on a Discussion Draft of the “Indian Energy Promotion and Parity Act of 2010" (April 22, 2010)

Relevant Documents:
Discussion Draft | Press Release

Related Stories:
Audio: Senate Indian Affairs hearing on draft energy bill (4/22)
Witness list for Senate hearing on draft Indian energy bill (4/21)
Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on energy bill (4/19)
Blog: Tribes looking for renewable energy tax incentives (4/16)
Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on energy draft (4/13)