Tag: Line 3

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

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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

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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.

Water Protector Climbs Into Line 3 Pipeline Trench To Stop Work

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cross-posted from Camp Miigizi

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 18, 2021
Contact: message Camp Migizi on Facebook

Water Protector Climbs Into Line 3 Pipeline Trench To Stop Work

(Fond Du Lac, MN) Monday morning, Nia Zekan, a water protector, climbed into a pipe trench along the Line 3 Pipeline easement, shutting down work for approximately four hours. Nia halted construction at this Enbridge worksite while dozens more stood around in support of Nia and resistance to Line 3.

The site is located on the Fond Du Lac reservation in so-called northern Minnesota, right next to Camp Migizi, a recently-opened space for water protectors. Continue reading

Two Water Protectors Lock Down to Enbridge Line 3 Excavators Blocking Active Construction

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cross-posted from the Ginew Collective

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: giniw@protonmail.com
November 18, 2020

Two Water Protectors Lock Down to Enbridge Line 3 Excavators Blocking Active Construction

(Two Inlets, MN) This morning, two water protectors locked their bodies through the treads of excavators working on a pump station for Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline, as dozens of others rallied in support.

Last week, Democratic Governor Tim Walz’ administration approved the last major permits needed by Enbridge, a Canadian multi-national seeking to build the Line 3 expansion project to carry Alberta tar sands to the shore of Lake Superior. The administration approved sending up to 1M barrels of tar sands per day through 212 water bodies and 818 wetlands in Anishinaabe treaty territory of northern Minnesota.

On Monday, the 12 of 17 members of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Environmental Justice Advisory Group resigned, calling the permit approvals a continuation of Minnesota’s “war on black and brown people”. George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, earlier this year.

When asked why they would take such a risk to their safety and freedom, Betsy Foy, 20, (St. Paul), said, “I grew up in Nebraska hearing about the devastation the Keystone pipeline would cause, so when I moved to Minnesota and learned about Line 3, I felt called to take action. Even if I can’t stop something on my own, it’s vital to have many people in the movement standing in solidarity.”

Mira Grinsfelder, 24, (St. Paul), said, “Having grown up on occupied Anishinaabe and Dakota land, I feel a responsibility to defend that land and the rights of the people who have a relationship to it. If the US government won’t defend Anishinaabe treaty rights, we will. If the Minnesota government won’t protect the water, we will.”