anishinaabequay: I wanted to share what’s happening in Ojibwe Country up in Wisconsin and Minn

anishinaabequay:I wanted to share what’s happening in Ojibwe Country up in Wisconsin and Minnesota right now because it is so important. Enbridge is looking to replace it’s Line 3 pipeline which has historically run through Leech Lake and Fond du Lac reservations in Northern MN. It’s shipment of crude oil from Alberta to Superior (WI) has been riddled with issues since its first implementation in 1961. It has had ruptures/leaks and its overall integrity has been in question for years. Enbridge knows that this line has tremendous problems. Their solution is to simply replace the entire line, leaving its previous location and all the liability for environmental destruction behind in favor of what they and their supporters deem the “safest option.” They claim that this is not a new pipeline because it will be following 75% of its original path. They claim that this is what is most economical and safest for people of Northern Minnesota. In this equation, the lines that run through precious waterbeds, through manoomin beds, are not being factored in. The people, my people, are not being factored into the equation of “safety” and the infrastructural economy of non-Ojibwe peoples. They know we do not want this “replaced” line. They know we do not want the further endangerment of the land that we rely upon, the defines who we are as Anishinaabeg. They know this as much as they know we do not want Sandpiper going through this land either. They know it so much that they complained to MN Governor Mark Dayton that the tribal liaison, Danielle Oxendine Molliver (Lumbee), was “biased” in favor of their opponents; she then resigned because she felt that her “’resignation is the only option to maintain my integrity, commitment, and standing with the tribal communities as both a liaison and indigenous woman.’” This Indigenous woman, given a position to advocate for proper communication with tribal nations in the path of Line 3, was literally “demoted” to a greeter at public hearings. These lands are protected by treaty. Eshkibagikoonzhe, in 1837, while in Dakota Bdote, signed the White Pine Treaty with the express condition that we maintain access to the waters, the manoomin beds, we relied upon to survive. The reaffirmation of these usufruct rights can be found in treaties of 1842 and1854(the noted absence of this in the 1855 treaty has been ‘contentious,’ resulting in arrests of Ojibweg harvesting wild rice at Hole-In-The-Day Lake in 2015).   Despite frequent attempts to argue we do not have that right, Ojibweg hold that it is our right to be connected to those waters and that it is our responsibility to protect  those waters that give us so much. Back on August 12th, a group of youth began the “Paddle to Protect” journey from the headwaters of Mississippi River to Big Sandy Lake (which has its own important history for Ojibweg of the area). These youth will complete the canoe trip around the beginning of September.Meanwhile Enbridge has been actively laying pipe for their replacement through Wisconsin. Camps established on and near the MN/WI border yesterday stopped further construction, at least for the time being, At this point Enbridge is really waiting on the green light to build through Minnesota. There has been much support in putting a stop to Line 3 from Native and non-Native peoples alike. But we could always use more. Please. I know everything is a rush of one bad piece of news after the other these days. I know it’s exhausting an difficult to keep up to exert energy to be aware. I feel this all the time. But please keep us in your thoughts. At least a little. Please don’t look away. I believe in our ability to win this fight but I am also tremendously scared of what could happen in the process. Resources:Stop Line 3Honor the Earth -- source link
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