Freya Nelson – Staff Writer

Gustavus organization, the Environmental Action Coalition (EAC), has recently made concrete steps towards continuing the battle to stop line 3, a Tar Sands Pipeline that is being constructed across northern Minnesota. According to the Wall Street Journal, President Biden recently revoked the permit for Keystone XL, a different yet equally controversial pipeline that stretches from Canada to the US. Members of the EAC share their progress in addition to the implications that this executive decision has for the future of Minnesota’s “Stop Line 3” campaign.
“The first open discussion where we invited anyone in the campus community to learn more about Line 3 was an impactful catalyst. We had roughly 30 people attend our Zoom meeting and a lot of great engagement between professors and students,” Junior and Co-President of the EAC Kendra Held said.
Junior and EAC executive board member Audrey Ochtrup-DeKeyrel shared a similar sentiment about the impactful nature of the EAC’s initial steps towards establishing a foundation of learning before moving forward with the social justice movement.
“After creating this initial educational foundation, we immediately decided we had to do something with this new found information which resulted in our virtual fundraiser,” Ochtrup-DeKeyrel said.
The Environmental Action Coalition has conducted three major events in relation to the “Stop Line 3” campaign; an Open Discussion with Professors and members of the EAC, a virtual “Stop Line 3” Fundraiser, and a socially-distanced demonstration that was held in MN Square Park.
“My biggest takeaway from these events was seeing so many new or first year members step up in huge ways, taking on extra responsibility, gaining confidence as they shared excellent ideas and feeling the excitement build as we made progress. As of today we’ve raised $1,740 which we will split three ways between Giniw Collective, the Gitchigumi Scouts and Honor The Earth,” Held said.
In addressing the importance of fighting against the continuation of the Line 3 pipeline, both Held and Ochtrup-DeKeyrel shared that the development of line 3 is a multifaceted issue and one that cannot necessarily be summed up by specific “buzz words.”
“The greater societal ramifications are so much broader than anyone can conceptualize. I was able to listen to an Indigenous public speaker, a member of the Fond du Lac reservation, and she cited a statistic in which 1 out of 3 Indigenous women are victims of violent crimes and that the probability of violence increases by 11%, following the impacts of line 3’s construction. That is the terrifying reality of line 3 for Indigenous women,” Ochtrup-DeKeyrel said.
“Line 3 also threatens the safety of Minnesotans and the things we hold dear. This especially applies to the wild rice fields found nowhere else on earth but Northern Minnesota, a sacred treasure to the Anishinaabe people. Line 3 would disproportionately impact indigenous people and exacerbate the effects of structural racism in these communities through damaged health and resource access,” Held said
The EAC has been in collaboration with other organizations in order to best continue the fight against the construction of line 3. According to the Bemidiji Pioneer, the construction of line 3 is currently on-going but that is not to discredit the progress still being made by the EAC and other organizations that continue to be part of this movement.
“Protests and rallies held in St. Peter, the Twin Cities, and up north at sites line Palisade spread awareness of the harm Line 3 will cause Minnesota and motivate new people to join the resistance. While these protests do not directly hinder construction, they are an important part of the social movement against Line 3,” Held said.
“Investing in a fossil fuel industry is unethical for a myriad of reasons however from a financial economic standpoint it is just not viable, so I am hoping that President Biden will in the very least recognize that line 3 is not a great financial investment. I am a huge proponent of intentional and equitable transitions for lower and middle class workers, who ultimately will be the ones to bear the brunt of the disenfranchisement of the fossil fuel industry, and I am hopeful that [President Biden] will share some of these values,” Ochtrup-DeKeyrel said.
The EAC continues to post information on their social media platforms. There are many ways to participate in Line 3 resistance. Going to stopline3.org to learn more, donating to frontline resistance organizations, posting on social media to amplify indigenous voices, or safely participating in socially-distanced protests or rallies are all great steps.