Updates: Keystone XL Delayed to 2020; Tar Sands Mining Co. Abandons 4,700 Wells, and More

Some quick tar sands crude oil updates. Remember, tar sands mining harms Canada’s First Nations People, it causes climate damage, and in the case of Enbridge Line 3 pipeline, it threatens our state’s cleanest waters and harms treaty rights.

• TransCanada announced to shareholders that Keystone XL will miss the 2019 construction season because of court challenges, according to an AP story run by KOTA-TV. (Keystone XL would transport Canadian tar sands crude oil through the U.S. to the Gulf ports.)
• The Alberta Energy Regulator announced the Trident Exploration Corporation abruptly shut down April 30, “without responding to an order to properly manage its 4,700 wells — adding to the more than 3,000 orphan wells already awaiting remediation in the province,” according to a story by the CBC. Trident estimated abandonment and reclamation costs at $329 million.
• Check out National Geographic’s photo essay on Canadian tar sands mining headlined: This is the world’s most destructive oil operation—and it’s growing.

 

Environmental Ancestry Storytelling; Indian Month Events, and NFL Mascot Dust-Up Over the Duluth Eskimos

You are invited to a special evening of storytelling featuring cultural artists Ifrah Mansour and Louis Alemayehu, together with live music and stories from community members. All are welcome to this free gathering, modeled after live storytelling initiatives such as The Moth.

Sponsored by Minneapolis Interfaith Power and Light, the event is Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Hook at Ladder Theater and Lounge, 3010 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis.

White Fragility at the State Legislature: Full Blown Freak Out Over a Sign

The Minnesota Historical Society changed its “Fort Snelling” sign to read “Fort Snelling at Bdote” and some white legislators became unhinged.

“Bdote” is a Dakota word for confluence, or where the waters meet. There’s nothing controversial in the meaning; what’s controversial, apparently, is the use of a Dakota word on the sign.

Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, who chairs the Senate Government Finance and Policy and Elections Committee, slipped a $4 million (18 percent) cut to the Historical Society’s state funding as punishment for the sign, according to a WCCO news account.

Legislative Audit Commission Moves Forward on Review of PUC Public Engagement Process

Laura Schwartz, program evaluation manager for the Legislative Audit Commission, will lead the team reviewing the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC’s) public engagement process. That is one of five research topics the Audit Commission approved this year.

It will investigate three questions, according to the Commission’s one-page summary:

• What are the PUC’s rules for public participation?
• To what extent does the PUC enforce these rules appropriately and consistently?
• How do the PUC’s rules affect the extent to which the public can participate in the Commission’s decision-making process?

News and Events: New Study on Impact of Indian Child Removal, Lorenz to Lead Wakan Tipi Center, Native-Themed Video Game, and More

In this blog:

• First Comprehensive Study on Removal of Native Children from their Families
• Maggie Lorenz Hired to Lead Wakan Tipi Center in St. Paul
• “Why Treaties Matter” Community Conversation at East Side Freedom Library April 28
• New Decision-Based Video Games Set in the Late 1800s Flips the Script, Takes the Indigenous Perspective
• Why White Women Tried to Ban Native American Dances

DNR Approves Enbridge Line 3 “Pre-Construction” Work; Trump Expected to Weaken State’s Pipeline Oversight

The controversial Enbridge Line 3 pipeline still faces significant court challenges and needs numerous state and federal permits, but Enbridge already has begun to work on the project.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has given Enbridge permission to conduct “pre-construction” work for its Line 3 crude oil pipeline on DNR-administered state lands, the DNR says. “These activities include civil and environmental survey and geotechnical boring,” the statement said.

The DNR’s statement came in response to questions posed by Healing Minnesota Stories about reports that Enbridge might have begun Line 3 construction prior to receiving necessary permits.

Walker Art Center Seeks Proposals from Indigenous Artists for New Sculpture Garden Work

The Walker Art Center has issued a Call to Indigenous Artists to submit proposals for a new work for the Sculpture Garden. This follows the 2017 controversy over Scaffold, a sculpture that triggered strong protests from the Dakota, Minnesota’s original peoples.