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(MintPress) – Native American tribes in Northern Minnesota have erected protest camps to resist the expansion of four Enbridge pipelines carrying more than 440,000 barrels of oil per day across stolen Red Lake Chippewa land.
A coalition of grassroots groups representing Red Lake Chippewa, Anishinaabe Indians and environmental activists have set up encampments with the goal of shutting down the pipelines and holding Enbridge accountable for what groups describe as “theft of land.”
The controversy began in 2012 when Enbridge, a multibillion-dollar pipeline transport company, announced plans to double the capacity of the nearby Alberta Clipper tar sands pipeline from its current 440,000 barrels per day up to 800,000.
“When I was informed about the illegal trespassing of the company Enbridge on my homeland, I knew there was something I could do. I started calling as many Red Lakers as I could to try and make them aware,” said Angie Palacio, who initiated the encampment with the support of the Indigenous Environmental Network.
Chief Bill Erasmus of the Dene First Nation also expressed support, saying, “We fully support and are inspired by the Red Lake members and their resistance as it is stated in the Mother Earth Accord; affirming our responsibility to protect and preserve for our descendents, the inherent sovereign rights of our indigenous nations, the rights of property owners, and all inherent human rights.”
Located in northern Minnesota near the town of Leonard, the occupation of the Red Lake land began Thursday, Feb. 28 and has grown as protesters continue to erect permanent structures, including fences, to fight the pipeline expansion.
Enbridge claims to have an easement on the land dating back to 1949, when the company, then called “Lakehead Pipe Line Company” installed the first of four pipelines across land owned by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. Tribal leaders say that the company was never given permission for pipeline construction.
These pipes carry tar sands, Bakken oil from North Dakota, as well as Canadian crude across land — all fossil fuels that contribute to the sharp rise of temperatures worldwide.
“We’re working with the band to address these ownership issues and we just want to achieve a good resolution,” said Becky Haase, an Enbridge representative in a conversation with an unnamed member of the Red Lake Chippewa tribe.
The ongoing theft of native land in Minnesota and Canada helped spark the Idle No More Movement in 2012. Indigenous tribes across Canada began protesting the Harper government’s C-45 legislation, nullifying treaty rights and allowing oil and gas expansion across once-protected lands.
Protests peaked on Dec. 20, 2012 when 2,000 people participated in a flash mob in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.