Tribal Nations Ask President Obama to Reject KXL and Request Emergency Meeting with Department of Interior

Rapid City, SD – The Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association (GPTCA) Chairman and President of Oglala Sioux Tribe, John Steele sent an official letter yesterday to President Barack Obama expressing several urgent tribal concerns about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline’s impact on tribal homelands. The letter urged the President to reject the Keystone XL presidential permit, informed him of a South Dakota Public Utility Commission (SDPUC) process currently happening to recertify the construction permit for that state and requested a meeting with Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell to discuss tribal concerns of the proposed pipeline. The GPTCA is made up of the 16 Sovereign American Indian Tribes in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.