Transparency
Transparency is a core tenet of our resistance.
Transparency from corporate and city government officials has been a problem since day one. The city government of Lawton, where the refinery is planned, has conducted itself with a complete lack of transparency and consistently dodge public accountability. The people of Lawton were never asked about bringing Westwin to town. Instead, they were presented with a deceitful Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) - a fund set aside to address several community projects. This CIP allocated millions of taxpayer dollars to Westwin to fund their refinery; however, it was done under the guise of Blue Braveheart Project, an anonymous pseudonym devised to mislead the public. After it was revealed that the Blue Braveheart Project was actually Westwin’s refinery, there was vast public outrage, leading to the formation of the Westwin Resistance.
The City of Lawton has continued to dodge accountability by refusing to hold a public town hall and field public sentiment on the proposed refinery. Furthermore, in a possible violation of the Open Meeting Act (OMA), Title 25, Oklahoma Statutes 301-314, Mayor Stanley Booker has instituted a last-minute rules change limiting audience participation in city council meetings.
Listen to coalition member Ashley Lamont call out the city government in a recent city meeting
One proven method of ensuring transparency with tribes is the implementation of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). FPIC, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007, recognizes the obligation of states to consult with Indigenous Peoples and obtain their Free, Prior and Informed Consent on measures that may impact them. FPIC lays out a comprehensive process for companies and governments to follow before ground is broken on potentially harmful projects. Via the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN): “At the core of the Free Prior, and Informed Consent standard is the acknowledgement that under certain circumstances, companies must accept that projects will not proceed – especially when our Native Nations/Indigenous Peoples say NO! For most companies, this is a difficult pill to swallow.”
Click this link for more information on FPIC.
Westwin Resistance demands that Westwin Elements, the city of Lawton, the state of Oklahoma and the U.S. federal government comply with the standards of FPIC as ratified by the United Nations.