The days where Native American tribes were forced to give up their land are far from over.
Here are four sacred Native American sites in danger of being destroyed in the name of corporate greed.
Badger-Two Medicine
The Blackfeet Tribe calls the land of Badger-Two Medicine “the Backbone of the World,” the place where the story of their people began. But now the mineral-rich land, located in modern day Michigan, is in danger of being drilled for oil.
Solenext, LCC, the last of the 47 leaseholders of the land, filed a lawsuit so that drilling could begin. Earl Old Person, a member of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council since 1954, is fighting to preserve what he calls “an altar to the Blackfeet Confederacy.” He wrote a letter to Obama urging the president to intervene.
The Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota peoples, who suffer from systemic poverty, turned down $1.5 billion offered to them for the Black Hills, land the Keystone XL Pipeline would intersect. That’s how much this land matters to them.
Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Cyril Scott has called the Keystone XL Pipeline “an act of war.”
The Osage Mounds
The Chahokian Mounds are the artifacts of an ancient, complex civilization. The modern Osage consider themselves to be descendants of these mound builders, the architects of the most important city to the Mississippians.
But the NFL’S St. Louis Rams are planning on paving over what’s left of it to build a new stadium. Indian Country Today Media Network reports that the project has a $1 billion price tag and that its construction is still in its early development.
Thursday morning, Walmart had a flashy announcement: Thanks to corporate tax cuts, it was giving its employees bonuses of up to $1,000. Walmart and President Trump pointed to the announcement as proof that the corporate tax cuts are really a boon to working-class Americans.
Walmart employees are eligible for the $1,000 bonus only if they’ve worked at the company for 20 years. Most Walmart employees, of course, haven’t worked there that long. Those employees will receive a smaller bonus based on seniority. Walmart didn’t explain exactly how the sliding scale will work but said the total value of the bonuses will be $400 million. Walmart has about 2.1 million employees, which works out to be an average bonus of about $190.
The one-time bonus Walmart announced this morning amounts to just over 2 percent of the total value of the tax cut to the company.
In the fiscal year 2017, Walmart had pre-tax profits of about $20.5 billion and paid an effective federal tax rate of around 30 percent. With a new corporate tax rate of 21 percent, the corporate tax cut is worth at least $1.85 billion to Walmart every year. Since this cut is permanent, the true benefits to Walmart will grow much larger over time. But it’s safe to say that, over 10 years, this corporate tax cut will be worth over $18 billion to Walmart.
But now it appears the announcement was timed carefully to cover for thousands of unannounced layoffs.
Business Insider reports that today, Walmart is abruptly closing numerous Sam’s Clubs stores across the United States. In some cases “employees were not informed of the closures prior to showing up to work on Thursday” and “learned that their store would be closing when they found the store’s doors locked and a notice announcing the closure.”
Sam’s Club shutdown? Employees at this S Loop store tell me they showed up to work and were told store is closed effective today. Sign on door says the same thing. Hearing other stores also affected. Waiting for answers from parent company, Walmart #khou11pic.twitter.com/RtbY7EhiIK
Walmart confirmed the abrupt closings and offered an explanation of sorts on Twitter. “Closing clubs is never easy,” the company said through its verified corporate account.
After a thorough review of our existing portfolio, we’ve decided to close a series of clubs and better align our locations with our strategy. Closing clubs is never easy and we’re committed to working with impacted members and associates through this transition.
Business Insider identified at least 68 stores across the country that closed today. Three of the stores are located in Hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico. More stores are slated to be closed in the coming days.
Walmart’s behavior is part of a pattern of corporate misdirection related to the GOP tax cuts. AT&T and Comcast both announced bonuses for their employees while also laying off thousands.
While Trump talks about a “jobs boom,” job growth was slower in 2017 than in any year since 2010.
MULTIPLE OTHER COMPANIES HAVE DONE THIS AS WELL INCLUDING COMCAST AND AT&T.
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