By Natalie Hand

Pine Ridge, SD… On October 29, OST Chief Judge Lisa Adams issued an exclusion order to remove the Native American Energy Group (N.A.E.G.) from the Pine Ridge reservation, declaring that the company has been trespassing on tribal lands. The finding gave NAEG 30 days to vacate the reservation.

The Judge also noted that N.A.E.G. ignored a tribal resolution that accepted the OST Environmental Technical Team’s recommendation that the Tribe not enter into any working relationship with N.A.E.G. Further, the order stated that OST Member, Eileen Janis, failed to inform N.A.E.G. about OST ordinances prohibiting exploration and mining for uranium.

Plaintiffs in the case, Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council (Oglala Delegation) and Owe Aku, were pleased with the exclusion order. “Judge Adams showed great respect for the Treaty Council during this hearing. However, we must update the language in our outdated Tribal Law and Order Code to combat new mining and exploration techniques. N.A.E.G. is gone, but they could try and return in another form and there are many other companies out there that will try to bribe their way onto our homeland,” stated Floyd Hand, Treaty Council delegate.

N.A.E.G., a New York-based oil/gas/mining company, approached OST tribal officials in early 2007 with a written proposal to embark on a multi-phase plan to mine uranium on the reservation. Once this proposal was disclosed to the public, tribal members expressed outrage that a mining company had been on the reservation for so many months without following protocol. The Treaty Council, along with Owe Aku, a non-profit environmental activism group, took action and filed a motion in early September, to exclude the company from Pine Ridge.

“The Pine Ridge Reservation and 1868 Ft Laramie Treaty Territory has been declared a nuclear free zone by both the Tribal Government and the Treaty Council. The court action brought by Owe Aku and the Treaty Council to stop this company from desecrating our sacred Mother Earth has been decided in our favor. It has been a challenging experience to fight an energy company, but worth the effort to protect our Treaty Territory. Companies who come to our land need to come with full disclosure of their intentions to do business with our people, our leaders need to enforce such a policy so we are not faced with a similar situation in the future,” said Debra White Plume of Owe Aku.