Oil & Gas Company Enbridge is Trespassing on Indigenous Land – Podcast & Film
We’ve covered in past podcast episodes how we have reliable renewable energy options (listen here) for energy and employment we can build right now across Canada. Renewables also create a LOT more employment (listen here) and renewables are BETTER for national economic security and local economies than oil and gas projects and pipelines.
By contrast, oil & gas company Enbridge is actively trespassing on Indigenous land. The Bad River film follows the story of Bad River Band and its ongoing fight for sovereignty, a story which unfolds in a groundbreaking way through a series of shocking revelations, devastating losses, and a powerful legacy of defiance and resilience which includes a David vs. Goliath battle to save Lake Superior, the largest freshwater resource in America. Consider hosting a viewing in your community and contact us at info@sierraclub.ca or find out more about planned screenings in Canada below.
We also have a new podcast on Enbridge’s dangerous pipeline, with Joe Bates of the Bad River Band here:
In this episode Jessica talks with Joe Bates of the Bad River Band about how oil and gas pipeline corporation Enbridge is actively trespassing on Indigenous land and the Band’s fight to protect the Great Lakes from an oil spill.
You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, or YouTube.
They also discuss the recent documentary on Bad River Band’s fight for the Great Lakes and Joe’s excitement for an upcoming trip to Canada to talk with Canadians about the topic.
Learn more about the film and you can stay tuned for future screenings in Canada via our newsletter. Current screenings include:
- Montreal: Sat Feb 1, 1 pm, College Ahuntsic, Espace le vrai monde, 9155 Rue St-Hubert PLEASE SIGN UP TO ATTEND.
- The screening in Toronto is now fully booked but we hope to do another film screening there in the future as well so please stay tuned.
You can also contact us if you would like to potentially organize a film screening in your community! Email us at info@sierraclub.ca
More about this issue from the End Line 5 Coalition’s recent article:
Enbridge’s horrible track record with oil spills
Enbridge has a horrible track record when it comes to oil spills, and consistently gaslights Indigenous Nations by downplaying the risks posed by Line 5. Significant spills have already occurred along the Line 5 route across Michigan. It’s not a matter of if, but rather when, the next spill will happen.
The fossil fuel company claims it can prevent Line 5 from spilling into high-risk areas such as the Straits of Mackinac. However, expert models have shown that in the event of a spill, it would take Enbridge at least 13.5 minutes to shut off the pipeline in this area — where currents can be ten times the strength of those at Niagara Falls.
In that time, over 1 million litres of oil would gush into the Great Lakes, engulfing up to 1100 km of shoreline across the Straits, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron with dirty tar sands oil. And that’s in a best-case scenario. In 2010, it took Enbridge 17 hours to stop oil from bursting out of one of its pipelines into the Kalamazoo River, resulting in one of the largest inland oil spills in U.S. history.
Enbridge portrays itself as a “responsible corporate citizen”, but above all, it is the owner of the world’s largest crude oil pipeline network and in the business of moving fossil fuels.
The Anishinaabeg: Great Lakes caretakers and guardians for 13,000 years
Amidst global freshwater, climate, and biodiversity crises, we must honour and remember that it is Indigenous Nations of the Great Lakes who are the original stewards of these water bodies. The Anishinaabeg are motivated to ensure the health of the Great Lakes for present and future generations, as are their close Indigenous kin of many nations across their respective homelands and homewaters.
They have been living in harmonious relation with these great freshwater lakes for at least 13,000 years, and are motivated by the Seventh Generation Principle, which teaches that the decisions we make today must ensure a healthy earth for the next seven generations to come. This Principle teaches us that we all have roles and responsibilities to be in good relation with the earth and be good ancestors for those still to come…”
Read more (article continues).