Cyril Scott, president of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota has thrown down the proverbial gauntlet by telling the GOP that passage of the Keystone Pipeline XL project is an act of war against Native Americans. However, if the Rosebud Sioux are serious about the “act of war”, they may soon find themselves extending their war cry to both the US State Department and President Obama.
This is because the State Department has finally stopped stonewalling the project and issued their final recommendation. In fact, the department concluded there will be minimal environmental impact by the project. At the same time, the department concluded the project will create 42,000 jobs during the construction phase. They believe that only 50 jobs will become permanent once the pipeline is finished. However, the government isn’t known for its accuracy. It may well be the pipeline results in many more permanent jobs.
For his part, President Obama has threatened to veto the GOP’s legislation, but not to avert an act of war against the Sioux nation. Rather, he wants to be able to authorize the project himself and is expected to sign off on the State Department’s final recommendation and subsequently take credit for creating 42,000 jobs.
If the Rosebud Sioux tribe does not find fault with President Obama’s actions, it will indicate their position had more to do with politics than anything else. It may also be the tribe does not believe they are getting their fair share of the project funding. After all, it will be crossing over tribal lands.