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Protestors paddle next to the Mackinac Bridge at the Pipe Out Paddle Up Flotilla Against the Line 5 pipeline in Mackinaw City, Michigan. (Sarah Rice for Earthjustice)
Article March 15, 2024

The Great Lakes Are Under Threat. A New Film Tells the Story of the Fight to Save Them.

The Line 5 pipeline has leaked over 1 million gallons of oil to date and threatens the Great Lakes.

In the News: The Detroit Metro Times March 8, 2024

Tribes urge U.S. to weigh in on Line 5 case as appeal sits in court

Stefanie Tsosie, Attorney, Tribal Partnerships Program: “It’s a band-aid for an aging pipeline. The risk of an oil spill will still exist in the Bad River watershed. And instead of moving it out of the watershed, [Enbridge moves] it upstream of the reservation. So now the entire reservation would be subject to an oil spill.”

Former Bad River Tribal Chairman Mike Wiggins Jr. at the Tribe's reservation in Wisconsin where Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline crosses.
(Jaida Grey Eagle for Earthjustice)
Press Release February 28, 2024

30 Tribal Nations Ask Biden Administration to Condemn Canadian Pipeline Trespass

Enbridge has earned over $1 billion by trespassing on the Bad River Band’s reservation.

document February 27, 2024

Tribal Nations’ Letter to Biden Admin re Line 5 and Tribal Sovereignty

A letter from more than 30 Tribal Nations in the Great Lakes region sent to President Joe Biden urging the United States to speak out against the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline’s trespass on the Bad River Band’s land.

View of the Tulsequah River, looking east towards the confluence with Taku River.
(Photo courtesy of Chris Miller / Trout Unlimited)
Press Release February 19, 2024

Alaska Tribes facing BC mining threat ask for international hearing

SEITC briefs the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights on Canada’s violations

document February 19, 2024

SEITC Observations on the Merits of BC Mines Case

A group of Alaska Tribes with roots along Canada’s transboundary rivers, the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC), submitted a brief to the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights requesting a hearing on the looming threats of several risky and under-regulated gold mines in British Columbia.

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. (iStock)
Press Release: Victory February 14, 2024

Mining Proposal Rejected for Maine’s Katahdin Region

Decision comes after overwhelming opposition from Wabanaki Tribes, local businesses, and conservation groups

Unuk River is one of the transboundary watersheds of southeast Alaska. (USGS)
Press Release January 30, 2024

Alaska Native Tribes Press B.C. for Rights Amid Reckless Gold Rush

Tlingit Tribes originating along the Unuk River want a say in risky mining proposals

document January 30, 2024

Map: Sàanyàa Ḵwáan Traditional Territory in Unuk River Watershed (Jòonax̱)

Prepared for Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) as part of a petition submitted to Canadian environmental regulators affirming their historic presence along the Unuk River, which is threatened by rapidly expanding transboundary mining.

View of the Tulsequah River, looking east towards the confluence with Taku River.
(Photo courtesy of Chris Miller / Trout Unlimited)
case January 10, 2024

Defending Watersheds in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia from Impacts of Mining

The Taku, Stikine, and Unuk rivers flow across the Canada-United States border, from headwaters in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia through Southeast Alaska to the sea. These watersheds are some of the largest and most productive salmon habitats remaining in the world. Alaska Native and First Nations peoples have harvested salmon and caribou from…

In the News: WLUC January 2, 2024

Great Lakes tribes appeal MPSC permit for Line 5 tunnel project

Christopher Clark, Senior Attorney, Midwest Office: “In the contested case, we had a tunneling expert and a pipeline safety expert raise significant safety concerns about this tunnel. The concern is that there would be a leak of product within the enclosed tunnel that would create an explosive environment underneath the Straits of Mackinac, which just…

In the News: Wisconsin Examiner July 7, 2023

Tribal leaders, environmental advocates decry Enbridge appeal of Line 5 ruling

Stefanie Tsosie, Attorney, Tribal Partnerships Program, Earthjustice: “Enbridge’s appeal — like their proposal to re-route the pipeline — is just a misguided attempt to keep the oil and their profits flowing at the expense of the Band and everyone else who relies on the Great Lakes. Hundreds of wetlands and waterways in this unique ecosystem…

document June 29, 2023

Line 5 Media Backgrounder

A Line 5 backgrounder for reporters with the current status of related legal fights.

In the News: Wisconsin Public Radio June 23, 2023

Menominee Site Receives National Historic Designation as Company Seeks to Mine for Gold

Stefanie Tsosie, Attorney, Tribal Partnerships Program, Earthjustice: “The Menominee tribe has been pushing for this listing regardless of whether there’s a mine there.”

The Bad and White rivers flow through the Bad River Reservation and into Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin. Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline currently crosses both rivers and threatens the Bad River watershed and reservation. (Jaida Grey Eagle for Earthjustice)
Update June 20, 2023

Court Orders Shutdown of Imperiled Line 5 Pipeline Trespassing on Wisconsin Tribal Land

The pipeline is a few yards from exposure to the Bad River, risking a leak that could spread oil into the Great Lakes.

document June 16, 2023

Bad River Band Line 5 Order

A federal court ordered Canadian oil giant Enbridge to cease the flow of oil and to decommission within three years the segment of its Line 5 pipeline that is trespassing on the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

In the News: Wisconsin Examiner May 12, 2023

Bad River tribe and allies call for emergency Line 5 shutdown

Debbie Chizewer, Managing Attorney, Midwest Office, Earthjustice: “We are extremely alarmed to see the shrinking distance between Line 5, which is operating in trespass of the Bad River Band, and the raging river current. If government officials don’t use their power to shut down Line 5, this disaster will be on their hands.”

In the News: Michigan Advance May 11, 2023

As the anniversary of Enbridge’s refusal to shut down Line 5 approaches, groups press Biden admin

Debbie Chizewer, Managing Attorney of the Midwest Regional Office, Earthjustice: “This 70-year-old pipeline is operating a full 20 years past its design lifetime. Line 5 threatens Tribal Nations and violates the State of Michigan’s shutdown order. It’s time to retire Line 5. Every day that oil flows through the pipeline is another day we risk…