30 Tribal Nations in the Great Lakes region sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging his administration to speak out against Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline.
Last June, a federal district court ordered Enbridge to shut down a portion of the pipeline that runs through Bad River Reservation in Wisconsin by 2026. Enbridge appealed the case to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which requested federal input in December 2023. The Biden Administration has not responded so far.
“When a foreign corporation seeks to disregard U.S. property laws and threatens tribal sovereignty and the rights of Indigenous citizens of the United States, the federal government has an obligation to push back against that incursion,” said Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle. “We request that President Biden acts quickly to support, not just the right of Tribal Nations to protect their lands and people, but also the rule of law.”
Line 5 cuts through treaty-reserved territory of Tribal Nations including the Bad River Band in Wisconsin and the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan, which has led to several legal challenges by tribes and environmental groups.