Indigenous women lead the resistance to the Canadian Line 3 pipeline. The Treaty people Gathering brought thousands of people together to oppose the Line 3 pipeline crossing 1855 Treaty Territory. Line 3 is a pipeline project by the Enbridge corporation shipping crude oil from the tar sands region of Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. It spans northern Minnesota, crossing the Leech Lake and Fond du Lac Reservations and the l855, 1854 and l842 treaty areas.
Despite the rise of electric vehicles and the decline of the oil industry in general–and the tar sands industry in particular–Enbridge wants to abandon the old Line 3 as it exists and build a new larger pipeline, much of it in a new corridor, passing through tribal territory, fresh water sources and ecosystems and public lands.
If built, the new Line 3 would ship up to 915,000 barrels of tar sands crude oil a day, one of the dirtiest fuels on Earth. Total project costs have risen to $9.3 billion, with the Minnesota segment of the project costing $4 billion.
This new pipeline is based on the hope of oil and fuel prices rising thereby justifying increased exploitation of the tar sands. But the tar sands industry has peaked and we are turning toward cleaner renewable energy, making new Line 3 an unneeded, destructive and wasteful investment.