Blackfoot Confederacy leaders call US government grizzly delisting an act of 'cultural genocide'

Standoff, Alberta – Demonstrating the strength and conviction that enabled their ancestors to defend a territory that once stretched over two US states and two Canadian provinces, leaders of the Blackfoot Confederacy are mounting a vigorous challenge to the US government’s proposed removal of Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections from the grizzly bear.

“Here in Blackfoot Country the grizzly is revered as a very spiritual part of our ceremonies, especially the Medicine Pipe bundles,” explains Blood Tribe Councilman, Mike Bruised Head.

In a letter to US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, Chief Vincent Yellow Old Woman, Chief of the Siksika Nation, emphasized the significance of the grizzly bear in Blackfoot culture.

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