By Tim Walker<\/p>\n
The move will preserve a 130,000-acre wilderness known as the Badger-Two Medicine area, which is the site of the tribes\u2019 creation story and a key habitat for grizzly bears, elk and other species. It adjoins the Blackfeet Nation and Glacier National Park. US interior Secretary Sally Jewell said on her department\u2019s website that the cancellation would protect the area\u2019s \u201crich cultural and natural resources\u201d from the \u201cirreparable impacts [of] oil and gas development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking in Washington DC on Wednesday, Ms Jewell said the decision \u201csets the right tone for how business should be done in the future.\u201d According to the Associated Press, the leases were issued to Devon Energy, an Oklahoma-based company, in the early 1980s without proper consultation with tribal leaders.<\/p>\n
No drilling has been done on the sites over the ensuing decades, and Devon\u2019s President David Hager described the cancellation as \u201cthe right thing to do\u201d. The firm agreed to give up the leases for a refund of just over $200,000. Another energy lease in the same region was also cancelled earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The agreement stands in stark contrast to the Obama administration\u2019s handling of the Standing Rock situation. Federal officials have said they will consider re-routing the pipeline away from Sioux land. But on Wednesday a United Nations human rights expert accused US security forces of using excessive force to subdue the protests over the pipeline.<\/p>\n
Harry Barnes, the chairman of the Blackfeet Nation Tribal Business Council, hailed the cancellation of the leases, telling the Washington Post the settlement was \u201cvictory for not only the Blackfeet people, but for all of America. It\u2019s such a beautiful area. It\u2019s Mother Earth, and it needs to be enjoyed by everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source: \u00a0Independent, UK<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"