Megan Wittman, megan.wittman@sierraclub.org
ASHLAND, