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Water Protectors
Indigenous, environmental and community leaders released the following statements after news broke that oil will begin flowing through the new Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota as Enbridge announced that the pipeline is “substantially completed and set to be fully operational.”
More than 600 people have now been arrested or received citations over protests amid growing opposition to the Line 3 oil sands pipeline currently under construction through Minnesota.
In the face of an alarming new IPCC report, droughts and wildfires, the Biden Administration and Minnesota elected officials face increasingly loud calls to stop the Line 3 tar sands pipeline.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2021
Press Contact: Cassidy DiPaola, cassidy@stgresults.com, 401-441-7196
NEW SIX-FIGURE AD CAMPAIGN:
Ads in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Minneapolis Star Tribune Feature Anishinaabe Water Protectors:
“Honor the treaties. Honor your commitments to climate action. Stop the Line 3 tar sands pipeline”
(Washington, DC) -- Today, Honor the Earth, in partnership with Indigenous Environmental Network, renowned artists, donors, and movement leaders, launched a six-figure ad buy, including full page print ads in the New York Times and Minneapolis Star Tribune, and digital ads in the Washington Post, calling on President Biden and Jaime Pinkham of the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to stand with the Anishinaabe people and stop the reckless Enbridge Line 3 pipeline in northern Minnesota.
The proposed Line 3 pipeline would carry nearly a million barrels of tar sands oil -- one of the dirtiest fossil fuels on the planet -- per day through untouched wetlands and the treaty territory of Anishinaabe people; endangering the headwaters of the Mississippi River and critical hunting, fishing and wild rice areas.
The ad creative features portraits by Nedahness Greene (@nedahnessgreene) of Anishinaabe women water protectors who have devoted their lives to fighting the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline and includes the names of 200+ artists, donors, and movement leaders including Leonardo DiCaprio, Joaquin Phoenix, Bon Iver, Amy Schumer, US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, Mark Ruffalo, Jane Fonda, and Tom Steyer.
Two of the water protectors featured in this ad, Gina Peltier and Nancy Beaulieu, were among seven arrested on Tuesday night, August 3rd, while practicing a traditional ceremony for healing at the site of Enbridge’s recent pipeline spills near the Headwaters of the Mississippi. Tara Houska, another Indigenous water protector featured in the ad was among 20 people brutally arrested last Friday, July 30th, as they peacefully protested at the drill pad on the Red River. Police officers at the scene met the peaceful water protectors with mace, tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper bullets (Video) -- the first time these weapons have been used against Line 3 water protectors, marking a significant police escalation.
The campaign follows on the heels of a letter signed by more than 200 artists, donors, and movement leaders calling on President Biden to follow through with his campaign promises to respect Indigenous and Tribal rights and to take bold climate action, and cancel Line 3 before it is too late. The letter was delivered to White House chief of staff Ron Klain in early July.
“President Biden,
We are Anishinaabe women. We are fighting for the water, the land, and the future of our people.
We are fighting against Enbridge, a foriegn oil company that is draining our lakes, endangering our sisters, jailing our people, destroying our rice beds, and putting our way of life at risk.
We ask you to stand with us. Honor the treaties. Honor your commitments to climate action. Stop the Line 3 tar sands pipeline.”
The ad also calls on the public to take action and join the fight to protect our land and water and stop Line 3, directing people to the website, WeProtectTheWater.org, where you can write your own letter to President Biden demanding that he #StopLine3.
Additional digital ads, and two full-page print ads in the Duluth News Tribune and Bemidji Pioneer will come in the following days.
Water Protectors protecting the rivers from ongoing drilling, some water protectors were brutalized with chemical weapons and rubber bullets.
On Tuesday morning, dozens of water protectors blocked access to a drill pad on the Willow River, preventing boring under sensitive wetlands in the Mississippi watershed as supporters nearby discovered unmitigated damage to the river from the Enbridge corporation’s Line 3 tar sands crude oil pipeline construction.
CORPORATE COUNTERINSURGENCY AGAINST LINE 3 PIPELINE RESISTANCE
Alleen Brown reports on the latest oil company efforts to suppress water and land defense movements.
"Line 3 violates the rights and lifeways of the Anishinaabe people by endangering the headwaters of the Mississippi River, including critical areas for hunting, fishing, harvesting wild rice, and cultural resources — rights that the US is bound by treaty and integrity to uphold," the letter says. "At this time of reckoning with our history, we need to move forward in the spirit of reconciliation toward our national ideals."
Photo Credit Keri Pickett
Winona LaDuke today in the Willow River where Line 3 will cross -- one of 22 major river Line 3 crossings, including the Mississippi River twice.
Indigenous Matriarchs Also Risk Potential Arrest in the River
Photos by Keri Pickett
(Palisade, MN) -- 07/06/2021 -- Early Tuesday morning, dozens of water protectors standing in solidarity with Indigenous-led resistance shut down work at a Line 3 construction site by locking themselves to equipment and building several blockades on access roads. Two people surrounded by flowers locked themselves inside of a vehicle, while two others locked to drilling equipment inside the site. Most likely they will face arrest sometime today.
Dozens more joined Indigenous matriarchs Winona LaDuke, Executive Director of Honor the Earth, and Tania Aubid to stand in the river in prayer. Over 500 water protectors have been arrested since construction began as resistance to the pipeline continues to escalate.
