A longtime legislative leader from the Crow Tribe in Montana testified on Capitol Hill earlier this week, sending a strong message to Washington state politicians blocking Crow coal from getting to market.

CJ Stewart is also on the board of directors for the National Tribal Energy Association. Full video of Stewart's testimony is below, but when it comes to Washington State, here's what Stewart had to say later in the hearing:

Right now we have 70 percent unemployment. Do they care? We care about endangered species but there’s only 14,000 Crows left. I believe we’re endangered as well. When you are talking about three percent of the population in the United States and 60 percent of this nation’s good resources lie in Indian Country. Only 88 percent of those resources have been tapped. Only 12 percent of Native America have been able to tap their resources. There is something wrong with that picture…”

We shouldn’t be giving the right to these states to break the law and impede other nations from trying to feed their people. I mean that’s wrong. Not only is it breaking the law but it’s morally wrong. We need the ability to establish our jobs. To have jobs.

Full video of Stewart's testimony:

 

By the way, for those of you who heard CJ Stewart join us our Montana Talks radio show earlier this week- we talked about the centennial of Crow Fair which is happening this week in Crow Agency. Q2 News featured video of the grand entrance.

 

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