As Wells Fargo Continues to Fund Oil and Gas Pipelines Indigenous, Environmental, and Climate Justice Groups Urge the Bank to Divest from Pipeline Companies
CONTACT :
- What: A non-violent direct action and live mural painted in front of the Wells Fargo Bank in the financial district of San Francisco.
- When: Saturday, February 24, 10am – 12pm PST.
- Where: 420 Montgomery St., San Francisco, CA, 94104
- Who: The protest is being organized by Idle No More SF Bay and the Indigenous Environmental Network
Speakers will include:
- Isabella Zizi, Idle No More SF Bay Area
- Daniel Illario, Idle No More SF Bay Area
- Joye Braun, Indigenous Environmental Network
- Joseph White Eyes, Indigenous Environmental Network
Visuals: 50ft. live mural painted on the street, colorful banners, hundreds in attendance, street theater.
Background:
In December, 2017, Wells Fargo announced a $50 million grant to Native Americans for renewable energy & clean water programs, cultural awareness and language preservation projects, among other things. At around the same time, Wells Fargo agreed to extend two credit facilities totaling $1.5 billion for Canadian oil corporation, TransCanada, to build the Keystone XL pipeline. Many Native American communities have been directly impacted by fossil fuel development, extraction, and transportation.
Helpful Links:
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1553741988014482/?ti=icl
Idle No More SF Bay Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/INMSolidaritySF/
The following are quotes from organizers of the non-violent direct action:
“The $50 Million in grants Wells Fargo is offering Native people in the U.S. is nothing more than an attempt to green wash their bankrolling of projects that violate Indigenous sovereignty, desecrate sacred sites, and poison the land and water we all need to live. Although Wells Fargo states that, ‘Climate change represents one of the greatest challenges of our time’, the billions they continue investing in extreme fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure reveal their true colors. Wells Fargo’s CEO Timothy J. Sloan, the board of directors, and investors value short term profit over life on Mother Earth.”
– Daniel Ilario, Idle No More SF Bay
“We have had enough of Wells Fargo trying to bribe native communities with their dirty money. We demand they break their financial ties with fossil fuel infrastructure and tar sands expansions by divesting immediately. Until that day finally comes, we urge our Alaskan native and Native American communities to not accept this $50 million grant until we get a response from them by the time their shareholders meeting approaches in late April 2018.“
– Isabella Zizi, Idle No More SF Bay
“The grants that Wells Fargo are offering to Indigenous communities are nothing but deception and a marketing strategy to trick the public in believing the company is doing good. Yes, Indigenous communities could benefit from these resources, but we also need clean water, air, and land.Wells Fargo’s invests in pipelines, such as Keystone XL, puts all of that at risk and contributes to climate change. Rather than giving credit lines to TransCanada, imagine if 1.5 billion dollars was invested in renewable energy.”
– Joye Braun, Indigenous Environmental Network
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