Statement on Line 3

May 25th, 2021

To All Our Relations,

This letter has been written on behalf of the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors Group (MUID) — a collaborative of over twenty-five American Indian organizations operating within the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minnesota. This letter is being issued as a formal statement of opposition against Enbridge and the Line 3 project.

This collective stands in opposition to the continued dependence on non-renewable energy resources. Specifically, MUID strongly disapproves of the extraction and exploitation of Mother Earth as is currently being demonstrated by the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline. The continued support of such an antiquated and destructive form of energy acquisition, at the expense of our natural ecosystems, is wholly antithetical to the worldview, customs, and practices of indigenous people.

Additionally, as history has repeatedly demonstrated, and current events have now corroborated, the execution of economic business ventures predicated on extraction and exploitation continue to foster secondary consequences for our communities. For example, in and around the worksites where the Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline construction is underway in northern Minnesota, there have been significant increases in the criminal sexual exploitation of Native American women — including overt sex trafficking — as well as illicit drug dealing, domestic violence, public solicitation, and missing women. These behaviors correlate an industry associated with the rape and pillaging of our Mother Earth and the rape and exploitation of our women relatives. The extractive industries were outlined as part of the demand for Indigenous women and girls for sexual violence in the Minnesota Task Force on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. 

Second, MUID remains whole-heartedly committed to the full transition to renewable energy as the sole means of creating a modern economic model in alignment with our indigenous values. MUID's commitment to a full transition to renewable energy is rooted in the belief that the best way for any economy to function is for it to be tightly aligned and acting harmoniously with our delicate ecosystems, ensuring that all of Creation remains protected and is able to flourish. Only when we live and work in balance with our Earth Mother will we create a modern economy where all can thrive. Any deviation from this forward-thinking approach is viewed by MUID to be a shameful step backwards, and inherently dangerous to the planet and our people.

Finally, on par with the values expressed above, MUID continues to place a heightened importance on the maintenance and enforcement tribal sovereignty Specifically, this refers to all tribal nations that share boundaries with the state of Minnesota. MUID recognizes that our views regarding Enbridge and the Line 3 project are not shared uniformly by all tribal nations that share boundaries with the state of Minnesota. For our membership, we acknowledge this difference of opinion and respect it as it is an important expression of tribal sovereignty.

It is the hope of this collective that we all can move forward together to build and authentic 21st century economy that heals and sustains Mother Earth and all of her children.

 We can and we must do better as a society.

 Pidamayayedo/Miigwech/Wibthaha/Pinigigi/Thankyou,

The full membership of the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors Group