Environmental threats are not the only threats associated with the oil pipeline that is expected to run through and near numerous Native communities in both the US and Canada. With large numbers of outsiders who have no accountability to the local communities coming along to work on that pipeline, it was only a matter of time before Native communities felt the impact.

It was just a matter of time before “man camps” would pose a threat to sacred native lands and bring sexual violence, prostitution, and increased drug traffic into the heartland of Native culture in North and South Dakota. As the proposed TransCanada Corporation oil pipeline that will run from Canada, North Dakota, eastern South Dakota, and Nebraska slouches towards reality, vulnerable populations of the Yankton, Rosebud and Cheyenne River reservations will bear the brunt of increased assaults and predation. This is not a theoretical threat. On a visit to the Bakken oil fields and Williston in North Dakota last summer, it was clear that man camps, temporary housing for oil pipeline workers, were bringing an influx of male population growth and not all of the men were nice guys.

Article here.

Announcement for upcoming conference: Aug 16 & 17 at the Fort Randall Casino to educate on these “man camps” and the impact they are having on Native families. Here.