
Rose and a number of other Native youth just finished a 250-mile canoe trip down the Mississippi to try to bring attention to the threat posed by Enbridge Line 3 — a proposed expansion of a tar sands crude oil pipeline through northern Minnesota. The “Paddle to Protect” trip was organized by Honor the Earth.
Some 80 people showed up at Big Sandy Lake Recreation Area Saturday, where the canoe trip ended. People stood in a large circle to show their support for the youth, to congratulate them on their journey, and to listen to their beautiful words.
“Everyone needs clean water to survive,” Rose told the crowd. “We don’t need pipelines to survive. Our ancestors didn’t need pipelines to survive.”
Rose said the canoe trip was an amazing experience for her. As someone who grew up in the city, she never experience nights that were so quiet and where she could listen to the animals.
You don’t have to paddle 250 miles to support the youth and the work they are doing. Several of the paddlers are part of a group called the “Youth Climate Intervenors.” The group has started a “Stop the Line 3” petition that already has more than 30,000 signatures. Please add yours and share with your networks.
The Youth Climate Intervenors are one of the select groups who will have standing to testify before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in the pipeline’s contest case hearing. They were recognized specifically because they are young, and will have to deal with the pipeline’s long-term consequences.
Nina, one of the paddlers and a youth climate intervenor, said: “I want to tell my grandchildren that I fought for this water.”