First Nations chief at heart of oilsands resistance says he's no environmentalist
For years, Chief Allan Adam, leader of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, has been labeled an environmentalist.
He has fought hard to investigate mysterious illnesses plaguing his people who live near major oilsands development and other industrial activity in Northern Alberta. He has been an outspoken critic of both governments and industry for not doing enough to protect public health from industrial pollution.
Provincial statistics have confirmed cases of rare forms of cancer in the town of Fort Chipewyan, about 300 kilometres north of the oilsands hub of Fort McMurray. Scientific research has also shown that local food sources contain carcinogens, but federal and provincial governments have repeatedly downplayed such risks.
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He is leaving the door open to joining other North American First Nations who have signed the "Treaty Alliance Against Tar Sands Expansion" which requires its members to oppose new projects that will lead to radical expansion of the industry. It will depend on whether the people from his First Nation support signing on, he said.
Although many perceive this alliance as being an anti-development effort to stop all new pipelines and shut down production in Alberta's oilsands, home to the world's third largest crude reserves after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, Adam said the treaty actually promotes sustainable development.
"We’re for development if it’s done in a sustainable, right way that’s going to benefit everybody," he said. "But the fact remains that we can’t keep doing it at the price that we’re paying right now when they continue to bury people back home."
Among the initial signatories to the treaty was the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North Dakota, which has been opposing construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline. The document now has 120 signatories in North America and members hope to recruit some members from Alberta in 2017.