"We want pipelines and infrastructures for people and communities - not for oil companies that are going to poison our water and lead to more of the climate change destroying the planet.  Our Indigenous communities need clean water pipes - not oil pipelines."  

This action follows the protest of Standing Rock Sioux tribe against the U.S. four-state Dakota Access Pipeline that succeeded in having the U.S. government halt construction. The Standing Rock Sioux is among the signatories the Treaty Alliance Against Tar Sands Expansion of Alberta Tar Sands production. "Tar sands expansion is a collective threat to our Nations. It requires a collective response," the treaty states, against this project "including for the transport of such expanded production, whether by pipeline, rail or tanker."

The treaty says the proposed projects "threaten many Indigenous Nations' territories, waterways, shores and communities with the very real risk of toxic and hazardous oil spills." The alliance vows to work toward a "more equitable and sustainable future." The Alliance pretends to carry on peacefully its protest "but all options are on the table." "The chiefs plan to meet soon to confirm strategy for the fight. They will also look at international legal action," reports Newscast of Toronto. Tar sands, call also oil sands, or more technically bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and water, saturated with a dense and extremely  viscous  form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen (or colloquially as tar due to its superficially similar appearance). Natural bitumen deposits are reported in many countries, but in particular are found in extremely large quantities in Canada. Other large reserves are located in Kazakhstan and Russia. In Africa they are found in Popular Republic of Congo (Brazzaville Congo). The extraction of petrol from tar sand wreaks havoc on the superficial layer of good earth appropriate for agriculture, uses a disproportionate quantity of water and, according to the study ordered by the Government of Alberta, produces 12% higher emissions than from conventional oil.  

"By aligning themselves with other Indigenous nations across Canada and the northern U.S., participants hope to ensure that dangerous projects are not able to 'escape' by using alternative routes." the National Observer explained. This Alliance treaty came out on the same day that a climate change advocacy group said Canada should stop any new oil and gas developments if it wants to reach its climate change targets. The treaty itself is a good news as it shows how Indigenous People take their future seriously and how much they have been empowered to defend themselves and nature.

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