After Line 3

Now that the pipeline is complete, what comes next?

By: Jemma Keleher

For almost a year, voices have cried out in opposition to the construction of Line 3, an oil pipeline being built in Minnesota by Canadian company Enbridge. Young and old residents alike have spoken about the repercussions that the extension of the pipeline will have on both the environment and Indigenous populations in the area. Now that the pipeline is moving oil, it’s time to examine this effect and look toward the future. What do we do now?

The influence that this pipeline will have on tribal communities isn’t unknown; it is legally acknowledged and accepted by the state. In Minnesota’s Environmental Impact statement, they admit that Line 3 will have “disproportionate and adverse” impacts on Indigenous peoples in the area. 

How is this blatant disregard for environmental racism possible? It’s explained by how both the federal and state governments handle environmental impact upon tribal communities. Michael Dockry, affiliate faculty to the American Indian Studies department at the University of Minnesota and member of the Citizen Potawatomi nation, said, “The government has to disclose potential environmental impacts. It doesn’t say that you can’t have environmental impacts; just that [you] need to disclose it.” 

Construction of the pipeline takes full advantage of this allowance, and will threaten resources crucial to the livelihood of Indigenous communities. If the pipeline leaks oil, Anishinaabe peoples will lose watersheds important to growing wild rice, or manoomin, which is a centerpiece of the tribe’s culture and a main source of sustenance. Indigenous communities are already some of the most vulnerable in terms of health access, and it is anticipated that the pipeline will exacerbate this inequity.

The impacts of this pipeline aren’t hypothetical; it’s already harming the environment, which is vital to tribal communities. Tre Tellor, a fourth year at Augsburg University and member of the movement against Line 3, said, “The environmental impact of this pipeline is already devastating. Enbridge, [the company building the pipeline], boosted their permit to pump water up to 5 billion gallons during the middle of the drought… I saw rivers dangerously low, some even mostly dried up.”

This harm was just during construction of the pipeline; now that it is built, the impacts will undoubtedly increase. “Enbridge already had the US’s largest inland oil spill right here in Minnesota. It's only a matter of time before this pipe busts and we see a repeat of that.” That was the Line 3 oil spill, which occurred near Grand Rapids in 1991.

Tellor also noted that the pipeline will increase oil transportation, enabling the production of unsustainable energy that will contribute to the destruction of the planet. “There will be a significant impact just from the fact this pipeline allows more oil to be sold,” they said. “We've already passed a point of no return with climate change, and now gallons upon gallons will be flowing through to be burnt and bring us to climate collapse even faster than we were approaching before.”

An argument in favor of Line 3, that was often used to excuse its environmental impact, was that it would create jobs in the area and boost the stagnant economy; however, Tellor asserted that this isn’t what it seems. “These jobs the pipeline allegedly brings are temporary. Many of these workers are from out of state, and even the in-state [workers] will be out of a job once construction is over,” he said. “What little economic boom [comes] to these rural communities will dry up as soon as [the pipeline is fully completed]. The economic benefits of extractive industries are only temporary.”

Although the pipeline began moving oil on October 1, the fight for the rights of Indigenous peoples and environmental justice isn’t over. “One pipeline is one thing, and it’s something for people to rally around. But it’s not the pipeline itself,” Dockry said. “It’s this broader change that we need to make with society.”

Tellor sees the fight against Line 3 as inspiring a bigger movement, one that will now have experienced organizers. “My endgame with Line 3 isn't just stopping this pipeline… I also hope that many of us have learned from this movement: learned how to mobilize people to action, how to run media campaigns, how to do jail support, how to plan and execute direct action,” they said. “There are so many skills people have had to learn, and I hope that people take what they learned, bring it home, and keep fighting colonialism and capitalism however it manifests where they live.”

Another point of education in this struggle can be found in listening to Indigenous voices, especially on issues that pertain to environmental threats. “Tribes [and Indigenous people] are leading the way in our approaches to climate change, and we as a society haven’t listened to them and given them the respect that I think they deserve,” Dockry said. “We have not been able to solve our problems by doing the same thing we’ve always been doing. It’s really time to listen to tribes… They’ve shown over and over, in this region and beyond, that they are the leaders in climate adaptation.”

But listening to the words of Indigenous peoples isn’t enough; we also need to uplift and support them. “Indigenous voices have been silenced since European colonizers arrived in 1492,” Tellor said. “I think the best way to [uplift Indigenous voices] is for people here in the Twin Cities is to follow the indigeous groups and leaders fighting this pipeline: Giniw, Camp Migizi, Red Lake Treaty Camp, the RISE Coalition, Honor the Earth, etc.”

And while spreading information about the topic is an act of allyship, Indigenous voices need to be amplified. “As much as we all want to put our own words out there... make sure you’re boosting the words and work of our Indigenous comrades just as much, if not more, than your own,” he said. This can include stepping back in conversations regarding Indigenous rights, supporting Indigenous activists, and at the very least, sharing words from Indigenous experiences on social media. 

Through listening to fellow Indigenous voices, Dockry has found a clear message: things need to change. “No matter what happens here, the tribal voices that we’re listening to… are saying that we need to develop renewable energy solutions and move forward with a carbon free future, [using] energy that doesn’t contribute to global warming.”

Tellor echoed this sentiment. “If I could send one message to folks about Line 3 it would be this: We only have so much time before capitalism and colonialism claim the life of this planet,” they said. “Indigeous people protect 80% of this world's biodiversity; if you're interested in preserving life on this planet, we ought to follow the leadership of our Indigenous relatives. We need you in this fight, and we need to win, not only to preserve our planet, but to right the centuries-long wrong of colonization and genocide.” 

Line 3 is complete and carrying oil, but that doesn’t mean that the fight was for nothing; if anything, this is a stepping stone for Minnesotans into the fight for both environmental justice and Indigenous rights. The time to amplify Indigenous voices and save the planet is now.