An Open Letter Supporting the Protection of the Waters and the Water Protectors from Enbridge’s Line 3 Pipeline

Dec 19

We are water. Each of us is our own ripple in the infinitely diverse, swirling preciousness that is life; water defines and unites us. When we move as water in great enough numbers, we become the force of forces, overcoming, dissolving, permeating, eroding, dislodging, transporting what we encounter, and nothing can avoid being transformed when touched by this force. Water is calling to us now, and those of us who hear its voice are compelled to heed its insistence that we do everything in our power to support its life-sustaining capacity. The mouth of the Mississippi river is spilling forth a message being echoed by the Anishinaabe and Dakota, the people who have stewarded its waters for countless generations: STOP LINE 3. The movement that is being called for right now, however, is not movement grounded in the vibration of resistance, but one that emulates the movement of the river itself and in a flash surges to become an irresistible deluge.

As this is being written, seventeen water protectors sit in jail for placing their bodies in the path of bulldozers that are steadily trampling trees as they grind toward the Mississippi. Drilling at the river is the next scheduled step in the construction of Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline, which is set to pass under the river and threatens more than 200 natural bodies of water, crossing Indigenous lands in violation of numerous treaties. While the acts of so-called civil disobedience to which land and water protectors have resorted in the days since construction began have brought slightly increased media coverage to the effort to STOP LINE 3, lawsuits filed against the corporation have proven ineffective in halting the company’s progress. It continues because the massive outpouring of public support that has effectively shifted the tide in other movements this year, Black Lives Matter in particular, has yet to be generated.

Minnesota has had the world’s attention trained on it as a result of being the flashpoint for the uprising sparked by George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police. As that uprising has gained international traction, it has also brought increased attention to Indigenous rights and causes and fostered an expansion of solidarity between Black and Indigenous activists. It’s no secret that the attitudes behind racist policies and actions that result in deadly over-policing and the placement of toxic plants and refineries in black communities are the same ones which greenlight permits for projects that threaten to devastate the natural environment and compromise the water supply in various Indigenous territories. Perhaps there is no accident in the fact that as this extraordinary year comes to a close, another cry to draw the world’s focus to Minnesota resounds. Perhaps it is the presence of the source of this mightiest of rivers, these headwaters that are under threat of desecration unless huge numbers of people band together to STOP LINE 3, that underlies the current magnetism of these Anishinaabe and Dakota lands.

From the perspective that individual and interpersonal healing are critical to the lasting effectiveness of any organizing in the name of justice, this letter springs forth as a call for the healing of the waters within and without. As direct action is taken to STOP LINE 3, protection, cleansing and care of self, addressing unhealthy and abusive relationships and the nurturing of conflict resolution and cooperative bonds between people, communities and nations involved in the movement must be at the core of the work. Water entreats us to engage holistically. The following steps are required right now to arrest Enbridge’s illegal and destructive encroachment:

· Flood the lines of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’ headquarters, message him and tag him in posts insisting that he protect the waters of Minnesota, honor the treaties with Indigenous nations of the state and call for an immediate stop to the construction of the Line 3 pipeline

o Phone: 651-201-3400/800-657-3717 8-4:30 CST

o Twitter: @GovTimWalz

o Instagram: @mngovernor

o Facebook: Governor Tim Walz

· Flood the lines of Enbridge’s US headquarters and tag the company in posts insisting that they protect the waters of Minnesota, honor the treaties with Indigenous nations of the state and immediately stop construction of the Line 3 pipeline

o Phone: 713-627-5400/715-398-4500

o Twitter: @enbridge

o Instagram: @enbridge

o Facebook: Enbridge

· Flood the lines of Chase Bank insisting that they stop financing Line 3 and other similar initiatives and commit to phasing out support for tar sands oil.

o Twitter: @Chase

o Instagram: @chase

o Facebook: Chase bank

· Flood your social media pages with posts about Line 3 and efforts to stop it, using the hashtag #stopline3

Join those involved in the movement, from wherever you are, in collective, daily prayer/focused intention that the pipeline be stopped

The time to move is now. We, the undersigned, have understood that the tactic of fighting fire with fire burns everything in its wake, and summon all who appreciate the true value of water, respect the environment we share and recognize the importance of honoring indigenous people, traditions, and territories to join us in circulating this letter and taking the action steps outlined herein to STOP LINE 3. We have heard the water speak and we are answering by pouring energy into the current that started as a trickle and, in order to be effective, must swell into a flood. We encourage you to flood all lines of communication leading to Governor Tim Walz, Enbridge, Inc., and Chase bank with the call to STOP LINE 3. We look forward to seeing our social media feeds overflowing with news of this movement and to joining you daily in the space of intention/prayer in support of the waters and the water protectors. We celebrate our collective power as we drown out the greed and disregard for life fueling the voracious extraction of Earth’s resources and STOP LINE 3 in its tracks.

For the Love of Water,

Michaela Harrison, Whale Whispering

Karma Mayet Johnson, The Wind & The Warrior

Nana Fofie Amina Bashir, The Wind & The Warrior

Nana Ife Afriye Kilimanjaro, The Wind & The Warrior

Nana Korantemaa Pierce Williams, The Wind & The Warrior

Renée Gurneau, Red Lake Tribal Community Member

Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Black Feminist Scholar, Author

Dr. Geryll Robinson, Five Directions Wellness, Soul Shifting Retreats

Luella Toni Lewis, MD, President and Founder, Liberation Health Strategies

Leah Penniman, Founder, Soul Fire Farm

Mama Edie McLoud Armstrong, Bilingual Storyteller/Percussionist/Speech and Language Pathologist