Around 210,000 gallons of crude oil spilled on Thursday from the Keystone Pipeline in South Dakota, according to owner TransCanada. The pipeline’s proposed extension, the Keystone XL, made headlines in recent years over indigenous rights and environmental concerns.

Even though President Trump lifted an Obama-era cancellation of Keystone XL, the oil spill comes only days before Nebraska regulators decide whether to allow TransCanada to extend Keystone XL through their state. The spill happened less than 30 miles from the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation and ran through wetlands that cross into the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate tribe’s territory. 

The spill also came on the last day of the United Nations Climate Summit (COP 23) in Bonn, Germany, the conference tasked with implementing the Paris Climate Agreement (COP 21). Several indigenous leaders presented in Bonn, including Dallas Goldtooth, He’s an organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network. 

Goldtooth, a Dakota cultural language teacher, poet, and traditional artist, joins Worldview to discuss the Bonn Climate Conference and the Keystone oil spill.