Tribal representatives in Montana are leaving the state鈥檚 new in protest of Attorney General Tim Fox鈥檚 support of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
The proposed oil pipeline carrying Alberta crude would cross through Montana near the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.
鈥淥ne of the issues that we face is 鈥� 鈥� that follow this pipeline, and that will be just to the West of the reservation,鈥� said Fort Peck tribal councilman Jestin Dupree.
Dupree said that could exacerbate the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, a concern backed up by showing that natural resource booms can lead to higher rates of sexual assault and violence in nearby communities.
So Dupree and Fort Belknap Tribal Council member Brandi King both, as Montana Free Press last week, chose to withdraw from the task force created by Fox to address the issue.
They say Fox鈥檚 is at odds with the effort to address high rates of .
Fox鈥檚 office was unavailable for comment.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUER in Salt Lake City, KUNR in Nevada and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.
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