Indigenous water protectors and allies met at Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac last week, to spotlight the dangers of the 71-year-old Line 5, deemed North America’s riskiest crude oil pipeline.
Headlined by the nonprofit Oil and Water Don’t Mix, the protests featured two main events: The “Pipe Out Paddle Up” in St. Ignace which showcased a flotilla against Enbridge’s Line 5 oil spill risk, followed by the “Water is Life Festival” in Petoskey, celebrating local music and advocacy for ending Line 5’s threat.
Nichole Keway Biber, Michigan organizer for Clean Water Action, a member of the Oil and Water Don’t Mix coalition, explained Indigenous people have been given stewardship over the waters.
“Also really critical to us having lived relationship to our culture and what our teachings are and our instructions are,” Keway Biber explained. “So much of that is to protect and oversee the water and the wildlife.”
Keway Biber emphasized the events focused on the preservation of the Indigenous way of life. Enbridge has maintained Line 5’s safety is exclusively regulated by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
Enbridge is responsible for the worst oil spill in Michigan. When oil pressure dropped in a pipeline near the Kalamazoo River (due to a leak), operators increased pressure to compensate.