Crown Stays Intimidation Charges Against Blood Tribe Woman by Country 95 News, June 20, 2012
CARDSTON: Intimidation charges against Lois Frank were stayed by the Crown in Cardston court Wednesday morning. Frank was scheduled to go to trial on the matter. She was charged September 9th, 2011 after she blocked a road used by an oil and gas company on the Blood Reserve with two other women. Co-accused Elle-Maija Tailfeathers and Jill Crop Eared Wolf both decided to not fight the charges and went through the alternative measures program, which resulted in the charges against them being dropped. Frank stated that she’s relieved for the case to be over, but noted that her environmental concerns regarding oil and gas fracking still exist. She explained that the major issue rests with the leaders of the Blood Tribe who agreed to allow those companies onto their land. She went on to say, “The onus is on the Blood Tribe chief and council, to be careful what they sign, the deals they get into and the fact that they should be consulting with the people. We haven’t had a band meeting for years, I don’t know how many years. My question is what do we do from here? I mean the leaders need to start listening to the people. The leaders need to start being responsible, to have a heart, and not to be doing things based on ego and money.”
Frank then commented that while she wants to see chief and council change, it’s not something that she’ll address right away saying, “I’m going to wait till we get a new bunch, I give up on this bunch. You know they’ve not responded to people, they don’t talk to people, they go to Calgary, they go all over, and I don’t mean to be critical, but you know they’re not around for us. So we need to tell people to start voting reponsibly, don’t just vote for your relatives, you know, vote for people who care.” When asked if she would consider running in the upcoming election on the Blood Reserve, Frank said, “Do I look like I want a target on my back?” She then added that she feels she can do the most good by continuing to teach. [Emphasis added]
Source: Country 95 News