Courtesy LandofDakota.com
Cannonball Ranch, which is full of sacred burial sites and artifacts, was sold on September 22 to Dakota Access LLC.
No words. None. Okay, a few. If the owners, who reside in Flasher, were all that concerned about liability, why didn’t they offer the land for sale to Standing Rock? I smell shit. A whole lot of bullshit.
Cannonball Ranch in North Dakota has been sold to Dakota Access LLC. The ranch is not the site of the Standing Rock Camp where protectors are taking a stand against the Dakota Access pipeline, but the ranch has hundreds of burials and artifacts.
MyNDNow reports the land was sold by David and Brenda Meyer on September 22 for liability reasons. David Meyer told MyNDNow that there were just too many people on the property.
“It’s a beautiful ranch, but I just wanted out,” he said.
Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II made a statement at the Protecting Native Land and Resources, Rejecting North Dakota Pipeline Forum:
“Recently, they purchased the Cannonball Ranch, yesterday the transaction was final, the documents are signed and recorded with the county and the money was transferred. So the owner of the Cannonball Ranch, where we’re demonstrating, what we’re protecting, has now been sold to the pipeline company so it’s really disturbing to me because the intention is all wrong. Without having any further review and without understanding what the process was… it’s not fair. It’s not right and the company is going to try to move forward without any consideration of tribes. I am not asking that you stop this pipeline, I’m asking that you do a full EIS [Environmental Impact Statement].”
Read his full statement on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Facebook page.
On the same day as the Cannonball Ranch sale, more than 1,200 archaeologists and museums sent a letter to President Barack Obama, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urging a full Environmental Impact Statement be completed as well as a survey of cultural resources along the pipeline’s route.
“The destruction of these sacred sites adds yet another injury to the Lakota, Dakota, and other Indigenous Peoples who bear the impacts of fossil fuel extraction and transportation. If constructed, this pipeline will continue to encourage oil consumption that causes climate change, all the while harming those populations who contributed little to this crisis,” reads part of the letter.
Via ICTMN. See comments for additional info.
I can’t find any appropriate words. Even aaaargh doesn’t cut it.
With any luck (I won’t hold my breath), the land will be declared archeologically important and this will wind up being a waste of money for the Evil Oil Company (TM).
Caine, do you suppose the original owners sold it out of spite given the broad racism against the tribes there? I can’t see any other reason to do so, especially as it doesn’t appear to have been a public offering.
White people suck.
My best guess would be the oil company went sniffing about, and made an offer. I’d assume it was a large one, and around here, most people would take it, with little to trouble their conscience. Whatever the Meyers got for it, I doubt Standing Rock, even with help, could have matched it, even if given the opportunity.
It’s quite clear to me the reason given is an outright lie. There’s no one camping there, at all. There have been protests and ceremonies out there, yes, but it’s not as though anything has happened to give someone a liability fright. Even if that is the truth, why the secrecy? Why did this come as a stone shock to everyone?
More info, from here:
Seems these folks have been sucking down oil for a while.
Aaaaaaaaaaand, yeah, it’s corruption, with the full cooperation of Jackkk Dalrymple:
Wow, the golden rule just kicked in bigtime. And after this election cycle, it’s only going to be worse. Fuck ’em all.
The Cannonball Ranch is historical, too, and it’s widely known about in the Dakotas. It was the first ranch inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame (oh yeah, that’s a thing), and now it’s designated industrial? Riiiiight. You can all see the pic, that look industrial to you?
Oh, and the Meyers are hiding. Only their lawyer is contactable right now, and he’s not saying much at all. So, it’s fair to assume this is a filthy, dirty deal.
Goddammit.
well…fuck.
I got no words.
sorry.
Shit.
The land belonged to the tribes, was stolen, then sold: it’s a transfer of stolen goods. The ranchers never owned it to begin with. There was a treaty, once…
Marcus:
Yes. Fort Laramie. We keep bringing that up, for the good it has done so far.