- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
Led by the Bay Mills Indian Community, more than 60 tribal nations from Indian Country have weighed in on Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s lawsuit to move the Line 5 oil pipeline from the heart of the Great Lakes.
The Tribes submitted an amicus brief supporting Nessel’s claims and asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit to remand Nessel v. Enbridge to state court, a move opposed by the Canadian giant Enbridge, which owns Line 5.
Line 5 is a dangerous outdated oil-and-gas pipeline that poses unacceptable risks of an oil spill, especially as it travels along the lakebed through the Straits of Mackinac in a four-mile section known as the dual pipelines.
“Near and far, Anishinaabe people have united to protect the Great Lakes,” Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle said. “We stand behind Attorney General Nessel because we know that shutting down Line 5 is the only way to protect everyone who depends on the land, water, and natural resources within the Great Lakes, including Anishinaabe people exercising our treaty rights.”
Nessel sued Enbridge in Ingham County Circuit Court in June of 2019, alleging that Enbridge is violating the Michigan Environmental Protection Act (MEPA), state public nuisance laws, and the public trust doctrine by operating Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. Although the case has been ready for a decision by the state court for more than two years, Enbridge has prolonged it by removing the case to federal court, missing the deadline by over 850 days.
Bay Mills and other Great Lakes tribal nations have hunted, fished, and gathered medicines in the Straits for thousands of years – since time immemorial. In 1836, they ceded vast acres of land and water including the Straits to the U.S. government.
The Great Lakes provide fresh drinking water to more than 40 million people.
In the creation stories of the Anishinaabe, the Straits of Mackinac are where the Great Turtle emerged after a flood to create the North American continent, which the Anishinaabe refer to as “Turtle Island.”
The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and Earthjustice represent the Bay Mills Indian Community, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Little River Band of Odawa Indians, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi, Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Tribe, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Ho-Chunk Nation, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Prairie Island Indian Community, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians, and the Anishinaabek Nation of Ontario as amici in this case.
“That 1836 treaty guarantees these Tribes the right to maintain their way of life in the ceded territory – a right that will be irrevocably destroyed if an oil spill from the dual pipelines contaminates the waters and aquatic life of the Straits,” said Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Staff Attorney David L. Gover.
“Enbridge is plainly trying to game the system, but no oil company is above the law,” said Earthjustice Associate Attorney John Petoskey. “The 6th Circuit should remand this case to state court, where the attorney general’s claims can be swiftly resolved.”
The Tribes and First Nations are based in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Canada. All 12 of Michigan’s federally recognized Tribes have passed resolutions calling to decommission Line 5.
More Stories Like This
Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III Joins Oregon Law as Inaugural Oregon Tribes Scholar-in-ResidenceInterior Department Moves to Expand Oil and Gas Development in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve
Feds 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
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
