CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

For Native Tribes It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again

Photo by Goutham Ganesh Sivanandam

When the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held confirmation hearings for current Department of Interior head Doug Burgum, he made it quite clear that he viewed public lands, lands belonging to the American public, as an asset on “America’s balance sheet”. His implication was pretty clear, these public lands should be used to turn a profit. Public lands belong to all Americans and were set aside for their protection, not for profit. But, no surprise, Burgum fully supports exploitative industries like oil, gas and mining on public lands, so who’s balance sheet will benefit? At an energy conference in Houston last year he noted, “If we’re going to drill, baby, drill, then we’ve got to be asked to also mine, baby, mine.”

So much for conservation and environmental protection of our public lands— but like most members of the current administration, using your office to extract profit wherever possible is acceptable and “smart” — protecting the public trust takes a back seat. In 2024 the President asked a gathering of oil and gas executives at his Florida estate hosted by Burgum, to raise $1 billion for his campaign, for which in return, he would roll back environmental protections requested by the oil industry. In........

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