Tag Archives: Indigenous people

‘Subsidizing the Climate and Ecological Crisis’: Biden Approving Fossil Fuel Permits Faster Than Trump or Obama

AP’s findings run counter to the president’s campaign vow to end oil and gas extraction on public lands.

Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 7-13-2021

Flying in the face of the White House’s reference to the climate crisis as an “existential threat” and President Joe Biden’s campaign pledge, his administration has so far approved fossil fuel drilling permits on public and tribal lands at a faster rate than his two immediate predecessors, a new Associated Press analysis has found.

“We’re not only subsidizing the climate and ecological crisis,” climate activist Greta Thunberg tweeted in response to the new reporting, “we’re speeding it up.” Continue reading →

As Protesters Face Felonies, Minneapolis City Council Joins Opposition to Line 3

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“The world needs to pay attention to what’s happening here in Minnesota right now.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 7-2-2021

M Hubbard County police blocking the entrance to Giniw Collective property. Photo: Giniw Collective/Twitter

While Indigenous-led actions against Line 3 continued in Minnesota on Friday even as some peaceful protesters now face felony charges, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed a resolution opposing Enbridge’s tar sands oil pipeline.

The council’s 13-0 vote in support of the resolution (pdf) comes as Indigenous and climate justice groups opposed to Line 3—the Canadian company’s project to replace an old oil pipeline with a bigger one—challenge it on the ground and in court. Continue reading →

Water Protectors Gather for ‘Largest Resistance Yet’ to Line 3 as Enbridge Accelerates Pipeline Construction

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“We need to protect all that we have left of the sacred gifts and land.”

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-6-2021

Image: Indigenous Environmental Network/Twitter

Thousands of people from across the nation are traveling to northern Minnesota this weekend to join Indigenous leaders in what organizers described as the “largest resistance yet” to Line 3, an Enbridge-owned tar sands pipeline whose construction has accelerated in recent days as opponents warn the project poses a threat to waterways and the climate.

The Treaty People Gathering kicked off Saturday, the first of several expected days of action against Enbridge’s multi-billion-dollar project, which aims to replace and expand the Canadian company’s existing pipeline along a route that crosses more than 200 bodies of water and 800 wetlands. Continue reading →

Supreme Court affirms tribal police authority over non-Indians

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Kirsten Carlson, Wayne State University

The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the sovereign power of American Indian tribes on June 1, 2021, ruling that tribal police officers have the power to temporarily detain and search non-Indians on public rights-of-way through American Indian lands.

In most communities in the United States, the local government has the authority to investigate and prosecute both misdemeanor and felony crimes. And local police can detain and search individuals suspected of state and federal crimes, at least until handing them off to the appropriate authorities. Continue reading →

Indigenous, Climate Leaders Launch National Effort to Demand Biden ‘Stop Trump Pipelines’

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“Decision-makers in Washington, D.C. and across the country now have a choice—stand with the Trump pipelines that prop up big oil and gas profits and cronyism or the approach Biden established when he canceled KXL.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 5-21-2021

Gichi-gami Gathering to Stop Line 3. Photo: Fibonacci Blue/flickr/CC

Indigenous and climate activists this week launched a national “Stop Trump Pipelines” campaign to pressure U.S. President Joe Biden and other key decision-makers to depart from the polluter-friendly positions of former President Donald Trump by blocking a pair of controversial fossil fuel pipelines.

The effort—led by Bold Alliance, Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), and partners from frontline communities—is kicking off with a six-figure television and digital campaign targeting Canada-based Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 and Line 5 pipelines. Continue reading →

Climate and Indigenous Protesters Across 4 Continents Pressure Banks to #DefundLine3

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“Those who financially back Enbridge are directly implicated in its crimes,” says a Red Lake Anishinaabe citizen and organizer. “To put it bluntly, blood is on their hands.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 5-7-2021

Activists across four continents held protests on Friday calling on banks to stop backing the Line 3 tar sands pipeline. (Photo: Stop the Money Pipeline)

From fake oil spills in Washington, D.C. and New York City to a “people mural” in Seattle spelling out “Defund Line 3,” climate and Indigenous protesters in 50 U.S. cities and across seven other countries spanning four continents took to the streets on Friday for a day of action pushing 20 banks to ditch the controversial tar sands pipeline.

