May
2002
Hogging
Lakota Lands: Environmental Injustice Comes to Indian Country
The Satya Interview with
Rosalie Little Thunder By Tracy Basile
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Rosalie Little Thunder, a Native American rights
and environmental advocate of Rapid City, SD, is no armchair activist.
In the winter
of
1999, she led a 507-mile march across Montana in honor of the 1,100
Yellowstone buffalo slaughtered that year by the Montana Department
of Livestock. Much of Little Thunder’s work with the Seventh Generation
Fund and South Dakota Peace and Justice Center involves campaigning
for these buffalo, a species whose survival is intimately linked to
the health of the land and her Lakota culture.
These days, Little Thunder has pigs on her mind—859,000 pigs to
be exact. That’s the number that pork producer Bell Farms of Wahpeton,
ND intends to raise annually on Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota,
where Little Thunder grew up and many of her relatives still live.
When
completed, the facility would be the third largest of its kind in the
world and would produce more hogs than there are people in that state.
Many residents say that Bell Farms did not have the consent of the
people,
even though a contract was signed in 1998. In the following interview, Tracy Basile of Animal Welfare Trust asks Little Thunder to describe
the damage that she believes this facility will inflict on the land,
the people and the buffalo.
What is the trad-itional Lakota belief about land and nature?
Lakota people live in balance with the earth and with the environment
that sustains them. We hold an inherent belief that all things are
related.
Our prayers and traditional speeches all end with Mitakuye Oyas’in
which means “we are all related.” This concept is not limited
to human kinship, but extends to the relationships among all creatures
and things. If one part of the circle of relatedness is interrupted
or damaged, then the rest of the circle is affected.
Do you believe that the Bell Farms hog facility disrupts this circle
of relatedness, and if so how?
Pigs are not native to this land; they came from Europe and with them
came disease and epidemics. Each barn that Bell Farms is building—and
they have around 50 so far—holds around 2,000 pigs. They are not
maintained in any kind of natural, free-range manner. In fact, there
is nothing natural about the way they live all crowded together. It
is inhumane. Their waste pollutes the air, the water and the land. When
completed, the farm will use a tremendous amount of water—about
1.6 million gallons daily. The long-term effect is the exhaustion of
the earth’s non-renewable resources. There is clearly a lack of
vision in [terms of] how future generations will survive.
How large an operation is Bell Farms planning and how far along
are they in the execution of that plan?
In 1998, the Rosebud Sioux [Lakota] Tribal Council signed a contract
allowing Bell Farms to build 13 separate sites on tribal trust land.
Each site will have 24 barns. Two of the sites are already up and running.
Construction has begun on a third just this spring.
If we do the math, we see that nearly one million hogs will be raised
on the reservation…
Yes. That’s enough pig waste to equal a city without a sewage
treatment plant.
In what way does the operation of the Bell Farms hog factory threaten
the health of Rosebud residents?
The population here is physically very vulnerable. Fifty percent of
the adults are stricken with diabetes and that makes them more susceptible
to contagious diseases. We also have cancer rates. We’re sitting
here on the reservation, and upstream is a huge hog factory with a waste
management system that hasn’t always worked properly, and with
hogs being pumped full of antibiotics and hormones. It’s a health
disaster waiting to happen, given the flu epidemics that have originated
from hog farms. In fact, there is documented evidence that the groundwater
has been polluted already.
There are permit requirements in South Dakota that could prevent
or limit environmental pollution. In addition, the state currently
has
a moratorium on the building of corporate farms. Why don’t these
laws apply here?
The hog factory is exempt from state pollution laws because it is on
tribal trust land. No federal water pollution laws apply either.
How is it that millions of buffalo once lived on the plains without
polluting the land and water supply?
Buffalo traveled in a very large circular migration route across the
plains. They kept moving and didn’t stay long enough in one place
to cause damage to the land or the water supply. When we co-existed
with the buffalo for centuries, we could see its role in the ecosystem,
in the natural world, and we adopted its ways. We followed its path
and didn’t stay in one area long enough to damage it. We didn’t
question this way of life, we just moved on because it was the healthy
way to live. Everything was biodegradable and we didn’t exhaust
the resources of one area.
So you are saying that the land sustained the buffalo and the buffalo
sustained the land as well?
Yes. Buffalo are recognized by modern science as a keystone species
because they create habitat for other species. Our prophecy says that
as long as there are buffalo, we will survive, and I don’t think
that prophecy was intended only for Lakota. I believe it was intended
for all the “two-legged” and all the rest of the natural world
as well. This land has been in a long, steady decline since the slaughter
of 50 to 60 million buffalo in the 1800s. The buffalo broke up the soil
so grasses would grow. They fertilized the land. They carried seeds
in their coats. They contributed to plant diversity. Then, over a 30-year
period, they were wiped out. How many of us think of this as a possible
cause of the dust bowl? Now the hog factory poses another kind of threat—to
the environment, our health and our culture.
Why do you think the tribal council and the elders agreed to such
an arrangement?
The tribe is isolated, by poverty first of all. The people on the reservation
are not so connected with the ongoing controversy across the country
about these kinds of farms. I believe Bell Farms courted the elders
and told them the same thing they told the tribal council—that
there will be no problems with hog waste or water, and that the hog
farm will bring jobs to the reservation. The elders were very trusting
and the council was committed to secrecy.
Why do you think the hog company chose Rosebud as the site for this
farm? Do you believe there is any truth to the claim that the reservation
will benefit from the operation of Bell Farms?
In my opinion, they didn’t come out of the goodness of their hearts
and it’s not about helping the Indian people. I believe they came
because they see a labor pool and a haven from environmental regulations.
There are resources here that they can take advantage of.
What action has been taken to thwart the hog operation?
Four organizations—Concerned Rosebud Area Citizens, Humane Farming
Association, South Dakota Peace and Justice Center, and Prairie Hills
Audubon Society—have been in litigation with Bell Farms since the
first barn was built. We lost every time. Then, in early April, a federal
appeals court ruled that the contract is no longer valid. Even though
the tables have turned in the tribe’s favor, Bell Farms expects
to continue operations without change. What will happen next is crucial.
Considering Bell Farms’ financial investment, I expect that they
won’t quit here, but will increase their pressures to exploit
the council by increasing offers of money.
What would you like to see happen on the reservation?
My dream is to bring back the buffalo. It will do the land some good
and the Lakota people will think more about who we are. As for the
hog
farm, we are still working against incredible odds. We have determined
spirits but we need public outrage—and lots of prayers, too.
To learn more about Native American rights and environmental justice
and to get involved, contact Wakening Indigenous Nations Defense and
Support (WINDS) at (914) 769-4005 or tokalasa@aol.com.
WINDS is co-hosting a benefit, First Voices: An Evening of Indigenous
Culture, Art and Politics for the efforts of the Lakota to stop industrial
hog farms from destroying their land. Join Rosalie Little Thunder and
Lakota elder Russell Eagle Bear, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of Waterkeeper
Alliance, and others. Thursday, May 30th, 7 pm at the Jacob Burns Theater,
Pleasantville NY. Info: 914-769-4005 or tokalasa@aol.com.
Tracy Basile is executive editor of Animal Welfare Trust (www.animalwelfaretrust.org),
a nonprofit organization based in Mamaroneck, NY, concerned with public
awareness on issues important to the welfare of animals.
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