Native Americans Take Lead In Tar Sands Resistance

by Matthew Charles Cardinale, Indigenous Peoples Issues, Sept 2, 2013

Members of the Nez Perce tribal nation blockade tar sands equipment in Idaho, August 2013.

Native American tribes in the United States have taken the lead in opposing the expansion of the Athabasca Tar Sands in Alberta, Canada, engaging in civil disobedience to the point of arrest and attempting to physically block shipments of construction equipment from passing through their native lands.

Nez Perce block Tar Sands shipment through Idaho wilderness

Members of the Nez Perce tribal nation blockade tar sands equipment in Idaho, August 2013.

Since Monday, Nez Perce members and other activists have been blocking massive shipments of equipment bound for the oil tar sands of Canada. About 20 have been arrested.

By Rick Rojas, LA Times,  August 7, 2013

SEATTLE — On a narrow central Idaho highway coursing through thickets of ponderosa pines and along a winding river, members of the Nez Perce tribe made their stand.

Hundreds gathered along U.S. Highway 12 on Monday and Tuesday and formed a human blockade in an attempt to stop a controversial megaload of equipment bound for the oil tar sands of Alberta, Canada — a load reportedly weighing about 644,000 pounds and stretching over 200 feet. They intended on continuing their protests Wednesday and Thursday nights.