Water Defender Establishes Tree Sit Near Deer Creek Along Line 5 Reroute
View from tree sit.
ASHLAND COUNTY, WI — On the morning of Wednesday September 23rd, a water protector named Poppy approached a white pine tree who she felt called to bear witness with. After obtaining permission from the tree and giving their offerings, they climbed up and took part in a time-honored tradition of those who seek to halt the destruction of the forest: they established a tree sit. She chose to climb along the banks of an unnamed tributary of Deer Creek to witness and bring attention to the destruction of Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute in Ashland County, Wisconsin, and the project's violation of the Treaty Rights of the Anishinaabeg.
The mountains of this place, the Penokees, "used to be taller than Mt Everest." But over the billion years since they towered over the land, the Penokees eroded to the gentle hills that Enbridge is currently burrowing through to lay an outdated, outrageously expensive, and environmentally destructive pipeline that should be decommissioned. In Poppy's words, "We will be done using fossil fuels in a fraction of the time it took the Penokees to erode. Why are we fucking with Lake Superior's watershed?"
View of the dewatered creek.
A Struggle for the Water
Banners were hung reading "Protect the Great Lakes" and "LANDBACK," clarifying the purpose of the sit: to protect the waters of the Great Lakes, as well as acknowledge the past and present land theft endured by Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island.
The tree sit was intended to remind the US government, a treaty signatory, that they have an obligation to ensure access to treaty assured rights to hunt, fish, and maintain "the usual rights of occupancy" in the lands ceded to the US government according to Article 2 of the 1842 Treaty of LaPointe. That access is compromised by permitting a multi-billion dollar Canadian corporation to close off and pollute public lands for pipeline construction.
After six hours bearing witness with their tree companion, Poppy was forced to descend the tree when a bucket truck arrived with chainsaw operators to extract her from their temporary home in the forest. They were charged with misdemeanors. Poppy named inspiration from the occupation and tree sit at the site of attempted border wall construction in Arizona, in the homelands of the Tohono O’odham and Yaqui people. A growing movement of land defenders is gathering there to prevent the destruction of ancient and sacred cottonwood trees.
Community from within and outside the region have rallied to resist the line 5 reroute around Bad River for several years. After continued failings of the Wisconsin court system to hold Enbridge accountable to the wellbeing of the communities they impact, the people are choosing to stand up for themselves.
Enbridge had been preparing for this type of action, and has signed agreements with local county sheriff's offices to reimburse them for costs related to "public safety" along the pipeline construction route. In agreeing to reimburse the police departments, Enbridge is clearly motivating local law enforcement agencies to act on their behalf against any protest action that may occur to slow or halt construction of the Line 5 reroute project.
Active Threats against the people and the water
When Enbridge spilled 1.3 million gallons of natural gas two weeks ago, it brought global attention to the Line 5 pipeline and Line 5 reroute that residents have been resisting for years.
The Bad River Band has declared a state of disaster on September 16th following Enbridge’s August 25th spill in Saxon, their subsequent un-permitted bypass to continue oil flow through Line 5, and their refusal to comply with DNR orders to halt construction on Line 5 and the Line 5 reroute. The Line 5 reroute has now had 8 frac-outs, spilling hazardous chemicals into sensitive wetlands.
Resistance to Line 5 is ongoing. Despite victories against the tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac, Enbridge is doubling down on their commitment to the line 5 pipeline by building this reroute. Still not needed, still not safe!