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

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

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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Over 50 Water Protectors walk onto Line 3 Pipeline easement, two lock themselves to an excavator laying pipe

cross-posted from Camp Migizi

Over 50 Water Protectors walk onto Line 3 Pipeline easement, two lock themselves to an excavator laying pipe

Contact: media@resistline3.org

(FOND DU LAC) On Tuesday afternoon, two water protectors locked themselves to an excavator laying pipe on an Enbridge worksite near Cloquet, MN. They marched onto the easement with over 50 activists, shutting down construction on the Line 3 tar sands pipeline for much of the work day.  The group, led by Anishinaabe warriors from Camp Migizi, then gathered at a sacred site, which has been desecrated by the pipeline’s construction, to pray.

In the words of one of the people who locked themselves to the construction equipment, Charles King, “Our state laws are not working in the public interest and for the public good. We are endangering future generations… and that’s got to stop.” The other water protector locked to the excavator, a Fond Du Lac band member, declined to comment, saying that their actions speak louder than their words.

Since construction began in November of 2020, Line 3 has been met with growing resistance from Indigenous water protectors and allies on the frontlines. Just last night, another water protector who leapt onto a section of pipe suspended over a trench, delayed construction for over seven hours before being extracted by the police.

On the political front, State Representative Ilhan Omar made a visit to the pipeline’s easement on Saturday to stand in solidarity with Indigenous communities resisting the pipeline. Nationally, although President Biden recently revoked key permits for the Keystone XL pipeline, he has not taken a clear stand on Line 3, another tar sands pipeline that would be catastrophic for the climate and Indigenous sovereignty.

Line 3 violates the Treaty Rights of Anishinaabe peoples by endangering critical natural resources in the 1854, 1855, and 1867 treaty areas. It has also been decried by Indigenous communities for its role in the ongoing epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives. This demographic is put at risk for sex trafficking by the presence of “man camps,” the temporary worker housing used for pipeline construction.

For more information, contact Camp Migizi on Facebook or email media@resistline3.org. High resolution photos and interviews with movement leaders available on request.

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Water Protector Climbs onto Section of Line 3 Pipeline to Prevent Damage to Pipe

cross-posted from Camp Migizi

Water Protector Climbs onto Section of Line 3 Pipeline to Prevent Damage to Pipe

[FOND DU LAC] Late Monday afternoon, three water protectors were arrested for blocking construction of Line 3. Two of the protestors were arrested while blocking the entrance to the site, while the third, Jeff Nichols, climbed onto a section of the pipeline dangling over a trench. Jeff sat on the pipe for nearly five hours, preventing workers from putting the pipe onto frozen sand bags which would have damaged the structural integrity of the pipeline.

In a Facebook livestream from Camp Migizi, a water protector camp based out of Fond Du Lac, Jeff shared that he felt compelled to act when he saw the workers were about to put the pipe into the ground onto frozen sand bags. In the livestream, it was also shared that OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, put out a mandate ordering Enbridge to not use frozen sandbags, as they force the pipe to bend, causing fractures and leading to spills.

On the livestream, Jeff can be heard saying, “It’s not even a question. This one will leak. The sandbags are frozen. You guys have already received violations for that” while other protestors shouted “all pipelines leak.”

Line 3, if built, would cross over 200 hundred bodies of water in Northern Minnesota, including the Mississippi River. Enbridge itself is responsible for numerous oil spills in Minnesota, including the largest ever inland oil spill in North America when nearly 1.7 million barrels of crude oil spilled in Grand Rapids.

For more information, contact Camp Migizi on Facebook.