“Against the backdrop of rising climate chaos, the continued bankrolling of Line 3 and similar oil and gas infrastructure worldwide is fueling gross and systemic violations of human rights and Indigenous peoples’ rights at a global scale,” said Carroll Muffett, president of the Center for International Environmental Law. Continue reading →

Oil exploitation is threatening the Ecuadorian rainforest – and the planet

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‘No to Block 28!’ Indigenous and peasant communities are fighting to protect nature and their way of life in a remote corner of the Amazon

By Andrés Tapia. Published 4-21-2021 by openDemocracy

Clear water coming down from the ‘blue mountains’ in Pastaza, Ecuador | Andrés Tapis

I grew up in the Ecuadorian countryside. My first memories are from around 1990, when my family and I were living on a 28-hectare farm, a pioneering conservation project in the tropical rainforest.

Often, I would sit with my sister on the front steps of our house, gazing at the “blue mountains”. It was my father who coined that phrase, after their distinctive colouration. Decades later, while studying field biology at university, I learned that these were the subtropical Andes. Specifically, the Abitahua Protected Forest of the Llanganates Sangay Ecological Corridor, a transition area (also known as an ecotone) that connects the eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes with the Amazonian lowlands. Continue reading →

Indigenous Youth Take to DC Streets With Demands to #ShutDownDAPL and #StopLine3

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“Climate chaos is here. We cannot wait.”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 4-1-2021

Indigenous activists gathered in Washington, D.C. on Thursday to demand to demand the Biden administration stop the Line 3 and Dakota Access pipelines. (Photo: Nadahness Greene)

A group of Indigenous youth activists rallied in the nation’s capital on Thursday to demand President Joe Biden reject fossil fuel pipelines including Line 3 and the Dakota Access Pipeline.

“We came to D.C. to give the fossil fuel snake back to the U.S. We don’t want the pipelines you snaked through our communities without our consent,” said organizers. Continue reading →

Indigenous Youth Embark on Sub-Zero, 93-Mile Run to Protest Dakota Access Pipeline

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“They are running because of one simple fact: DAPL IS AN ILLEGAL PIPELINE.”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-9-2021

Opponents of the Dakota Access Pipeline hold a protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Oct. 25, 2016. (Photo: Fibonacci Blue/flickr/cc)

Despite sub-zero temperatures, group of Indigenous youth on Tuesday kicked off a 93-mile run to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline and demand that the Biden administration #BuildBackFossilFree.

The run began shortly after 8am CST from a drill pad in Timber Lake, South Dakota—where the youth braved a wind chill of -26°F (-32°C)—and will end at the Oceti Sakowin Camp site, the center of heated resistance to the pipeline in 2016. Continue reading →

After ‘Bitterly Disappointing’ Court Ruling on Line 3, Biden Urged to Shut Down Pipeline Project ‘Once and for All’

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After a Minnesota court allowed construction to continue, Rep. Ilhan Omar appealed to President Joe Biden to stop the contentious project.

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-3-2021

On January 29, 2021, hundreds of people gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota to demand that President Joe Biden and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz take action to stop the Line 3 pipeline. (Photo: @ResistLine3/Twitter)

Amid a wave of direct actions that have at times stalled work on Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline, the Minnesota Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied a request to shut down construction as legal battles continue, disappointing Indigenous and climate activists who have been fighting against the tar sands project.

A few weeks after construction began in December, the Red Lake and White Earth Bands of Ojibwe requested the stay. As MPR News reported at the time, “The bands, along with several nonprofit groups and the Minnesota Department of Commerce, have filed lawsuits challenging the project in both federal and state court.” Continue reading →

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The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: Indigenous people