All 12 federally recognized Indigenous tribes in Michigan sent Joe Biden a letter on Friday laying out a plan for the president to shut down the Line 5 oil pipeline, which stretches 645 miles from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario, as part of Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge’s Lakehead System. The aging 3-mile section that runs under the Straits of Mackinac in particular poses a severe threat to major waterways in the area, including Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
As the coalition of organizations known as Oil and Water Don’t Mix note, “Line 5 has spilled 33 times and at least 1.1 million gallons along its length since 1968.” Sections of the pipeline were damaged in 2018 due to an anchor hitting the twin pipes under the Straits of Mackinac and additional damage in 2019 from Enbridge contractors, essentially make the pipeline a ticking time bomb for environmental disaster.
“We view Line 5 as an existential threat to our treaty-protected rights, resources, and fundamental way of life as Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes,” the tribes wrote. The 12 tribes make up the Three Fires Confederacy of the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi. What the tribes propose is for the president to publicly support Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order to shut down the Line 5 pipeline through an official statement of interest via the Justice Department.
The tribes stressed the importance of Biden explicitly urging in his letter that the shutdown be affirmed and resolved in a timely manner. Tribes also want the president to consider revoking the 1991 Presidential Permit that allowed for the pipeline expansion that included key sections of Line 5 being built. The tribes also requested that they be involved in negotiations with Canada by having a designated representative participate in those talks.
In addition to hitting Biden’s desk, the letter was sent to numerous lawmakers and Cabinet members, including Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, and Secretary of State Tony Blinken. Officials including Biden have so far been silent about the letter. A Biden administration official told Michigan Advance that they “expect that both the U.S. and Canada will engage constructively in [the 1977 Treaty] negotiations.”
Article six of the 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty was invoked last month by Canada in an effort to allow Line 5 to remain operational and effectively halt any progress with State of Michigan v. Enbridge, a lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel asking an Ingham County Circuit Court judge to uphold Whitmer’s order to shut down Line 5. The treaty prevents public officials from hindering the flow of oil in U.S.-Canada pipelines.
Enbridge and conservative lawmakers in both the U.S. and Canada have continually fought to keep the pipeline running, bringing up the specter of rising energy costs despite the fact that experts believe incrementally shuttering the pipeline would only lead to negligible price hikes. A look at Enbridge’s PR campaign against the shuttering of Line 5 shows a company desperately clinging to oil in the face of an ongoing climate crisis. Instead of signaling even a passing interest in renewables, Enbridge’s team mocked up a map showing tanker trucks bringing oil up to Canada.
The tactics from Enbridge and the lawmakers who benefit from the fossil fuel industry reek of desperation. It’s worth noting that of the 14 lawmakers who sent a letter urging Biden to keep Line 5 in operation, just one person received no donations from fossil fuel companies. The rest benefitted from thousands of dollars from the likes of Exxon Mobil, Marathon, and Valero, among others.
Biden sending a message to Enbridge and its sycophants that Line 5 must go would be an incredible way to honor Native American Heritage Month and the land so violently stolen from the Indigenous groups still fighting to keep it from being destroyed. The Great Lakes represent 21% of the Earth’s fresh water. It’s unacceptable that such a vital ecosystem would be deprioritized for the sake of such limited and damaging resources.
As the coalition of organizations known as Oil and Water Don’t Mix note, “Line 5 has spilled 33 times and at least 1.1 million gallons along its length since 1968.” Sections of the pipeline were damaged in 2018 due to an anchor hitting the twin pipes under the Straits of Mackinac and additional damage in 2019 from Enbridge contractors, essentially make the pipeline a ticking time bomb for environmental disaster.
“We view Line 5 as an existential threat to our treaty-protected rights, resources, and fundamental way of life as Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes,” the tribes wrote. The 12 tribes make up the Three Fires Confederacy of the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi. What the tribes propose is for the president to publicly support Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order to shut down the Line 5 pipeline through an official statement of interest via the Justice Department.
The tribes stressed the importance of Biden explicitly urging in his letter that the shutdown be affirmed and resolved in a timely manner. Tribes also want the president to consider revoking the 1991 Presidential Permit that allowed for the pipeline expansion that included key sections of Line 5 being built. The tribes also requested that they be involved in negotiations with Canada by having a designated representative participate in those talks.
In addition to hitting Biden’s desk, the letter was sent to numerous lawmakers and Cabinet members, including Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, and Secretary of State Tony Blinken. Officials including Biden have so far been silent about the letter. A Biden administration official told Michigan Advance that they “expect that both the U.S. and Canada will engage constructively in [the 1977 Treaty] negotiations.”
Article six of the 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty was invoked last month by Canada in an effort to allow Line 5 to remain operational and effectively halt any progress with State of Michigan v. Enbridge, a lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel asking an Ingham County Circuit Court judge to uphold Whitmer’s order to shut down Line 5. The treaty prevents public officials from hindering the flow of oil in U.S.-Canada pipelines.
Enbridge and conservative lawmakers in both the U.S. and Canada have continually fought to keep the pipeline running, bringing up the specter of rising energy costs despite the fact that experts believe incrementally shuttering the pipeline would only lead to negligible price hikes. A look at Enbridge’s PR campaign against the shuttering of Line 5 shows a company desperately clinging to oil in the face of an ongoing climate crisis. Instead of signaling even a passing interest in renewables, Enbridge’s team mocked up a map showing tanker trucks bringing oil up to Canada.
The tactics from Enbridge and the lawmakers who benefit from the fossil fuel industry reek of desperation. It’s worth noting that of the 14 lawmakers who sent a letter urging Biden to keep Line 5 in operation, just one person received no donations from fossil fuel companies. The rest benefitted from thousands of dollars from the likes of Exxon Mobil, Marathon, and Valero, among others.
Biden sending a message to Enbridge and its sycophants that Line 5 must go would be an incredible way to honor Native American Heritage Month and the land so violently stolen from the Indigenous groups still fighting to keep it from being destroyed. The Great Lakes represent 21% of the Earth’s fresh water. It’s unacceptable that such a vital ecosystem would be deprioritized for the sake of such limited and damaging resources.