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.
Winona LaDuke, Executive Director, Honor the Earth
“Line 3 is a crime against the environment and Indigenous rights, waters and lands, and it marks the end of the tar sands era -- but not the end of the resistance to it. Enbridge has raced to build this line before the Federal court has passed judgment on our appeals about the line, but the people have: We believe the most expensive tar sands oil pipeline ever built in the U.S. will be the last. And I personally want to recognize the many Water Protectors over the years who came from Native communities, from Minnesota cities and from around the country to put their lives on hold to bear witness to the dangerous environmental folly that is Line 3. Your brave efforts about Enbridge’s Line 3 have reshaped the world’s views on the climate crisis we are in, the Treaty Rights of the Anishinaabe, and the escalating divestment in fossil fuels around the world and here at home. You are the true heroes of this tragic saga.”
Indigenous Environmental Network
“It's with a heavy heart we receive the news that the U.S. has tragically failed once again to honor our treaties and protect the water that sustains all life on Mother Earth. The Line 3 fight is far from over, it has just shifted gears. Do not think we are going quietly into the night, we will continue to stand on the frontlines until every last tar sands pipeline is shut down and Indigenous communities are no longer targeted but our right to consent or denial is respected.
Although Enbridge is pushing the message that the Line 3 is a done deal and that they have followed all the rules and regulations- we see even at this late date the continuing harm to our lands and waters. There have been spills, frac outs and pierced aquifers even to this day. They are spilling millions of gallons of polluted water directly into our forests and waterways. This is far from over.
We promise to continue to show up each time even stronger with new voices and hearts ready to lead.
From the belly of the beast north of the medicine line to rice beds that sustain the lifeways of the Anishinaabe all the way down to our relatives impacted in the Bayous-- we will continue to fight for the natural and spiritual knowledge of the Earth. We will continue to fight and take care of one another and our Mother because she has always taken care of us. Respect us, or expect us.”
Camp Migizi
“We are Camp Migizi, we made a solemn promise to stop line 3 and we intend to go down fighting. There is still work that needs to be done before the project is considered complete, we promise to disrupt and stop that work. We ask that you remember us, as we will still be here, fighting to protect all that is sacred, even if they build line 3 our community that we have built here will still remain, and we ask that you remember that just like all of the Indigenous communities we have come from we are still here, learning, fighting, and healing. We will remain an open camp, for queer bipoc anarchists and water protectors alike to reconnect to the water, the land and the world around us, we will still be here as you sit in your homes drinking Starbucks coffee placing bets on which football team will win next Sunday, we will still be here in the cold, in the heat, through the mud and the barbed wire, and we ask that you remember us, because the fight for clean water is never over, and we will remain, with all of our live, The Frontline.”
Tara Houska, Founder, Giniw Collective
“This shameful moment marks what the promises of the Democratic Party to listen to climate science look like in action, what it looks like when human beings refuse to open our eyes to the burning world around us and respond with equal urgency.
Over 800 people from all walks of life were arrested here for protecting our land, treaty obligations to tribal nations were once again violated, statutory requirements were cast aside in favor of corporate greed. We were shot at with rubber bullets paid for by Enbridge, police officers in financial relationship with a foreign company used pain compliance on us, we face years in prison for defending the drinking water of tens of millions downstream from Alberta tar sands oil set to flow through the Mississippi River headwaters, 22 rivers, 800 wetlands.
We are not deterred.
We answer the failures of governmental leadership to abandon the status quo that’s killing all life with building the world we want to live in and standing up for what is right. Line 3 is one coffin nail of many, we cannot and will not stop fighting for a better tomorrow.”
Tania Aubid (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe): “A blatant disregard for tribal nations, where was the full informed consent? The ecological environment is in a code red state, the protection of these resources are vitally important on the global level. The safety "PIG" system, Enbridge is relying on, is run only once a year, for it is too costly to inspect the pipes more than that.... the Livelihood of the Anishinaabeg people are consistently being put at the hands of genocidal terrorists, for whom have the delusions of being the conqueror.”
Margaret Levin, Sierra Club North Star Chapter Director
“President Biden and the other politicians who chose to do nothing as treaty rights were violated, waterways were polluted, and peaceful protesters were brutalized have placed themselves on the wrong side of history. We will continue to seek to hold them accountable for failing to prioritize the best interests of our communities over the desires of a foreign oil company.
“This is not the outcome we hoped for, but the fight to stop Line 3 has always been a fight for climate justice and a future free from fossil fuels, and that fight will not stop just because Enbridge has succeeded in building this pipeline. Our movement is powerful, and we are not going anywhere. We will keep pushing forward -- demanding that our elected leaders live up to their promises and lifting our voices for healthy and safe communities and climate justice.
Andy Pearson, Midwest Tar Sands Coordinator, MN350
“We have been working to avoid today's outcome since 2014, and today represents a major shift in the fight. This movement has fought Line 3 every step of the way -- through the regulatory process, in the courts, and on the ground. Water protectors understand the risks and the consequences of this project. We know, based on the data, that this pipeline is likely to spill. The science is crystal clear that every day of Line 3's operation makes it harder to return to a climate-stable world. Enbridge and the State of Minnesota have violated treaties and principles of free, prior, and informed consent with the Anishinaabe people. Shame on Governor Walz, who broke his campaign promise and left a legacy of climate chaos and oppression, militarizing the state against peaceful people who want to preserve our best odds for a livable present and future. This fight is no less important today than it was yesterday, and it will be just as important tomorrow. We are committed to stopping tar sands and will continue that work together.”
"This is a disheartening moment for this movement, Minnesota, and our country. Our hearts are with those on the front lines of the Indigenous-led resistance that have worked tirelessly to stop this unnecessary pipeline. Their efforts forced a national conversation about the true costs of building a pipeline equal to the emissions of 50 coal plants in the middle of an accelerating climate crisis. Now President Biden must act to address these climate and treaty injustices,"said Amelia Vohs, regulatory attorney for Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.