Water Protectors Lock Down at Enbridge Line 3: 700 Arrests to Date

Water Protectors Continue to Resist, Blocking Active Work at Line 3 Construction Site

Giniw Collective
August 16, 2021
Contact: giniw [at] protonmail.com

PARK RAPIDS, Minn. -- This morning, four water protectors locked to each other and to machines, halting work at an Enbridge Line 3 worksite near Hay Creek, Minnesota.
The action comes as the latest in a long arc of fierce ground resistance in the Line 3 fight; over 700 Water Protectors have been arrested to date.

Drought conditions continue across northern Minnesota, with water restrictions in place in numerous municipalities. Enbridge continues to pump water for its tar sands pipeline, now turning to city aquifers, including Park Rapids.

Last week, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, along with other representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers and Department of the Interior, again met with Anishinaabe nations, tribal representatives, and land defenders to discuss Line 3 construction, wild rice beds, and the now 28 chemical spills into rivers and wetlands by Enbridge, including the headwaters of the Mississippi River multiple times. The Army Corps and the White House continue to remain silent.

“We are at the 11th hour in terms of climate action and corporate globalization has found ways to criminalize and punish people trying to stop construction of a project that threatens so many life ways.

We have exhausted every other option.

Stop Line 3,” said a Water Protector blocking construction.

“I am here on the frontlines alongside Anishinaabe and Dakota relatives who have put a call out for help. The wild rice is at risk due to Line 3, the drought and catastrophic climate change. All of which cause or are in direct correlation to green house gases. We need to rapidly transform our energy system and this starts now, not 20 years from now,” said another Water Protector risking self for all future generations.

Giniw Collective is an Indigenous-women, 2-Spirit led frontline resistance to protect our Mother, defend the sacred and live in balance. We stand unafraid. Prayers into action. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @GiniwCollective