Protecting the Sacred Badger-Two Medicine from Oil & Gas Drilling.

Situation:

The Blackfeet people have used the Badger-Two Medicine region for more than 10,000 years. Adjacent to Glacier National Park, this sacred area was threatened by oil and gas leases that were granted illegally in the 19th century. For 30 years, the Blackfeet Nation called for the cancellation of these leases.

In 2015, the Blackfeet Nation, working with a lead foundation and NGO partners, asked Pyramid to develop a public awareness campaign to cancel oil and gas leases on the Badger-Two Medicine.

Strategy:

Working with tribal leadership, we developed the story of Blackfeet’s cultural and spiritual connections to the land and what would be lost were drilling allowed. We brought that story to life through visually compelling materials that showed up on billboards, in print, on social media, and a Change.org campaign. To spread the story, we brought together an alliance of tribes, Native organizations (e.g., the National Congress of American Indians), local business owners, and faith leaders, and engaged conservation groups and some unexpected allies, including Pearl Jam. Our coalition brought the issue to Montana’s congressional leadership, which led to the eventual support of Senator Jon Tester.

Result:

The coalition secured more than 50 media stories and 50 million media impressions. The Tribe’s Change.org petition attracted more than 7,000 supporters. In the end, the U.S. Department of the Interior canceled the Solenex oil and gas drilling lease.