ROCK AND
A HARD PLACE
the Crow Nation to convert some
of its coal to liquid fuels such as
diesel and gasoline for domestic use. The tribe’s plan, which
Stewart said illustrates that the
Crow are not entirely reliant on
coal exports, also gained support
from the National Congress of
American Indians this fall. It still
awaits federal approval.
The official document from the
Northwest Indians, however, notes
that their blessing does not “supersede, replace, or rescind” a resolution made by the group in May
that opposed all proposals to increase transportation through the
region of “fossil energy,” including
both coal and unrefined crude oil.
About a week after the resolution’s adoption, Jewell Praying
Wolf James’s totem pole pulled up
in front of the Washington state
capitol building in Olympia for
another event opposing coal exports. Much like the other stops on
the totem’s journey, this ceremony’s songs and speeches pointed
to both the despair and hopes of
Native Americans and the deeply
complex tensions at hand.
A crowd of some 50 people,
many representatives of local
tribes, stood in the alternating
rain and sun in front of the flat-
HUFFINGTON
02.09.14
bed truck. Flanking the truck was
a yard sign that read, “No coal
exports. We can do better.”
Creating alternatives, experts
agree, is prerequisite to combating climate change and sustaining
resources for future generations —
and even to passing judgment on
The coal push, he said, represents
the cont [