Nonviolence Resistance
North American Pipeline
Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)
Actions
People may have lost sight of the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) after it became operational in 2017, but there are still strong efforts underway to stop its use. Indigenous-led nonprofit NDN Collective released a 200-page special report in March 2022 detailing the lack of due diligence in DAPL’s planning and construction. The report was a yearlong collaborative effort between NDN Collective’s Climate Justice team and engineering experts to show the pipeline is technically unsafe and call on the Biden administration to shut it down.
Indigenous-Led Organization Opens New Salvo in Fight for Climate Justice (CounterPunch article, 7/13/22)
On NDN Collective’s founding, perspective, and the release of their report.
'I live with Standing Rock in my heart': Massive pipeline protest resonates 5 years later (MPR news article, 4/1/21)
Looking back at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation DAPL protests in 2017.
Resources, history, and analysis
Faulty Infrastructure and the Impacts of the Dakota Access Pipeline (NDN Collective)
View the report, summary for policy makers, social media toolkit to amplify the report, and more.
Dakota Access Pipeline Protests (Wikipedia)
History of DAPL’s protests
7 history lessons that help explain tribes' pipeline protests (Argus Leader article, 11/16/16)
Famous protests in US history and their impacts (Stacker article, 1/11/22)
Enjoy the whole article or scroll down to 2016 for DAPL.
Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline
Actions
Jane Fonda protests Enbridge Line 3 pipeline, calls out Canadian oil (CTV News article, 3/16/21)
Officials: More than 200 arrested in northern Minnesota Line 3 protests (MPR news article, 6/9/2021)
Analysis
Oil and water: The Line 3 debate (MPR news’ L3 page)
The L3 pipeline became operational in 2021 but the fight continues. This page covers the entirety of the project, dating from January 2013 to present.
Resources
Stop the Line 3 pipeline (stopline3.org) The organization provides information, videos, resistance maps, and actionable items for pipeline resistance.
Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline
Line 5 Michigan Protest and Petition (Pipeline Fighters)
'We're still here': Indigenous water protectors call for Enbridge to respect treaty rights (Michigan Advance article, 5/14/22)
Navigator Heartland Greenway CO2
Illinois residents have opportunity to learn about caron dioxide pipeline risks, other issues (Riverbender.com article, 3/1/22)
Summit Midwest Carbon Express CO2
Iowans at Capitol push for stronger restrictions on eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines (Des Moines Register article, 3/29/22)
Iowa landowners unite against use of eminent domain (Iowa Public Radio, 2/24/22)
Iowa Easement Team (Iowaeasement.org)
“The Iowa Easement Team is a grass roots organization established for the benefit of landowners affected by proposed Carbon Pipelines in Iowa. Landowner constitutional and property rights and interests must be protected no matter what actions are taken by Pipeline Companies or State Agencies”.
Keystone XL Pipeline (KXL)
From the Frontline: KXL Canceled and Moving Forward (Indigenous Environmental Network article, June 2022)
KXL cancelled thanks to resistance from organizations such as Indigenous Environmental Network.
History of the "Seeds of Resistance": Sacred Ponca Corn (Bold Nebraska article, 5/20/16)
Ponca sacred corn was first planted in 2014 in the path of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline as “Seeds of Resistance” and became an annual event.
Keystone XL pipeline: Why is it so disputed? (BBC article, 1/21/21)
Byhalia Pipeline
‘A victory for us’: Southwest Memphis residents elated as developers drop Byhalia Pipeline project (MLK50: Justice Through Journalism article, 7/2/21)
Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Energy companies abandon long-delayed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (The Washington Post article, 7/5/20)
History
What environmentalists won by losing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline battle (Eye on the Arctic article, 7/7/17)
Looking back at the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) in the 60’s and the fight from the environmental movement’s Friends of the Earth organization to stop its creation.
Groups
Pipeline Fighters HUB (pipelinefighters.org)
“The Pipeline Fighters Hub provides technical, legal, story-telling, and organizing assistance to any community fighting pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure, with the goal of protecting the land and water. We believe unlikely alliances of landowners, Tribal Nations, and climate advocates are the ones closest to the pain, and should also be closest to the solutions.”
MackinawOde, Heart of the Turtle (mackinawode.com)
“The mission of MackinawOde is to bridge Indigenous communities to allies so we all can work towards a single purpose: protecting the Earth’s natural resources so they can be valued by generations to come.”
Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines (noillinoisco2pipelines.org)
“We are a growing coalition of Illinois environmental groups, landowners, and residents concerned about the environmental, economic, and the unprecedented safety hazards associated with building a network of CO2 pipelines across our state. We believe the mad rush to build these pipelines as part of the technology called carbon capture and sequestration is dangerous, and a false solution that will keep us reliant on fossil fuels.”
Food and Water Watch (foodandwaterwatch.org)
“Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold & uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people’s health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests. We have several easy ways you can lend a hand, even from home!”
Water protectors (Wikipedia)
Water protectors are activists, organizers, and cultural workers focused on the defense of the world's water and water systems.
Resources
Indigenous Free, Prior & Informed Consent; Consultation & Environmental Justice Manual (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations–FAO)
Free, Prior, & Informed Consent (FPIC) is a specific right that allows Indigenous groups to give or withhold consent to a project that may affect them or their territories. The FPIC manual is for project practitioners working with Indigenous peoples to adequately negotiate the conditions under which a project will be designed, implemented, monitored and evaluated.