By Dara Illowsky | Research Intern
In June the EPA finally published an official report stating that fracking does, in fact, contaminate drinking water. Those living with the burden of fracking wells in their community had known this for quite some time, but the EPA report legitimizes these claims in the public eye.
On Fort Berthold the dangers fracking poses to water intended for drinking and agriculture were made all too real with two major, toxic wastewater spills in the year prior to the release of the EPA findings. These spills were surely on the minds of attendees of the Tribal Leaders Summit held in Bismarck in September.
MHA Nation Chairman Mark Fox, featured prominently in A Different American Dream, addressing the crowd during a natural resources seminar at the Summit stated, “Water is more valuable than oil,” and is “the most important natural resource we have.” Chairman Fox then warned, “one day someone will come to take it away.”
Fox also urged audience members to “think outside the box” about oil and gas development to ensure that the tribes benefit financially. He pushed for any development to be done responsibly and “for the betterment of the people.”
As oil prices have dropped over the past several months, cities and counties that once welcomed the oil industry at the cost of public and environmental health are now struggling to provide public services as oil companies begin to pull rigs and abandon projects. It is our hope that public officials, including local, national and international leaders, see that the oil industry is a shortsighted fix for a tribe’s economic troubles and their wealth only benefits a fortunate few.
As we finish up post-production and begin submitting A Different American Dream to several film festivals, we are very excited to work on finalizing and moving forward with our engagement campaign. Our goals for the campaign include: 1) educating general audiences about the threat to the future of the MHA Nation as a result of degradation of their ancestral lands; 2) mounting both a legislative and a public opinion campaign to document and work to end the poisoning of the water of the MHA Nation; 3) highlight the impact of oil extraction on global warming and promoting domestic clean energy and its development in North Dakota.
Thank you for your support as we continue to amplify the voices of the MHA Nation and raise awareness of the environmental threats of the oil boom.
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