Message from Winona LaDuke, Water Protector, in the Willow River today. "Aaniin it's Winona LaDuke here being the public on the Willow River, we have been trying for many years and moons to stop Enbridge but here we are on the Willow River where Enbridge is seeking to cross the river by digging underneath it. But we the people are here in the river because the rivers belong to the fish. They belong to the animals and they belong to the people and they don't belong to Enbridge. So the people protect the rivers." #StopLine3 #WaterIsLife This action took place at the Willow River, a part of the Mississippi watershed, where the Canadian corporation Enbridge is attempting to drill under the waterbody using a technique known as horizontal directional drilling (HDD). President Joe Biden there has been over 500 arrests, and no federal EIS on this massive dangerous tar sands pipeline project benefiting a private corporation from Canada. We need you to ACT to #StopLine3 #ProtectTheRivers. Photo by Keri Pickett
Posted by Honor the Earth on Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Minnesota, you will be held accountable along with the Federal and Canadian governments for the genocide of Mother Earth.” LaDuke added, “We have been trying for many years and moons to stop Enbridge, but here we are on the Willow River where Enbridge wants to cross it by digging underneath it. But we the people are here in the river because the rivers belong to the fish, they belong to the animals, and they belong to the people. They don’t belong to Enbridge. So the people are protecting the rivers.”
This action took place at the Willow River, a part of the Mississippi watershed, where the Canadian corporation Enbridge is attempting to drill under the waterbody using a technique known as horizontal directional drilling (HDD). The method carries the risk of discharging drilling mud and chemicals into the river, known as a “frac out”. Enbridge calls this construction a “replacement project”, omitting the fact that the new Line 3 pipeline is larger and would nearly double its capacity to carry oil. Opponents of the project say the risk to water is unacceptable, as the new route crosses through hundreds of acres of wetlands and over 200 bodies of water.
“We can not allow them to take these rivers, Enbridge was given a cease-and-desist notice in order to protect the ceremonial lodge. The state of Minnesota has refused to abide by that order and so action was taken. Abide by the order or we will continue to use people power to shut it down”.
“Line 3 is a catastrophic threat to the land, the water, the people, wild rice, and the climate. This pipeline violates the treaty rights of the Anishinaabe and is not being built with Indigenous consent. Enbridge has a long history of spills, many of which occur in the first 10 years of a pipeline operating. They do not care about the land, the people, or their workers. They only care about the money, so we are putting pressure on their pocketbooks by slowing the progress of Line 3 until we stop it altogether. Polluted water, land, and rapid climate change are threats to us all, and Line 3 will cause unpredictable levels of damage if it becomes active. Actions like this one are a fight for all of our survival, and should be seen as nothing less.”
Breaking at the Willow River: Enbridge drilling operations hit an aquifer.Breaking at the Willow River: Enbridge drilling construction operations hit an aquifer. What you see is is drilling mud. The yellow booms are to stop it from flowing downstream. It is called a frack out. This action at the Willow River, a part of the Mississippi watershed, where the Canadian corporation Enbridge is attempting to drill under the waterbody using a technique known as horizontal directional drilling (HDD). The method carries the risk of discharging drilling mud and chemicals into the river, known as a “frac out.” - the risk became reality. Shanai Explains here: "So we're here on the Willow River. We've been over here in the river channel seven o'clock this morning. Holding space and one of the things we noticed when you got down here today, this area right here in the water, it appears to be something from the drilling of the Willow. And this is what it looks and feels like, the drilling mud like clay. And you can see and feel in the water. It's much harder. It's really warm where they feel and it's coming up from the river bottom. So the Line 3 oil pipeline is currently, they're in the process of drilling into this river like they hit an aqui aquifer. And so this is now coming down the river channel. And you see they put some kind of boom in the water to try to hold that in place. So this is the kind of thing that, you know, nobody's here to watch the water to protect the water. This is what Enbridge does. This may not even be reported. We wouldn't have known about this if we hadn't been here. And you can just see that even in the process of drilling the Line, they've got accidents and it's impacting the water. So you can imagine why so many of us are standing up to say that this tar sands pipeline should not be finished. It should never have been permitted. And we're here to protect the water and to pray for the water." @POTUS needs to #StopLine3 Require the Army Corps to engage in Federal EIS. #Palisade #mississippiriver #willowriver #waterislife #1855treaty Video by Keri Pickett
Posted by Honor the Earth on Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Enbridge Line 3 drilling destruction hit an aquifer at the Willow River.Genocide of our Rivers. Here Enbridge attempts to reverse their destruction of the Willow River for their new Line 3 that is strongly opposed. HDD is dangerous, we have said this all along and they conbusted (if this is a word to use - unexplainable) an aquifier at the Willow River. " ... Disturbing that our lawmakers can claim to care about our environment but let Enbridge harm our waters to build their toxic tar sands pipeline." Ashley Fairbanks Canadian corporation Enbridge is attempting to drill under the waterbody using a technique known as horizontal directional drilling (HDD). The method carries the risk of discharging drilling mud and chemicals into the river, known as a “frac out.” - As you can see Enbridge failed, their toxins have flowed into the Willow River as captured here. These accidents go unreported and put our river at risk. We must #StopLine3. #Palisade #mississippiriver #willowriver #waterislife #1855treaty Video by Keri PIckett
Posted by Honor the Earth on Tuesday, July 6, 2021
“This, to me, is an extension of the fight that’s happening all over Mother Earth, protecting the last beautiful places, protecting the sacred,” Houska says.
June 7 when nearly three dozen sheriffs, deputies and police arrived at the Two Inlets pump station site on Enbridge Inc.'s Line 3 oil pipeline, now under construction in northern Minnesota. In riot helmets, wielding long truncheons, they formed two lines and stood in unusual 90-degree heat, awaiting orders to move in against nearly 200 nonviolent protesters. #ProtectorsNotProtesters
The Biden administration has a chance to show whether they stand with the people or the polluters.
LEGAL FUNDS NEEDED FOR Red Lake Treaty Camp
A pipeline is threatening their homeland. Indigenous women are fighting back.
