Through ceremony and art, in the courts and on the frontlines
This week, six environmental and Indigenous rights activists with the Stop Line 3 activist group, were arrested for blocking a work path for the Line 3 project, a proposed pipeline expansion that seeks to siphon a million barrels of tar sands (a substance used for petroleum materials) daily from Canada through the Midwestern United States. Since 2014, thousands of Stop Line 3 activists have disrupted the construction of the pipeline by organizing locally. To combat this, Enbridge, the Canadian pipeline company responsible for this construction, has spent over $750k for private law enforcement. Over 600 activists have been arrested. Stop Line 3 activists intensified their efforts this week in response to the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which stated that human effects on the environment have caused irreparable damage to the global climate. Stop Line 3 activists argue that the impact of construction, and the possibility of a spill would permanently damage indigenous peoples’ ability to exercise their sovereignty, including their land and water rights. On August 25, Resist Line 3 activists working towards environmental equity will hold a protest at the Minnesota State Capitol to call on elected officials to stop construction of the pipeline.
–Saúl Ontiveros Getty Marrow Undergraduate Archive and Research Intern
Sources:
Sign the Petition to Resist Line 3
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Enbridge shells out $750K to law enforcement for Line 3 protest costs
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Banking on Climate Crisis
Sign Up to Join the Treaties Not Tar Sands MN Protest
Just Out of Jail, Winona LaDuke Decries Militarized Crackdown on Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline Protests