Early last night, numerous women from the Blood Nation have courageously parked in front of Murphy Oil’s fracking development site vowing not to move until plans of fracking for oil and gas are stopped. The women are part of the Kainai Earth Watch and have been active advocates to stop the fracking due to the major threat to human health, wildlife and livestock and the irreversible damage to the land and water on the Blood Reserve and surrounding areas. They feel this is the only choice left to them to stop the operations as plans for construction begin tomorrow.
In late 2010, Kainaiwa Resources Inc. (KRI) quietly signed off on a deal with the Calgary-based junior mining company Bowood Energy and the U.S. company Murphy Oil. In exchange for the $50 Million, Bowood Energy and Murphy Oil gained a five-year lease to roughly 129, 280 acres, almost half of the Blood’s reserve, for oil and gas exploration.
Since that time local residents of the Blood Nation and surrounding communities have come together to oppose the projects. Members of the KaiNai Earth Watch have partnered with numerous community groups, including the Lethbridge Council of Canadians, to host numerous educational workshops, organize petitions, and meet with government officials. Despite their efforts, nothing has been effective in actually preventing the fracking from going ahead.
Plans of construction on 4 new fracking sites begin tomorrow. The women have vowed not to leave until they are confident the fracking won’t go ahead.
Show some Solidarity! **If you are interested in helping to support this action please contact:
Louis Frank 403-795-7945
Mike Brucehead 403-737-2194
For a good backgrounder on the plans for fracking and the concerns with the impacts check out:
http://climate-connections.org/2011/03/14/blood-tribe-members-call-for-moratorium-on-hydro-fracking/
Media are encouraged to come on site
**Directions to the site:
Take Hwy #2 South, just after Standoff at the large Blue Co-op at the Blood Nation turn East. Follow the road 5 mins and you can’t miss it.