Slideshow: “Cowboy and Indian Alliance” rallies in DC
Thousands of people converged on Washington’s National Mall on Saturday to protest the proposed northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast. The action culminated a week of prayer and protest led by a group of indigenous activists and US landowners called the “Cowboy and Indian Alliance.”
All photos by Alice Ollstein. Click any image to launch slideshow.
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- Actress Daryl Hannah joins tribal leaders at Reject and Protect encampment to protest the Keystone XL pipeline.
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- Tribal leaders give interviews beside their circle of tipis.
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- Students, faith leaders and indigenous activists called Saturday for investment in clean energy and divestment from fossil fuels.
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- Minnesota’s “Honor the Earth” was one of many indigenous-lead environmental groups at Saturday’s march.
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- Thousands gathered on the National Mall Saturday to protest the Keystone XL pipeline, the culmination of a week long encampment organized by a group of ranchers and Native Americans called the Cowboy and Indian Alliance.
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- Tribal elders led the crowd in a prayer that blessed the six directions: North, East, South, West, the sky and the earth.
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- Protesters hear from Nebraska landowners fighting in court to stop the Keystone XL pipeline from crossing their farms.
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- Indigenous activists lead an April 2014 march of the “Cowboys and Indians Alliance” bearing the flags of their nations.
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- Young women on horseback lead the procession to the Museum of the American Indian and the US Capitol Building.
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- An indigenous activist holds up a representation of a corn cob dipped in oil to symbolize the damage many believe the Keystone XL pipeline would bring to their land. April 2014. (Photo credit: Alice Ollstein)
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- Tribal leaders in traditional dress watch the procession arrive at the Museum of the American Indian.
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- Protesters present the Museum of the American Indian with a tipi they’ve painted with traditional signs of the interconnectedness of nature. They say they hope it will convince President Obama to reject the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.
