In this blog:
- 14 more arrests in Line 3 resistance, total now 40
- Peaceful protest Tuesday, Jan. 5, in Superior, Wisc.
- More ways to support Line 3 front line resistance
- Upcoming Line 3 trainings: Watch the Line, Engaged Buddhism, TakeAction MN
- After nearly a century, University of Minnesota plans to return Indian artifacts
- Standing Rock devastated by COVID-19
14 more arrests in Line 3 resistance, total now 40
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conservation officers and local law enforcement officials arrested 14 water protectors over the weekend, just north of Palisade, Minnesota, where Enbridge is rushing to drill a pipeline tunnel under the Mississippi River, Honor the Earth reported. Enbridge is trying to rush construction before legal challenges to the pointless pipeline can be heard in the Minnesota Court of Appeals and federal court.
That brings the total number of Line 3 arrests to 40, it said.
According to Honor the Earth:
On Saturday, January 2, a group of Water Protectors welcomed the New Year by going to the river to pray, and to bear witness to the destruction being wrought by Enbridge and their subcontractors … They began singing on the Great River Road. They were soon joined by Winona LaDuke (Honor the Earth Executive Director) and fellow Indigenous Water Protectors Tania Aubid, Paul DeMain and Tracy Dagan who came up from prayers in the waaginoogan, their traditional Anishinaabe lodge by the river.
Within a short time, there were a large number of police officers from Aitkin, Cass and Itasca Counties who moved onto the road. The face-off lasted about two hours, with both the crowd and police dispersing. A number of trucks were sent back.
A second incident … occurred a couple of hours later. According to Line 3 opponent, Shanai Matteson, on a Welcome Water Protectors account, “There were more police, and fewer Water Protectors, in an unreasonable show of force by officers with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, as well as police with Aitkin and Itasca Counties who escalated the situation. After confusion erupted among officers over who was or was not violating which orders to disperse, 14 people were arrested.”
Peaceful protest set for Tuesday, Jan. 5, in Superior, Wisc. where Line 3 ends
On Tuesday, January 5th, the Gitchigumi Scouts and others are hosting a peaceful action centering Indigenous people on the frontlines and demanding Line 3 and all its destruction comes to an end.
- What: Treaty Rights Tuesday, a peaceful action to draw awareness to the ongoing movement to Stop Line 3 and listen to frontline voices demanding accountability.
- When: Tuesday, Jan 5th, 4:00pm- 6:00pm
- Where: Douglas County Government Center, 1313 Belknap St, Superior, WI 54880-2730)
More ways to support Line 3 front-line resistance
If you’re looking for ways to support Line 3 front-line Indigenous-led resistance:
- Here’s a link to Stop Line 3 that provides a number of different options, including supporting Honor the Earth, the Giniw Collective and Gitchgumi Scouts as well as training options.
- Here’s a link to the Red Lake Treaty Camp Facebook page.
- MN350’s Pipeline Resistance Team also is running a front-line support drive. Here is a link with current requests. People can drop of food, gear or cash donations at the MN350 office, 4407 E Lake St. Minneapolis, all month. Drop off times are Tuesdays and Fridays 9 am – noon; and Saturdays 10 am – 1 pm. (They have freezer space and can accept frozen items.) Outside office hours drop-offs, contact Bernadette bernadette@mn350.org
Upcoming Line 3 trainings: Watch the Line and Engaged Buddhism
Watch the Line, a group of volunteers legally monitoring Line 3 construction, will hold its next monitor training this Saturday, Jan. 9, 1-3 p.m. Apply here. Click on the website for more details.
Local Buddhists and Indigenous leaders have scheduled a Line 3 training to help Buddhists and other interested parties in getting an update and ideas for getting engaged in resistance. The Zoom gathering will be this Wednesday, 5-6 p.m. More information here.
TakeAction Minnesota is hosting a Together We Will #Stop Line 3 Zoom event on Wednesday, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. It’s billed as an introductory organizing meeting, open to the public. This is a space to learn more about the Line 3 fight, the ways TakeAction is joining the struggle, and how you can plug in.
After nearly a century, University of Minnesota plans to return Indian artifacts
This from Thursday’s Star Tribune:
Nine decades after the founder of the University of Minnesota’s anthropology department dug up more than 2,000 Native objects in New Mexico, the university is finally taking concerted action to bring them home.
The university’s Weisman Art Museum has come under particular fire for dragging its feet on the process, launched 30 years ago when Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), requiring federally funded institutions to return Native remains and sacred objects to tribes.
Here’s the link for the full article.
Standing Rock devastated by COVID-19
The Standing Rock Reservation, population roughly 8,200, has been hit hard by the coronavirus. This, too, from Thursday’s Star Tribune:
The 3,625-square-mile reservation, which avoided the worst of the pandemic during the spring and summer, has rapidly devolved into one of the most alarming hot zones in the Midwest. Coronavirus infections at Standing Rock have surged more than 400% since the summer, from 106 cases in early August to 550 cases in late November, according to data from the tribe.
Burial ceremonies have become an almost daily ritual at the hilltop cemeteries on the reservation. Many families have had two, three or more relatives die from the virus.
Here’s the link for the full article.
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