MILWAUKEE (Sputnik) — The Sac and Fox nation in Oklahoma is worried about possible rupture of a large oil storage facility in the tribe's jurisdiction that could lead to contamination, tribal leader and committee chair Robert Williamson told Sputnik.
"We are located where in our jurisdiction we have the largest storage facility in North America, which is an oil facility, in Cushing, Oklahoma. So, with an oil and its storage comes dangers of ruptures, contamination or anything like that," Williamson said on Tuesday. "It's really high."
Williamson said they are addressing this issue with the local authorities.
"We are on an emergency management team, we get notified of anything that's going on right now, and now we've been working with the company Plains All American," he said.
The tribal leader stressed that they would like other Indian nations to get involved to address this issue.
Besides, he expressed hope that the US Administration will also get more involved with these and other issues the tribe is facing.
"Our little tribe of some 4,000 people has a lot of concerns. We have earthquakes at home. EPA standards, we can't build right now in one of our towns," he added.
Williamson spoke on the sidelines of the 74th Annual Convention & Marketplace in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, organized by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) where the representatives of the tribes gathered to discuss the pressing issues facing the Native Americans.
The six-day event in Milwaukee, that kicked off on Sunday and will last through October 20, will focus on pressing matters, including tribal legislation, health, education and the Native vote.
