Category: RT Press Releases

On the Anniversary of a Catastrophic Oil Spill, Water Protectors Rally Against the Line 3 Pipeline

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cross-posted from Giniw Collective

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: giniw@protonmail.com
March 3, 2021
More than 70 Peaceful Protesters Cited, 1 arrested*
On the Anniversary of a Catastrophic Oil Spill, 75 Water Protectors Rally Against the Line 3 Pipeline
(GRAND RAPIDS, MN) Today, a crowd of 75+ water protectors commemorated the 30th anniversary of the largest inland oil spill on Turtle Island (so-called North America). 30 years ago today, on March 3rd, 1991, the Line 3 pipeline ruptured spilling over 1.7 million gallons of oil near Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Water protectors are rallying against Enbridge’s Line 3 expansion to stop the pipeline and ensure that an oil spill like that never happens on Indigenous land again.
The 1991 oil spill flowed into Prairie River, a tributary of the Mississippi that flows into the river near its sensitive headwaters. Oil made it half a mile away from the Mississippi, but the thick sheet of ice covering the Prairie River stopped the oil from flowing further than that. With a changing climate and a constantly warming planet, we may not have been so lucky if the spill had occured today. Since 2002 alone, Enbridge has reported 307 oil spills to federal regulators, totaling 2.8 million gallons of oil. The 1991 spill, not included in that figure, spilled more than half as many gallons as Enbridge has reported since 2002.
Water protectors marching today stand in solidarity with the right to live and thrive for all people. As one water protector at the rally said, “with the approaching trial of Derek Chauvin, we uplift the interconnectedness of the struggle to protect treaty rights, clean waters, sacred space and Indigenous sovereignty with the right of all people to live in a world free of oppression and destruction of the earth”

Giniw Collective: Water Protectors Blockade Multiple Line 3 Worksites

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cross-posted from the Giniw Collective

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 24, 2021
Water Protectors Blockade Multiple Line 3 Worksites
(Savanna State Forest, MN) Wednesday morning, 3 water protectors blockaded over one dozen active Enbridge Line 3 worksites with 2 different blockades. On one side, 2 Indigenous water protectors locked into a flipped over vehicle — on the other, 1 water protector ascended nearly 40ft in the air on a bi-pod blockading the entry road.
As water protectors rallied at both sites, snow fell on the surrounding wetlands and forest slated for destruction by Enbridge’s mostly out-of-state, transplant workforce.
Non-violent resistance to Line 3 continues to grow across Anishinaabe treaty territory in northern Minnesota. The new moon, Onaabini-giizis “hard crust on snow” moon, is about to begin, signaling an end to the winter snows.
Big Wind, Northern Arapaho Tribe, “As a tribal citizen from an “oil and gas tribe”, I know we are not devoid from the societal norms that prioritizes profit over the planet. For generations, multinational corporations have douped us all with their hush money. No more. We are waking up. Our silence will not be bought.”
Danny Leclaire, Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, said, “PROTECT THE WATER, PROTECT THE MISSISSIPPI, LINE 3 WOULD RUIN THE DRINKING WATER TO MILLIONS DOWNSTREAM. WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO FUTURE GENERATIONS TO STOP THIS MADNESS.”
Water Protector Rose said, “I want to live in a world where we are deeply connected to the land and the water. Line 3 is a disease of greed and destruction. I am taking a risk as an act of love for the forest, the wetlands, the rivers and the lakes I grew up with. I am proud to stand with those Indigenous to this land who are fighting for all of our futures.”
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Wadena, MN: Three Water Protectors Lock Inside Line 3 Pipeline Segment

