A grizzly bear at Yellowstone National Park. Photo from National Park Service
Feds ignore Oglala Lakota on grizzly bear trophy hunt
By Arianna Amehae
For the Native Sun News
www.nsweekly.com YELLOWSTONE –– The US Fish and Wildlife (FWS) has announced its proposed rule to strip Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections from Yellowstone’s grizzly bears that will enable the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho to open trophy hunts for the bear despite formal objections submitted to the Obama administration by some fifty federally recognized Indian tribes and the Assembly of First Nations. “This announcement exhibits the typical demeaning attitude of the colonizer towards our people and rights. It’s a 500-year tradition among them. Tribes have endured two centuries of deception and deceit when dealing with the US government, and this rule that will provide rich wasicu with the legal authority to trophy hunt our sacred relative, the grizzly bear, is a continuation of that pattern,” says Tom Poor Bear, Vice President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. FWS Director Dan Ashe, describes the proposed grizzly delisting rule as “a historic success” and “one of America’s great conservation successes.” Ashe points to the “rebound” in the grizzly population from 136 in 1975 when the bear was listed under the ESA, to today’s estimate of 700. The Oglala Sioux Tribe provided a counter to Ashe’s celebratory tone in one of the most strongly worded resolutions issued by any tribal nation opposing delisting. The 8-page resolution that details spiritual, scientific, political, and environmental objections brings perspective to the government’s position.
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