STOP LINE 3

The Line 3 Reconstruction, and Its Effects

In this chapter i've included a long and detailed explanation of line three, if you want a shorter version, go to the link at the top of the second page

Line 3 is an oil pipeline that runs from Canada to Minnesota.
Line 3 was originally introduced and built in 1968, and it wasn't tested for any flaws until 1976. It has leaked over a thousand times, spilling over four million gallons of oil into bodies of water. one of the leaks was the worst inland leak in us history, occurring in grand rapids, Mississippi. 1.7 million pounds of oil was dumped into the prairie river.

If line 3 is built, it will most likely spill more harmful oil, and harm the environment in the area. Line 3 will include large amounts of deforestation, possibly contaminate the clean water and large rice farms in Minnesota, and release the same amount of greenhouse gasses as building 50 coal fired power plants, by building and construction alone. One of the large oil spills caused by the pipeline took a decade and a billion dollars to recover and rebuild from. That affected to economy of Michigan, as well as the environment.

The reconstruction could also be disastrous for indigenous groups, or more specifically, the Ojibwe tribe of Minnesota. The Ojibwe and the US both signed 42 treaties causing The Ojibwe to cede most of Minnesota to the US. The treaties established reservations and homes on the land for Native Americans, and giving them the right to fish, hunt and harvest rice on the land. The building of the pipeline breaks these treaties, as it goes through reservations and land that the Ojibwe rightfully live on and use. The pipeline will destroy ancient cultural sites, such as burial grounds, and destroy some of the resources in the area.

If the pipeline has an oil spill in the area, as it most likely will, it will contaminate the water supply for the reservations, and they would run out of clean water. i don't think i need to explain why this would be awful.

The construction of the pipeline would likely lead to drug trafficking, and much more sex trafficking, which would lead to indigenous women, children, and two spirits being kidnapped, r@ped, and murdered. For more information on missing indigenous women and children, look up "missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives" Its horrible, and it's disgusting. 4/5 indigenous women experience racially based violence in their lifetime.

Many Indigenous people are fighting back against the construction, but have been met with police brutality, and so far over 700 protesters have been arrested. Many Native protesters who were arrested and shot with rubber bullets, pepper spray, and tear gas were denied healthcare, and some were even locked in solitary confinement.

These protests are mostly peaceful, and though there are some protesters who become violent, that's no reason to shoot them and deny them treatment. These protests have been happening since 2016, two years after Enbridge (the head of the project) began working on the idea.

The pipeline has already been completed in Canada, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. They began to build in northern Minnesota, once they got permission to from the government in the area, and are now around half way finished. This issue is urgent, and im asking that you share this as much as you can, every person counts.