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Indigenous leaders led protests in front of the White House and briefly occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs, demanding an end to the use of fossil fuels

DeArbea Walker
Updated ·2-min read
People raise their fists at a climate change protest outside the White House
Demonstrators have been holding climate change protests outside the White House since Indigenous Peoples' Day on October 11, 2021. Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

  • Indigenous leaders and more than 50 protesters occupied the lobby of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

  • Police arrested 185 demonstrators at the White House and Bureau of Indian Affairs on Thursday.

  • This demonstration follows a week of environmental action protests in DC from indigenous groups.

Environmental and indigenous activists protested in front of the White House and in the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Thursday. More than 185 people were arrested between both locations, bringing the total arrested this week to over 530.

The group has been demonstrating in a week-long action known as People vs. Fossil Fuels that began on Indigenous Peoples' Day on Monday. They're demanding an end to the use of fossil fuels and for President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs, housed within the Department of the Interior, is assigned with managing the US government's relations with American Indian and Alaska Native people offering federal support to tribal nations' governments.

Jen Falcon, who was one of the demonstrators present, said the group has been working hard all week to make their voices heard.

"This has been a historic week of action for indigenous peoples," Falcon told Insider. "They were demanding Biden honor the treaties and stop Line 3."

Falcon was referring to the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline, which a group of activists fought the expansion through the state of Minnesota over the summer and into the fall. The pipeline carries crude oil from Canada's oil sands region to Lake Superior's western tip, and the oil began flowing on October 1.

The group of activists in DC on Thursday initially tried to enter Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's office, but Falcon said they encountered a heavy police presence that kettled them into the lobby of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

This is the first time indigenous leaders have led such a demonstration into the Bureau of Indian Affairs since 1972.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs didn't respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Insider