Since the arrival of Columbus in America in 1492, the systematic removal of Native Americans has been highly prevalent. More specifically within the United States, due to the strong system of white supremacy in the past, Native Americans were relocated onto reservations that often were miles away from their native land, an important part of their culture, implying that America is a country “built on stolen land.”
Evidence for this claim comes in the form of the actions of Andrew Jackson. In 1830 Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, demanding that Native Americans would have to be removed from their native lands. Although the American legal system originally agreed with the tribes that due to their ancestral claims on their homeland it was legally and morally wrong to rid them from the area, the President was able to ignore such concerns, causing the court itself to also “meet the needs of white supremacy.” During the process of removing the Native Americans from their land, over 15,000 Natives passed away due to exposure to disease, lack of sufficient food, and fatigue. Thus, the trail the Native Americans took to their reservation was named the Trail of Tears, indicating the despair within their situation. Following this event in 1887, in response to the successful rebellions led by tribal leaders such as Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse, the American federal government instituted the Dawes Act, which “divided Native reservations into individual allotments and sold “excess” to white settlers.” Consequently, Native Americans lost over 90 million acres of land and lost their communal relationships with each other. As of late, land and resource theft committed against Native Americans, unfortunately, continues as The Manhatten project and others that have been undertaken after the aforementioned project, permit officials to mine uranium in tribal lands, disturbing local peace. Sharing her experience of living on reservations, Yvette Pino indicates that due to their residence on reservations, her community suffers from issues such as alcohol abuse, lack of education, and an unstable foster care system. Accordingly, the antipathy against the American government by Native Americans is a fathomable occurrence, but Native Americans’ opposition does not end there due to their determination in securing rights over their ancestral land.
Line 3, a new proposed building plan for a pipeline that would bring tar from Alberta, Canada to Wisconsin, was proposed in 2014 by a Candian pipeline company named Enbridge. The issue with this proposal; however, is due to the potential of the pipeline to be built through the territory of the Anishnaabe people, which may cause territorial and resource disputes in the future. Native Americans, moreover, or also citing the fact that pipelines have a high possibility of instigating oil spills, causing damage to the surrounding wildlife and nature. Furthermore, Line 3 has the potential to cause more climate change than the entirety of Minnesota’s economy, rendering the project itself obsolete as Minnesota’s local government deemed such supply of oil unnecessary. In regards to the rights of Native Americans, Line 3 violates their rights as it would disrupt the growth of wild rice, an integral portion of their culture. Therefore, allowing the Line 3 project to pass would perpetuate the idea that it is acceptable to follow the precedent of land theft and cultural disruption set by the American government.
Due to the aforementioned circumstance, organized protests against Line 3, named Stop Line 3, have been created. Since 2014, many people have attended hearings, spoke to neighbors, and sent letters to officials designated with the responsibility of approving the Line 3 proposal. Due to this, over 600 individuals have been arrested due to their involvement in the protests. Nonetheless, the cause of protecting the environment and land of the Anishnaabe tribe has continued to motivate individuals to advocate for the protection of Native American Rights. Alongside such individuals, Native American Tribes such as the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, and the White Earth Band of Ojibwe have helped in stopping the project. One individual involved in the protests, Kelly Maracle aged 57, a member of the Tonawanda Seneca and Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, was arrested while protesting by chaining herself to other women across the Shell River in Minnesota in the presence of police officers. While Maracle did this due to her conscious concern for the environment, like other proponents of stopping line 3, she also dedicates her actions to her 3 grandchildren, as she hopes that their future families can have access to clean drinking water, which will not be possible if Line was to be instituted. Nonetheless, protests and interactions with police officers are becoming increasingly dangerous. For instance, on July 30, 2021 protesters were sprayed with pepper spray and shot rubber bullets. Nonetheless, protesters, such as Winona Laduke, executive director of Honor the Earth, who lives on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota, indicate that line 3 is a “climate crime” which cannot be approved for construction as it will only cause pollution.
The rights of indigenous Americans have consistently been ignored and unrecognized by the American government. As such, Line 3 threatens to increase such abuses of Native Americans’ rights. Therefore, protesters continue to oppose Line 3 for the future plant and generations of Native Americans as well as American residents. As in the words of Winoa Laduke an Ojibwe leader and Indigenous rights organizer who wishes to continue protesting Line 3 even under the new legislation of Biden (the newly appointed president), “[Agreeing to Line 3] is selling our [Native American] human rights, our [Native American] water, our [Native American] political rights, everything, our [Native American] land to a Canadian multinational.”
Writer: Rakshaa Ramalingam Subbulakshmi
Editor: Aditi Patel
Sources:
https://www.stopline3.org/
https://www.stopline3.org/take-action
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/10/protesters-line-3-minnesota-oil-gas-pipeline
https://www.pinejournal.com/news/government-and-politics/7112669-Line-3-protesters-call-on-Biden-Walz-to-rescind-pipeline-permits
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/07/line-3-protest-pipeline-biden.html
https://www.twincities.com/2021/07/24/judge-orders-sheriff-to-stop-blockading-property-used-by-protestors-of-line-3-oil-pipeline/
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2021/07/22/winona-laduke-6-others-arrested-while-protesting-line-3/
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/08/05/stand-us-indigenous-line-3-opponents-seek-allies-fight-tar-sands-pipeline
https://www.thecentersquare.com/minnesota/minnesota-line-3-pipeline-nearly-done-despite-protests/article_eabc19ac-e5a1-11eb-b51d-bbfc1b1bc10e.html
https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/native-american-activism-1960s-to-present/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/red-power-movement-radical-fight-native-american-sovereignty
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/11/22/502068751/the-standing-rock-resistance-is-unprecedented-it-s-also-centuries-old
https://www.un.org/WCAR/e-kit/indigenous.htm
lovee🥰🤩🤩