fbpx
facebook app symbol  twitter  linkedin  instagram 1
 

WADENA, Minn.—On Thursday, Wadena County dismissed all charges against activist Winona LaDuke for her role in protests against Enbridge’s Line 3 Expansion Oil Pipeline Project in Minnesota. 

LaDuke, a White Earth Ojibwe citizen and former executive director of Honor the Earth, was arrested with six other women on July 19, 2021, for protesting in front of a Line 3 replacement site near the Shell River in Wadena County. 

Never miss Indian Country’s biggest stories and breaking news. Sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. 

“I’m grateful, I was the last defendant on the river,” Winona LaDuke said in an interview with Native News Online. “We are still working to protect the Shell River from big agriculture and Enbridge.” 

After her arrest, LaDuke spent three days behind bars because of a warrant issued by Aitkin County for violating conditions of release. She was previously arrested in Aitkin County on December 5, 2020 and was charged with two counts of misdemeanor trespass for participating in a prayer lodge on the shores of the Mississippi River. LaDuke was also arrested in Aitkin County on January 9, 2021 protesting at a Line 3 work site and posted bail with conditions to remain law-abiding. 

LaDuke’s six co-defendants, stemming from the July 19, 2021 event, were dismissed by Wadena County in October and November 2022. LaDuke’s case remained open, however. She was the only American Indian citizen, and also appointed by the White Earth Band of Ojibwe as the guardian of the Shell River. 

Yesterday’s news was the latest in a series of court wins for LaDuke. In April, Native News Online reported that Aitkin County dismissed two counts of criminal trespassing for lack of probable cause. In the last two weeks, several other people arrested for protesting the Line 3 construction recently had their cases dismissed in Aitkin County as well. 

LaDuke still faces charges in Aitkin County related to the January 9, 2021, incident. 

On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, Clearwater County dismissed all charges against the remaining 10 defendants arrested and charged at Camp Firelight, near the headwaters of the Mississippi River. An encampment there held ceremony for eight days near a Line 3 construction site until the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office arrested 51 people.  

“We will continue to stand for the river,” LaDuke said. Her attorney, Frank Bibeau, said that Minnesota tried to make an example out of LaDuke. 

“Clearly the state was out to make an example of Winona, until it decided it wouldn’t, or couldn't,” Bibeau said. “We are celebrating yet another victory for those who protect our lands and waters where the Anishinabek have Treaty-protected rights.”

In its permitting process with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Enbridge pledged to reimburse extra policing during the construction of the Line 3 Oil Pipeline Replacement Project. During the public commenting process, required for issuing permits for energy infrastructure projects in Minnesota, citizens feared a similar situation to protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian reservation. 

Both the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Aitken County Sheriff’s Office received at least $8.6 million in reimbursement funding for Line 3 policing. Nearly 900 people were arrested during the construction of Line 3, from December 2020 to October 2021.

“Prosecuting Line 3 Water Protectors has been an egregious waste of state resources,” Claire Glenn, one of LaDuke’s defense attorneys, said in a statement on Thursday. “In a time of so much need, it is shameful that our government would target and criminalize those working to protect all of us, and our precious waters, from the greed of a fossil fuel corporation. 

“The State owes Ms. LaDuke  and the hundreds of other Line 3 Water Protector defendants an apology.”

More Stories Like This

TIME Magazine Names Gila River Indian Community Leader to Its "2024 Time100 Climate” List
Navajo President Buu Nygren Says Remediation Fund, Cleanup of Sites is Solution to Contamination
Record Numbers of Steelhead Return to the Deschutes River, Heralding Progress in Long-term Fish Reintroduction Effort
National Park Service Issues Landmark Order for Tribal Consultations
On the Wisconsin-Iowa Border, the Mississippi River is Eroding Sacred Indigenous Mounds 

Support Independent Indigenous Journalism That Holds Power to Account

With the election now decided, Native News Online is recommitting to our core mission:  rigorous oversight of federal Indian policy and its impact on tribal communities.  

The previous Trump administration’s record on Indian Country — from the reduction of sacred sites to aggressive energy development on tribal lands — demands heightened vigilance as we enter this new term. Our Indigenous-centered newsroom will provide unflinching coverage of policies affecting tribal sovereignty, sacred site protection, MMIR issues, water rights, Indian health, and economic sovereignty.  

This critical watchdog journalism requires resources. Your support, in any amount, helps maintain our independent, Native-serving news coverage.  Every contribution helps keep our news free for all of our relatives. Please donate today to ensure Native News Online can thrive and deliver impactful, independent journalism

About The Author
Author: Darren ThompsonEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Darren Thompson (Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe) is a staff reporter for Native News Online who is based in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Thompson has reported on political unrest, tribal sovereignty, and Indigenous issues for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Indian Country Today, Native News Online, Powwows.com and Unicorn Riot. He has contributed to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Voice of America on various Indigenous issues in international conversation. He has a bachelor’s degree in Criminology & Law Studies from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.