This month, the Beyond Oil team and partners broke a world record by folding over 30,000 origami fish to raise awareness about the harms of oil continuing to flow through Enbridge Line 5 Oil Pipeline (the continuation of Enbridge's Line 3/93 into Wisconsin and Michigan). It’s incredible that we have successfully folded so many fish and built up so much community over the past several months starting with a simple idea, and ending by having muscle memory of each origami fold and its nickname.
Over the past several months the team has learned that Enbridge continues to violate the State of Michigan’s request for it not to operate the pipeline. Many campaigns have raised concerns about the Canadian oil company’s continuation of operations. Many people have made calls for Governor Whitmer and the Michigan Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Director Phil Roos to lead an intervention and shut down the oil pipeline.
There may be ways we can push back through the legal system when elected officials and their appointees have not been accountable. The Bad River Band continues to be a leading voice in advocating for its water quality, especially in relation to Enbridge Line 5. Treaty rights are a major buffer in protecting critical fresh water for the Bad River Band and the Great Lakes in this region and globally.
This coming month, the Beyond Oil Team will screen “Bad River” to continue holding the importance of this struggle in the forefront of our collective effort for protecting water and moving beyond oil. Join the screening of the “Bad River” film on Thursday, July 24th at 7:00pm at the Trylon Theater to continue the joy in resistance: the joy in protecting our water, supporting Native people, and honoring treaty rights.