- Details
- By Darren Thompson
TWO INLETS, Minn. — Early this morning, two people locked themselves to equipment used for Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline in northern Minnesota. The action was organized by the Giniw Collective and comes days after various permits were granted in the state of Minnesota, pushing the highly controversial pipeline closer to construction.
“Gov. Walz said we need to act boldly on climate,” Tara Houska (Ojibwe), founder of the Giniw Collective, told Native News Online. “Then he approved the largest tar sands infrastructure project in North America through Anishinaabe territory.”
“Having grown up on occupied Anishinaabe and Dakota land, I feel a responsibility to defend that land and the rights of the people who have a relationship to it,” Mira Grinsfelder, 24 of Saint Paul, Minn., said in a statement prior to locking herself up to Enbridge equipment.
“If the US government won’t defend Anishinaabe treaty rights, we will. If the Minnesota government won’t protect the water, we will,” added Grinsfelder.
Activist locked to a bulldozer to stop construction.
Native News Online reported on Thursday, Nov. 12, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) approved various permits for Enbridge’s Line 3. The result brought hundreds of people in protest at the Governor’s Mansion on Saturday, clashing with a pro-Trump rally with people voicing they support pipelines.
Yesterday, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) News reported that 12 out of 17 MPCA advisory group members resigned in protest over the approval of MPCA Commissioner Laura Bishop approval for a key water permit that pushes Line 3 closer to construction. White Earth tribal member and former Green Party Vice-Presidential candidate Winona LaDuke is one of the twelve that resigned.
“We cannot continue to legitimize and provide cover for the MPCA's war on black and brown people," their resignation letter stated.
Enbridge’s Line 3 is the largest project in the company’s history and would be one of the largest crude oil pipelines in the continent, according to a statement on the company’s website. Line 3 is expected to transport up to 760,000 barrels a day through northern Minnesota, passing through treaty lands of several Ojibwe bands.
To date, five Ojibwe bands have resisted the pipeline replacement project in court: White Earth, Red Lake, Mille Lacs, Fond du Lac, and Leech Lake. Canada, North Dakota, and Wisconsin have all approved their segments of the pipeline.
“If his [Gov. Walz’s] administration won’t stand up to big oil, we will,” added Houska.
More Stories Like This
Interior Department Moves to Expand Oil and Gas Development in Alaska’s National Petroleum ReserveFeds Release Final Environmental Impact Statement on Oak Flat Mine
Interior Department Announces Over $119 Million for Abandoned Coal Mine Reclamation
Osage Minerals Council Celebrates the Final Dismissal of Hayes II Litigation
Bad River Chairman: "Line 5 is a daily threat to our clean rivers and lakes, our fish, and our wild rice."
Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher