White Eagle

by Craig Rucker, August 26, 2018 1 Comment @ CFACT

White Eagle is from the Cree tribe of Northern Alberta. He is also a Hollywood actor who starred in the Netflix series Hell on Wheels.

Like many other indigenous peoples from his part of Canada, he has been pushed front and center, smack into the middle of a heated debate between “industry and Greens” over energy development.

I had a chance to meet up with him this week while speaking in Calgary.  We discussed both the dynamics of the energy debate as well as the challenges facing his people.

It was an eye-opener, to say the least.

For decades, Canada has been supplying much of the world with bountiful supplies of oil and gas from an energy-rich region known as the “Tar Sands.” Located near Ft. McMurray in Northern Alberta, this area contains 164 billion barrels or 96 percent of all of Canada’s oil reserves. It also provides some 228,00 direct and indirect jobs to Canadians, many from the “First Nations.”

While most people from the “Great White North” rejoice over this blessing, radical environmentalists don’t. Why? Because the fight against the Tar Sands, they say, is “ground zero” in their battle to save the world from global warming.

As part of their dishonest campaign to stifle Tar Sands development, the Greens have sought to erect barriers to block access to it. Americans know a little about one of their biggest campaigns centered on stopping the Keystone Pipeline. But there are other smaller ones as well – such as killing the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline running west from Alberta to uber-liberal British Columbia.

This is where White Eagle’s people come in. While the Greens have been effective at convincing certain local and provincial leaders to oppose pipelines, they have only had mixed results with indigenous peoples. The reason: Because many of these tribes are poor and in desperate need of economic development.

I enjoyed my time getting to know White Eagle and learning the story of his people. We have become friends. I gave him a free copy of our groundbreaking movie Climate Hustle to help him educate his people about the lies of global warming and urged him to take advantage of the energy boom that could greatly profit the Cree. He, in turn, has invited me to spend time with him on his reservation near Slave Lake – an offer I can hardly pass up!

I am also grateful to our allies from the Friends of Science, Modern Miracle Network and others, who invited me to give a talk and are fighting the good fight up north. God bless you in your efforts!

Till next we meet!