Huffington Magazine Issue 87 | Page 52

ROCK AND A HARD PLACE HUFFINGTON 02.09.14 IN THE PATH OF COAL Cherry Point, WA Bellingham Powder River Basin National parks American Indian reservations Waterways Cities and towns Proposed ports PHOTO SOURCES: OR ILLUSTRATION WYOMING STATE CREDIT GEOLOGICAL TK SURVEY Coal train route Seattle Olympia MONTANA Spokane WASHINGTON Yakima Longview, WA Celilo Village, OR Billings Missoula Port of Morrow, OR OREGON the tribal council are for coal mining and some are against it.” The Northern Cheyenne’s decision on whether or not to harvest their coal may, too, come down to pending verdicts on the Pacific Northwest ports. No train tracks currently run to their reservation’s coal reserves, though rail lines could be expanded with enough demand. Mexican Cheyenne believes the council is leaning towards development of the coal. “I see a real desperation to help the economy any way they can,” he said. Wind energy has also been on the table here for years. But impoverished tribes such as the Northern Cheyenne and the Crow often lack the funds necessary for capital in- IDAHO WYOMING vestments and opportunities for outside help, such as tax credits. Debra Lekanoff, a leader with the Swinomish Tribe of Washington, said the tribes need federal support to find alternative ways to benefit from their resources. “We urge the federal government to help our brothers and sisters with funding, capacity-building and sound science to open up the doors to new opportunities,” she said. She suggested that the “elephant in the room” in the coal development debate is the challenge of “walking in two worlds” and soundly balancing “economic sustainability and environmental protection.” The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, which includes the Yakama and Lummi, adopted a resolution in September supporting a pilot project proposed by