Youth call for DC civil disobedience to stop Enbridge Alberta Clipper
Friends,
On August 25th, young people and allies from across the Midwest will join together in Washington, DC for Midwest Unrest, an action to demand an immediate stop to the Enbridge corporation's illegal Alberta Clipper tar sands scandal in Minnesota. Secretary of State John Kerry has the power to stop Enbridge from continuing to sneak tar sands oil through our backyard — we are coming to his front door to make sure he knows where we stand.
Midwest Unrest is a youth-led call to escalate the fight to save our climate. Some participants will risk arrest. Group transportation will be provided from MN. We encourage people of all ages to answer the young generation's call to action with legal protest or by joining in non-violent civil disobedience.
Enbridge's illegal pipeline scheme swaps tar sands oil from the Alberta Clipper pipeline to an alternate pipeline just at the Canada – US border. This bypasses the required environmental review on the Alberta Clipper flow increase so the tar sands can start flowing at capacities similar to Keystone XL. This is wrong and it's up to us to do something about it.
Over the last two years we've collected petitions, visited senators' offices, made thousands of calls to the President, and this past June 5,000 people marched against climate-killing tar sands oil in St. Paul. We've mobilized and engaged within the process and it's built a beautiful and powerful movement. But Secretary Kerry, who has the power to stop the ongoing, illegal flow of dangerous tar sands oil through northern Minnesota with the stroke of a pen, hasn't noticed. That's why we need to escalate.
In early September, our ongoing lawsuit against the Alberta Clipper pipeline will reach federal court in Minneapolis. It's up to us to ensure that Secretary Kerry stands on our side, reverses the State Department's tacit approval of Enbridge's illegal scheme, and stops the Alberta Clipper. While we await a decision from the administration on Keystone XL, it is unacceptable for the State Department to turn a blind eye and allow this tar sands expansion across the border via this scheme.
We call on Secretary Kerry to prioritize the voices of young people, indigenous communities, and communities most impacted across the Midwest to join us on the right side of history.
Sincerely, Dallas Goldtooth US Tar Sands Campaign Organizer Indigenous Environmental Network
P.S. If you can't make it to D.C., you can take action in Minnesota on August 25th. Legal public actions will take place in McGregor and in the Twin Cities, led by indigenous people, youth and our allies at Honor the Earth fighting the Enbridge pipeline invasion.
The Indigenous Environmental Network is an international environmental justice nonprofit that workswith tribal grassroots organizations to build the capacity of Indigenous communities.
Brenda Norrell has been a news reporter in Indian country for 29 years, serving as a writer for Navajo Times and a stringer for AP and USA Today during the 18 years she lived on the Navajo Nation. After being a longtime staff reporter for Indian Country Today, she was censored and terminated. She then created Censored News, focused on Indigenous Peoples and human rights, now in its fifth year.
On August 25th, young people and allies from across the Midwest will join together in Washington, DC for Midwest Unrest, an action to demand an immediate stop to the Enbridge corporation's illegal Alberta Clipper tar sands scandal in Minnesota. Secretary of State John Kerry has the power to stop Enbridge from continuing to sneak tar sands oil through our backyard — we are coming to his front door to make sure he knows where we stand.
In early September, our ongoing lawsuit against the Alberta Clipper pipeline will reach federal court in Minneapolis. It's up to us to ensure that Secretary Kerry stands on our side, reverses the State Department's tacit approval of Enbridge's illegal scheme, and stops the Alberta Clipper. While we await a decision from the administration on Keystone XL, it is unacceptable for the State Department to turn a blind eye and allow this tar sands expansion across the border via this scheme.
