Aspen Machicek

Sara Price - 10th Grade Humanities

Energy Justice Monologue
05/01/2023

Justice Monologue

“In the U.S. Native American reservations represent only 2 percent of the land but hold
approximately 20 percent of the country’s fossil fuel reserves, including coal, oil and gas.”

Why is our entire society based upon this idea that the production of energy (whether it’s green
or not) holds a higher value than the land at stake to execute the production?

I mean, how would you feel if your most favored areas were to be drained entirely, all to search
for what was beneath them?

If the energy on that land is green, then that land will be preserved for energy production for
decades; and if the energy isn’t green, then soon enough, those sacred areas will be completely
abandoned. Polluted and never to be the same once again. Either way, it’s just not fair.

Various major aspects of our society are built around the ideologies of utilitarianism, where
decisions are made to benefit the majority over the minority and what may be seen as right. This
is exactly what we are seeing with the situation among oil and gas extraction upon sacred Native
lands.

The San Juan Citizens Alliance stated…“For decades the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
has prioritized oil and gas development in the area.” (SJCA); key word, prioritized. The BLM’s
goal is to “sustain productivity of public lands for use and enjoyment” They have already and are
continuing to attempt fracking in areas because they will benefit the majority rather than those
actually living on the land.

These areas hold deep intrinsic value, but on the flip side, these lands are sitting on 20% of the
US’s coal, oil, and gas supply. So where do we draw the line?

Many could argue that it’s unjust to destroy the lands that Natives have grown with, but the
production can also really help the Natives.

In 1982 a step was taken forward with the passing of the Indian Mineral Development Act; it
granted tribes to negotiate agreements of leases such as terms of lease and royalty revenue.

In 2022 the census data stated that around 27% of Native Americans live in poverty; that’s just
under twice the national average of 15%. With the development of new energy production
facilities, it is a potential for jobs and the Indian Mineral Development Act stands to compensate
the tribes for the land that is being used.
The US Department of the Interior Indian Affairs stated…“The IMDA allows Tribes to lease
their resources utilizing a creative agreement that best fits the needs of the tribe and a potential
industry partner.” “Unlike BLM’s treatment of onshore federal leases, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs and the Division of Energy and Mineral Development assume a hands-on, proactive
approach in working with Tribes to help them in the development of their resources.”

There is no easy answer to this question, but really, what we need is to physically stay balanced,
energy extraction isn’t going away and we won't have a clear substitute, it will be with us for a
while and for now it’s simply a matter of whose land will house it. Areas like the Greater Chaco
region are being slowly enveloped by companies looking to frack. In northwestern New Mexico
near Chaco Canyon, 91% of the land has already been obtained for fracking, and the remaining
9% is anticipated to be fracked by the BLM. At this rate the level of concern for these areas is
ignored by everyone except for the natives, they remain defenseless and we need to speak out to
help them. Growing to find a balance between fossil fuels and green energy and not turning to
the defenseless to carry the weight of it all.
Sources Cited

CLASS RESOURCES:

Price, Sara. “Justice Philosophies Pt 1: ‘Founding Philosophies.’” Google Slides: Sign-In, 2023,
docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Ry87quoqyb5S_cCeDXhwsiSE-RG7yTI61AbrI1qvmkw/edit#slide=id.g6
38f7d3de9_0_0.

Unknown, Unknown. “Greater Chaco.” San Juan Citizens Alliance, 11 Mar. 2020, www.sanjuancitizens.org/chaco.

OTHERS:

Osborne, Tracey. “Native Americans Fighting Fossil Fuels.” Scientific American Blog Network, 9 Apr. 2018,
blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/native-americans-fighting-fossil-fuels/.

Riddle, Katia. “Poll: 69% of Native Americans Say Inflation Is Severely Affecting Their Lives.” NPR, 20 Aug.
2022,
www.npr.org/2022/08/20/1117689118/poll-69-of-native-americans-say-inflation-is-severely-affecting-their-
lives#:~:text=According%20to%20census%20data%2C%20close,Native%20Americans%20live%20in%20
poverty.

Unknown, Unknown. “Atlas of Oil & Gas Plays on American Indian Lands.” Indian Affairs, 2013,
www.bia.gov/bia/ots/demd/oil-gas-plays.