 Piegan encampment 1900 |
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“In 2013 the BC Assembly of First Nations passed a resolution calling for a ban on trophy hunting grizzly bears. The Assembly cited articles from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) to demonstrate the moral and political force of the First Nations’ position. US President Barack Obama supports the UNDRIP, yet his Administration is failing to abide by it in this instance. As a member of the RMTLC, the Blackfeet Nation highlighted a catalog of federal orders, laws and acts the USFWS is in violation of relative to delisting the grizzly bear, and the lack of ‘meaningful tribal consultation’ mandated by those federal charters. We strongly support the Blackfeet Nation in calling for all of these orders, laws and acts to be honored.”
From - Piikani Nation Chief and Council to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell,
July 20, 2015
CHIEF STAN GRIER
Grier describes grizzly delisting as the “dream scenario” for the Koch Brothers “and those who share their philosophy of backing the hostile takeover over of both Native and federal, public lands by the likes of the Bundys.” The Piikani Chief points to “ex-lobbyists for special interests” in the USFWS, such as former Acting Director, Matt Hogan, who was chief lobbyist for trophy hunting giant Safari Club International before former President George W. Bush appointed him to lead the Service. Hogan, who is now leading the delisting effort, has so far refused to comment on his work for Safari Club or his connection to Anadarko Petroleum and Gas, the largest leaseholder and landholder in Wyoming. “Let’s not fall for the spin that grizzly delisting is based upon ‘science.’ It’s not scientists in the state governments of Wyoming and Idaho that are pushing this, it’s cheerleaders for the Koch Bros. and Trump’s platform of returning federal, public lands to state control,” emphasized Chief Grier. “We are in possession of a communication from USFWS Director Dan Ashe in which even he questions that this delisting decision is being based upon ‘the best available science standard of ESA.’” The email is from Ashe to his assistant, Gary Frazer, and is posted here on the Piikani Nation Treaty website
Message from Chief Stanley Grier
of the Piikani Nation
Oki! Greetings from the Piikani Nation Chief and Council. As Chief of the Piikani Nation, I invite you to join with us and make history. In the next couple of months across Turtle Island you can both witness and participate in history. At each event, only the third cross-border First Nations/Native American treaty in some 150 years will be signed. Entitled “The Grizzly: A Treaty Of Cooperation, Cultural Revitalization and Restoration,” this historic document is patterned on the Northern Tribes Bison Treaty, and will stand as a symbol of unity for Tribal Nations and the protectors of Mother Earth.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service intends to remove federal protections from the sacred grizzly bear in the Yellowstone region in November, followed by removing the same protections in the Crown of the Continent next year. With immediate effect, the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho will issue trophy hunting licenses and open “seasons” upon our sacred relative, the grizzly. The removal of protections from the grizzly will result in the protections on the sacred lands the grizzly presently occupies being relaxed, and in some instances, removed, leaving many sacred sites and the lands that hold them vulnerable to corporate exploitation.
Some fifty-plus Tribal Nations, supported by the Assembly of First Nations, now stand in opposition to the delisting from the Endangered Species Act and trophy hunting of the sacred grizzly bear on the basis of sovereignty, treaty, consultation, and spiritual and religious freedom violations. Indeed, the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association (GPTCA) has described this action as, “a clear and present danger to tribal sovereignty, tribal spiritual and religious freedoms, and self-determination.” There should be no doubt that delisting and trophy hunting the grizzly bear on ancestral tribal and treaty lands threatens irreparable harm to tribal rights if it is not challenged.
Since time immemorial, the grizzly has been our ancestor, our relative. The grizzly is part of us and we are part of the grizzly culturally, spiritually and ceremonially. The purpose of this treaty is to honor, recognize, and reinvigorate the ancient relationship we have with the grizzly, and to restore the balance where we are the stewards and grizzly is the guardian of our lands. In this process, through related initiatives, we aim to provide cultural, spiritual, economic and environmental revitalization to our people and our lands. As Chief of the Piikani Nation, I ask that we may stand in solidarity on this vital issue, in honor of our ancestors and for the wellbeing of our future generations.
Hunya!
Stand with us
Register your support for the Piikani Nation Treaty Signings, and help us stop the delisting
and hunting of sacred grizzly bears.
TREATY SIGNINGS
Oct 25, 2016
Assembly of Treaty Chiefs
Treaty Signing
3:30 pm, Saanich First Nation,
Victoria, British Columbia
Oct 19, 2016
Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes
Treaty Signing
1:30 pm, CSKT tribal Headquarters
Pablo, Montana, 59855
Oct 2, 2016
Greater Yellowstone
Treaty Signing
2pm, Jackson Lake Lodge,
Eagle Room,
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Sept 28th, 2016
Piikani Nation and Blackfeet
Treaty Signing
1pm Piikani Nation Tribal Complex, Brocket, Alberta, T0K 0H0
6pm, Holiday Inn Express Conference Room,
Browning, Montana 59417
Perry Bellegarde, Chief of the AFN signs the Grizzly Treaty in Ottowa.
Grier describes grizzly delisting as the “dream scenario” for the Koch Brothers “and those who share their philosophy of backing the hostile takeover over of both Native and federal, public lands by the likes of the Bundys.” The Piikani Chief points to “ex-lobbyists for special interests” in the USFWS, such as former Acting Director, Matt Hogan, who was chief lobbyist for trophy hunting giant Safari Club International before former President George W. Bush appointed him to lead the Service. Hogan, who is now leading the delisting effort, has so far refused to comment on his work for Safari Club or his connection to Anadarko Petroleum and Gas, the largest leaseholder and landholder in Wyoming. “Let’s not fall for the spin that grizzly delisting is based upon ‘science.’ It’s not scientists in the state governments of Wyoming and Idaho that are pushing this, it’s cheerleaders for the Koch Bros. and Trump’s platform of returning federal, public lands to state control,” emphasized Chief Grier. “We are in possession of a communication from USFWS Director Dan Ashe in which even he questions that this delisting decision is being based upon ‘the best available science standard of ESA.’” The email is from Ashe to his assistant, Gary Frazer, and is posted here on the Piikani Nation Treaty website
“The Piikani Nation’s relationship with the United States is enshrined by treaty. The Piikani Nation, the Blood Tribe, and the Blackfeet Nation have held a government-to-government relationship with the United States since entering into the 1855 Lame Bull Treaty, of which all are signatories. The DOI, DOJ and DOA concluded their Dakota Access statement by saying, ‘It is now incumbent on all of us to develop a path forward that serves the broadest public interest.’ We believe that same sentiment must now be applied to the delisting of the Yellowstone grizzly bear. We remain the stewards of the land, and our ancestors and spiritual practices will forever be the conscience of the land. Water is the lifeblood of our Mother Earth, and the grizzly bear is the guardian of both.”
From - Piikani Nation Chief and Council Declaration, September 12, 2016
"Others' hands have drawn boundaries between the Canada and the United States. These arbitrary lines have not severed, and never will, the ties of kinship among our peoples. We are hereby resolved to affirm and to strengthen those bonds of mutual respect, cooperation and affection. As friends and allies, we Indigenous Peoples and Nations will go forward with greater strength and wisdom as we interact with other governments in our region, our hemisphere and our world."
Declaration of Kinship and Cooperation among the Indigenous Peoples and Nations of North America (AFN/NCAI)
