Communities United by Water
Reject Line 5
We are grass roots communities with a long tradition of being united by the waters of the Great Lakes Basin. Rooted in the deep indigenous history of Treaty Territory, we are Native Tribal Nations, local landowners, family farmers, small business owners, elected officials, clergy, elders and children, mothers and fathers—people of all walks of life mobilizing to protect the water here. Our 50-year history is of turning down extractive projects, sulfide acid mining, off-shore drilling, water bottling plants, and all kinds of projects that might have impacted our pristine water systems, the Ojibwe Nation's "Manoomin" and all that leads into beloved Lake Superior.
Photo of Kakagon Sloughs: Jim Meeker/Ted Cline
Who we are
The Dangers of Enbridge Line 5
Each day, Canadian pipeline corporation Enbridge transports up to 22 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids through Line 5 from Superior, Wisconsin through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, under the Straits of Mackinac, to refineries in Sarnia, Ontario.
Line 5 is at imminent risk for oil catastrophes in three Great Lakes. The pipeline is 70 years old, operating 20 years past its engineered lifespan.
Photo: Joe Bates, May 5, 2023
Line 5 is only a few yards from catastrophe into Mashkiiziibii (Bad River) and Lake Superior at the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin. Springtime flooding and rapid erosion have caused the Bad River to come within 11 feet of the pipeline. The next storm could expose the pipeline to the river's current and rupture oil into the Bad River Band's vast wild rice beds, fisheries, Lake Superior and Madeline Island.
Imminent Oil Disaster into Lake Superior
Enbridge is seeking to reroute part of Line 5 through more than 100 rivers and streams that flow into the Bad River Reservation and the Kakagon and Bad River Sloughs, threatening the tribe's fisheries and cultural survival. The plan harms Copper Falls State Park, numerous trout streams and drinking water aquifers for local residents and family farms along the route.
Line 5 Re-route: Not Needed, Not Safe
Twelve tribes of Michigan sign a letter to President Biden
On November 4, 2021, all twelves Tribes of Michigan signed on to a letter to President Biden asking for Enbridge Line 5 to be decommissioned.
Image by Whitney Gravelle, President and Chair, Bay Mills Indian Community, Enbridge Eviction Event, May 2021.