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 16, 2021
Contact: giniw@protonmail.com
(Wadena, MN) Tuesday morning, 3 water protectors locked to one another inside of a Line 3 pipeline segment near the Crow Wing River while dozens more rallied in support.
As water protectors sang and danced for the river, those locked inside the pipe lifted up the struggle of Indigenous peoples and the voices of future generations not yet born.
The location is near the proposed crossing by Line 3 through the Crow Wing River, one of the frozen rivers Enbridge applied to drill under and was denied.
Multiple tribally-led lawsuits are yet to be heard as Enbridge works non-stop to bulldoze Line 3 through Anishinaabe territory and the hundreds of wetlands and water bodies that lie in its path. The route is through an area untouched by tar sands infrastructure, as Enbridge plans to build a new corridor for its lines.
Ariee Shaw said, “There are two sides in this fight against Line 3. Those protecting water, land, food, and Indigenous sovereignty. And those protecting corporate greed and earth’s destruction. I’m locking down today because I know what side I’m on.”
Jack Keenan said, “I am locking down in solidarity with the Anishinaabe, the Wet’suwet’en, and all people whose survival is threatened by so-called “critical infrastructure.” To risk the health of waterways and wild rice beds in service of fossil fuel extraction is insanity; to disregard the lives and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples is genocide, plain and simple.”
Rae said, “My name is Rae. I am in northern “MN” fighting the Line 3 pipeline. When I am not here, I am a student at Macalester College. I have taken classes on white supremacy, colonization, and capitalism at Macalester. It markets itself as a place engaged with social justice yet is invested directly in the financial industries behind Enbridge’s Line 3. As we put our bodies on the line, Macalester’s hypocrisy is palpable. Macalester produces performative allyship. The only tangible way I have found to actively engage in anti-colonial work is by distancing myself from capitalism, following Indigenous wisdom of Giniw Collective, and engaging in direct action to Stop Line 3.”
Felix said, “Line 3 is carving a path of death and destruction to sacred water, ecosystems, relationships, and the Indigenous people who steward these lands. It affect all of us — anyone who drinks water. We must protect the land, honor the treaties, and stop Line 3. Extractive industries serve the white man’s greed and have no accountability to the wild and sacred. To this — we say no more. We all have a role in this fight. So find yours, be in solidarity with each other, especially with Indigenous land and Water Protectors.”

Eight Water Protectors Arrested on Line 3 Worksite During Polar Vortex

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cross-posted from Camp Migizi

[FOND DU LAC, MN] Despite frigid temperatures, pipeline construction in Northern Minnesota continues to be met with active resistance from the growing movement to stop Line 3. Tuesday morning, two water protectors were arrested in Fond du Lac while locking themselves to construction equipment in what felt like -26 degree weather. They were joined by nearly 30 other water protectors who occupied the site, 6 of whom were arrested in an ongoing escalation of police response to frontline protests.

In the words of Ezra Waskey, one of the water protectors who locked themself to machinery, “What is happening here is colonization; what is happening here started in 1492 and it never stopped. We are here on the Enbridge destruction site, putting our bodies in the way of this horrendous act, to stop Line 3!” The other water protector who locked themself to the construction equipment, Dylan, said that they were doing this to “Honor Indigenous lifeways and leadership because everything must change. Kill the Black Snake.”

As the water protectors bared the cold, their actions blocked construction of the Line 3 tar sands pipeline for over three hours. One of the water protectors there said, “We are putting our own bodies at risk because we know we must. By building this pipeline Enbridge is endangering all life on this planet, and even the lives of their own workers.” Just last week, an Enbridge worker was put into critical condition after his machinery broke through the ice near La Salle Creek, submerging him in freezing waters.

As the water protectors were leaving the construction site following a police dispersal order, 6 other water protectors were also arrested. We spoke with an organizer from Pipeline Legal Action Network who shared that, “Recently we’ve seen law enforcement escalating their response to water protectors on the frontlines of this movement. They’ve threatened the use of less-than-lethal weapons on protestors on numerous occasions and set exorbitantly high bail and restrictive conditions of release from jail. The arrest of 6 water protectors today is a tragic yet anticipated continuation of this trend and is something we expect to see going forward.”

A press release from the Movement to Resist Line 3. For more information, contact Camp Migizi on Facebook or email media@resistline3.org. High resolution photos and interviews with movement leadership available on request.

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