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Calling for President Biden to revoke permits for the Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline, protesters stopped traffic in Canal Park and occupied the Ariel Lift Bridge in Duluth, Minnesota this afternoon (Thursday August 19).

According to the Duluth News Tribune -

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Corps of Engineers Building in Duluth's Canal Park (Google)
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At approximately 11 a.m., a few hundred people gathered outside St. Louis County Courthouse during the "March for Manoomin." The protesters held signs saying "Water is Life," "Protect the Wild Rice" and "Honor the Treaties."

The group walked to Superior Street, and then onto Lake Avenue and down to Canal Park to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office, where they knocked on the door and demanded it be opened. (Source)

On the Lift Bridge, protesters hung a sign that read "Stop Line 3" on the bridge and would not leave when a ship came thru and the lift alarm was activated. The bridge operator asked them to leave, they did not, and, police were called. According to the Tribune, "Some shouted "White bodies on the bridge."

Derek Ingvaldson
Derek Ingvaldson
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Witnesses on the scene say that by 12:30, an Indigenous elder asked the protesters to leave the bridge and with a round dance and drums, drew the focus back to the Corp of Engineers office while police cleared the road.

Derek Ingvaldson
Derek Ingvaldson
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What Do Indigenous Leaders Say?

Ralph Nader rally in Boston
379443 07: Green Party vice-presidential candidate Winona LaDuke speaks October 1, 2000 at a rally for Ralph Nader at the Fleet Center in Boston. According to officials, around ten thousand people attended the event. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Newsmakers) Getty Images
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Recently, on Slate,  Winona LaDuke, Ojibwe leader and Indigenous rights organizer, and former candidate for President of the USA, was interviewed by Sofia Andrade:

SA - You mentioned that Line 3 is even worse than Keystone when it comes to climate. Why is it important for Biden to look at this as a climate issue, especially after running on the most progressive climate agenda?

Derek Ingvaldson
Derek Ingvaldson
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WlD - This is the equivalent of 50 new coal-fired power plants. That’s really dumb. … Leave it in the ground. He needs to be the president that leads for a just transition. We expect [Harris] and Biden to provide leadership for a just transition, not to be basically prostituting for the Canadian pipeline industry. This is a really bad pipeline that runs through the heart of Ojibwe country in the middle of a time when the planet is on fire. This is not a good pipeline. In fact, there’s no more good tar sand pipelines.

What Do the Corps of Engineers and the Biden Administration Say

President Biden Delivers Remarks On Administration's Covid-19 Response
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Some background: The Corps has been were sued in federal court last year by two Ojibwe bands and three environmental groups saying there was no proper evaluation of the Line 3's impact on comate change, which apparently was done, but by the state and the lawsuit says it should have been done by the Corps so the permit should be disallowed.

The permit means the project can drill beneath rivers during construction and then discharge the dredged material. The Corps wanted the case dismissed because they say they met all the federal environmental law requirements.

Derek Ingvaldson
Derek Ingvaldson
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I said all that so I could say, the Biden Administration made it clear, in late July, that they were not going to cancel the permits for Line 3.

As always, if you have a comment, complaint, or concern about something I wrote here, please let me know: james.rabe@townsquaremedia.com

And for something a little lighter, let's get nostalgic...''

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