Tag: 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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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 Protectors Lock to Enbridge Office Gates, Work Halted

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photo via Ginew

Cross-posted from Stop Line 3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 19, 2019
Contact: ginew@protonmail.com
ayse@ran.org

Water Protectors Lock to Enbridge Office Gates, Work Halted

Bemidji, MN — In the early morning, 6 water protectors locked to the gates of a key Enbridge office in Bemidji, MN in protest of proposed tar sands pipeline project Line 3. 2 chained their necks to the gate, risking personal safety for the hundreds of watersheds Enbridge proposes to send nearly 1M barrels of tar sands from Alberta through on its way to the shores of Lake Superior.

Enbridge responded by closing its office for the day.

Wild rice season is nearing, in which Anishinaabe people will take to their canoes to harvest the sacred food that is at the heart of Anishinaabe culture. Enbridge plans to send tar sands through dozens of wild rice watersheds, irrevocably impacting its growth and survival.

Line 3 is one proposed infrastructure project out of the Alberta tar sands, alongside TransCanada’s Keystone XL and Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain pipelines. Tar sands is the dirtiest fossil fuel in the world. Weeks ago, the Teck Frontier Mine, a proposed tar sands expansion twice the size of Vancouver was recommended by a board of Canadian environmental regulators.

“As an able-bodied and willing person, it is my duty to stand with Anishinaabe people who are putting their lives on the line every day standing up for all of us, for all of our water.” Kieran Cuddy said, while locked to the front gate of Enbridge’s office.

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Water Protectors Lock Down to Stop Line 3 Construction

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via Ginew Collective 

Water Protectors Lock Down to Stop Line 3 Construction, Powerlines Built for Tar Sands Pipeline Through Army Corps Land as Enbridge Seeks Water Crossing Permits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2019
Contact: ginew@protonmail.com

(Park Rapids, MN) This morning, water protectors supported by Ginew Collective, Northfield Against Line 3 and others halted work at an active construction site on the proposed Line 3 route. Three water protectors locked themselves to logging equipment while over a dozen concerned citizens rallied in support.

Great River Energy, Enbridge’s named utility provider for numerous pump stations it needs to power its tar sands pipeline, is logging through water crossings and wetlands next to the Line 3 route.

Enbridge has significant unmet energy needs to power the Line 3 route, and notes its partnership with Great River Energy in its application to the Army Corps of Engineers to bulldoze through wetlands and water crossings. Great River Energy specifies in its Army Corps application that it is building the electric transmission line to power Enbridge’s pipeline unbuilt pump station.

Minnesota has not issued the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) or DNR permits required for Line 3 construction across wetlands or water crossings. Minnesota announced the 401 water quality certification process will not be complete until fall 2019.

“Enbridge pretends to follow the process while it is busy bulldozing through our forests and wetlands,” said Frances Weatherall while locked to logging equipment.

“This is a years-long plan to send more dirty tar sands through Minnesota, don’t be fooled into thinking they won’t destroy as much as they can while they wait for their final state permits,” said Mollie Weatherall, locked with her sister on the same machine.

Jonas, who was also locked to a machine said, “This is a step towards decolonization, Enbridge is carving up the planet and our government doesn’t care. Today it’s my turn to put my body between the planet I want to protect and the attacks against our water, our climate, and Native sovereignty.”

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Link to fundraise for bail: PayPal.me/nfldal3

Link to Facebook post with press release & pictures: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2254586604870599&id=2061510617511533