WASHINGTON — Religious protesters and environmental activists gathered outside the White House on Wednesday to oppose the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
Lakota spiritual leader Chief Arvol Looking Horse and other faith leaders lead the protest and spiritual service in Lafayette Square.
“Our children will have no future,” Arvol said about possibility of the pipeline’s approval. “We are here to send a message to President Obama to stop the Keystone pipeline.”
The groups urged President Barack Obama to reject the permit for the pipeline, running from Hardisty, Alberta to Steele City, Neb. The $5.4 billion project requires Obama’s approval.
“Our goal is to promote unity amongst the different faiths on this issue,” said Dallas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network, representing the Great Sioux Nation.
Goldtooth organized the multi-denominational protest in an attempt to show the administration the expanse of both native and non-native opposition to the pipeline and the environmental damage that they anticipate as a result of harvesting tar-sands oil.
Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, a civil and human rights organization aimed at promoting political activism among young people, joined the protest in support of the Lakota people and warned against the reliance on oil.
“As humans we can do better than that, and for the next generation we must do better than that,” Yearwood said to the crowd. “We have come here calling on something greater than ourselves.”
The Hip Hop Caucus was founded in 2004 to mobilize young voters of the “hip hop generation.” In the past, its members have engaged in environmental activism with its “Green the Block” campaign to bring attention to the impacts of climate change on low-income communities of color.
“As we push forward toward a clean energy future, it will take faith and believing in something outside of ourselves,” Yearwood said before leading the crowd in prayer.
The pipeline has been a hotly-contested issue in American politics since its proposal in 2008 by TransCanada Corp. If constructed, the pipeline would carry fuel from the Alberta tar-sands through 6 states, connecting in Steele City to another line that would bring the fuel to the Gulf Coast of Texas. Environmentalists oppose harvesting fuel from tar-sands because of its carbon-intensive make up and high carbon dioxide emissions during extracting and refining.
The president said earlier this month that he would veto legislation approving the pipeline were Congress to pass it. The House voted to approve the proposal two days later.
