Resolution on the Traditional Pikuni Blackfeet
Nation
Represented by Floyd (Tiny Man) Heavy Runner,
traditional Chief of the Brave Dog Society of
the (Pikuni) Blackfeet Nation
WHEREAS according to the Blackfeet
understanding of the Agreement of 1895 the
(Pikuni) Blackfeet Nation has never ceded by
any treaty the Badger-Two Medicine area to the
United States of America.
AND WHEREAS the entirety of the Badger-Two
Medicine Area shall be at the disposal of the
Blackfeet Nation;
AND WHEREAS the Badger-Two Medicine, in
evidence to the traditions of the Blackfeet
People, has been the religious and cultural
area of all Blackfeet since time immemorial;
AND WHEREAS therefore the Badger Two Medicine
Area up to this day is used to practice Sun
Dance, vision quests, and other religious
ceremonies essential to the Blackfeet People;
AND WHEREAS the Badger Two Medicine Area as a
whole is an unique biotope with international
acknowledgement, which, is indispensable in
providing the Blackfeet People with a variety
of medicinal plants and constitutes one of the
last protected and undisturbed habitats of the
near-extinct grey wolf, of the grizzly bear,
and is a vital part of the migratory territory
of several other threatened species of
wildlife; subject to the Endangered Species
Act.
AND WHEREAS the Badger Two Medicine Area has
been targeted for commercial exploitation by
the oil-conglomerates CHEVRON (USA) and
PETROFINA (Belgium), although the chances to
discover oil on this area are less than 0.5%
and at an improbable strike the maximum yield
would barely cover the average minimum United
States consumption of half a day;
AND WHEREAS any industrial violation of Badger
Two Medicine Area would not only drastically
restrict the free practice of religion for the
Blackfeet People, but also cause irreparable
damage to the environment of this still
pristine area and the bordering Glacier
National Park due to the standard methods
routinely employed to locate and recover fossil
fuels;
NOW THEREFORE, we, the paricipants of the 10th
European Planing Session of Support Groups of
North American Indigenous PeopleS, representing
Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the
Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, the United
Kingdom, the United States and various
aboriginal nations and organizations, do hereby
strongly demand:
- that the Blackfeet understanding of the
Agreement of 1895 will be honored and on all
points complied with
- that the existing Environmental Impact
Statement, determined by the U.S Forest Service
of the State of Montana, will be superseded by
a new report compiled by independent experts
under special consideration of the spiritual
status of the Badger Two Medicine Area, making
it inaccessible to any industrial exploitation
- that all permits issued for test drillings,
(even illegal according to U.S. law), to the
Belgian oil-conglomerate Petrofina are
immediately revoked
- that all other projects to exploit the Badger
Two Medicine Area are likewise immediately
stopped
- that this area of Badger Two Medicine be
placed under the protection of the UNO
Convention for the Protection of the World
Cultural and Natural Heritage of UNESCO
- that the U.S. government must be required to
honor its agreement made with UNESCO, ratified
by the US Congress in 1973
Moved by:Seconded by:
Marten Briese
Andrea Reindl
Association for the Support of
Society of the threatened
peopleS
American Indigenous, Berlin-Germany
Austria and Germany
Passed:
Date:
Chairperson of the Meeting
July 29th - Aug 1st, 1995, Les Geneves sur
Coffrane, Switzerland