INDIGENOUS LAND: Water Protectors Fight Pipeline Construction (International Briefs)

Jan. 9: Water protectors fight the construction site for an oil pipeline near Palisade, MN.

Hundreds of water protectors have been braving the harsh Minnesota winter to defend the territorial rights of Indigenous nations against Enbridge, a multi-billion-dollar pipeline company headquartered in Canada. Dozens of Indigenous activists and allies have been arrested as Enbridge attempts to push through construction of a tar sand oil pipeline, which would expose hundreds of miles of Indigenous land to toxic spills and would have a carbon cost equal to 50 coal power plants.

Enbridge has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire Minnesota state police as private goons to protect their pipeline and their profits. Oil and gas companies, with the help of the American Legislative Action Council (ALEC), are also using their money to sponsor a Minnesota law to make protesting a pipeline a federal offense. The oil tycoon Koch brothers run ALEC which funds anti-worker, anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion laws in multiple states, and was behind a similar anti-protest law in Louisiana. They practically own the Louisiana legislature.

One January 14, 3 activists halted construction on the Line 3 pipeline by locking themselves together inside a pipe segment. They demand that U.S. and Canadian governments recognize the treaty rights of Indigenous nations and immediately halt the construction of KeystoneXL, Line 3, and DAPL fossil fuel pipeline projects. Through militant action, these and other activists are standing up for us all.

Indigenous Peoples of Peru Strike to Defend their Lands

By Meg Maloney

Indigenous people have long been at the front-lines of resistance against multinational corporations who pollute the environment through deforestation and mineral, oil and gas extraction. The indigenous peoples of Atalaya are demanding action be taken to stop extractive industries from further polluting their territories. Atalaya is the largest of four provinces in the Central Amazon Rainforest in Peru. Natural resources are being given to corporations without the consent or consultation of the indigenous people. Gas and wood are being extracted without the permission of the people who have lived on these ancestral lands for over 7,000 years.

The indefinite strike which began August 15 is to protest the negligence of national, regional and local authorities who allow the Ucayali and Urubamba rivers to be polluted by extractive industries. “We want the central government to enter into a dialogue with us,” said Edwin Jumanga an indigenous rights activist with AIDESEP. The groups involved have stated that they will block the routes used to transport cargo through the rivers. Through unity and organization, the Quechua, Aymara, Ashaninka and other indigenous peoples are resisting large multinational corporations and armed groups. The strike will continue until Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra agrees to meet with the affected communities and their representatives.

Louisiana House of Representatives Moves to Criminalize Water-Protectors

By Meg Maloney

The fight against the Bayou Bridge Pipeline intensifies in Louisiana. The Indigenous-led L’eau Est La Vie (Water Is Life) camp, located in the swamps of Houma, Chitimacha, and Chata Territory, have been peacefully protesting the Bayou Bridge Pipeline for several months now. Community leaders have been organizing to spread awareness on the high-risk project, which puts 700 bodies of water in danger, including our precious Atchafalaya basin, the last growing delta in the state.

Big Oil is trembling in fear of the people organizing to fight back against companies who continue to make messes in our communities. From this fear has stemmed the bill HB727, which passed the Louisiana House of Representatives in April Next it will go to the Senate. Then it will land on our governor’s desk. If passed this bill could land water-protectors in jail for up to 25 years, and a year for even “conspiring” to protest pipelines.

Knowing how quickly our elected officials fall in line behind corporate sponsors, this bill is very worrying. The HB727 bill is meant to hyper-criminalize water-protectors, fisherfolk, environmentalists, journalists, justice organizers & anyone who wishes to exercise their First Amendment rights in relation to defending their lands and waters.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the organization guilty of writing the HB727 bill. ALEC is an organization that has over 300 corporate sponsors, including Walmart, the Koch brothers, AT&T, and Exxon Mobil. ALEC uses their corporate contributions to draft legislation that legislators across the country take back to their states and introduce as their own “reform” ideas. ALEC is known for promoting privatization and corporate interests in every sphere, including education, healthcare, the environment, voting rights, etc.

If the HB727 bill is passed our tax dollars will be used to protect private companies who are destroying our waterways, wetlands, and crawfish habitats. Our wetlands are vital in protecting us from storm waters, and we’re losing a football field worth of land every hour. Protecting waterways and wetlands should go without saying in South Louisiana. We should be focused on restoring them, because our culture and livelihood depends on it. Both Democrats and Republicans have supported the HB727 bill. It is not an issue of party; it’s an issue of whose pockets are getting filled by big oil.

Cherri Foytlin, an indigenous community organizer at the L’eau Est La Vie camp, says they’re not backing down. That if the people can’t put their bodies on the line to protect the water, on the route of the pipeline, they will bring the fight to the offices of all our corrupt politicians. Our officials can stand on the opposing side of the people, but when organized & united the peoples power will always win. The question is how far our corrupt politicians are willing to take it.

If you wish to support the work against the Bayou Bridge Pipeline, visit nobbp.org. Donate, sign up for camp, and help spread awareness in your community. Call your representatives and say no to bill HB727.