The days where Native American tribes were forced to give up their land are far from over.
Here are four sacred Native American sites in danger of being destroyed in the name of corporate greed.
Badger-Two Medicine
The Blackfeet Tribe calls the land of Badger-Two Medicine “the Backbone of the World,” the place where the story of their people began. But now the mineral-rich land, located in modern day Michigan, is in danger of being drilled for oil.
Solenext, LCC, the last of the 47 leaseholders of the land, filed a lawsuit so that drilling could begin. Earl Old Person, a member of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council since 1954, is fighting to preserve what he calls “an altar to the Blackfeet Confederacy.” He wrote a letter to Obama urging the president to intervene.
The Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota peoples, who suffer from systemic poverty, turned down $1.5 billion offered to them for the Black Hills, land the Keystone XL Pipeline would intersect. That’s how much this land matters to them.
Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Cyril Scott has called the Keystone XL Pipeline “an act of war.”
The Osage Mounds
The Chahokian Mounds are the artifacts of an ancient, complex civilization. The modern Osage consider themselves to be descendants of these mound builders, the architects of the most important city to the Mississippians.
But the NFL’S St. Louis Rams are planning on paving over what’s left of it to build a new stadium. Indian Country Today Media Network reports that the project has a $1 billion price tag and that its construction is still in its early development.
and i don’t know what i expected when i read that, but lin in american flag leggings and a flowy tunic shaking it like a polaroid picture definitely wasn’t it (but was everything i could’ve ever wanted):
My plan to create a perfectly flat and level Kansas by moving 5,501 cubic miles of earth from west to east. It’s the ideal Kansas. Still some details to work out about rivers, roads, etc. Watch out for the 900-foot cliff bisecting Kansas City.
I have never once had cause to use the phrase “mad cartographer” before today, but this person is amazing.
My psychology professor: People usually remember something that happened in general but not verbatim. You probably remember the plot to the first Harry Potter book but who here would remember the first line?
Me: Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.
My psychology professor: Okay. You aren’t allowed to talk in class anymore.
26-year-old painter Emma Lindström creates colorful swirls of awesomeness using a combination of acrylic and spraypaint. Though the artist is from Sweden, her work feels as though it came from an entirely different galaxy. Her paintings are nothing short of celestial — though the colors change piece to piece, she maintains the same galactic visuals that transcends our Earthly imaginations.
When it all comes down to it, my main goal is obviously to evoke some kind of emotion. Hopefully you can find something in my work that speaks to your inner self and the light that resides there…no matter what emotion you might get, the important thing is just that you are feeling something.
A Middleground 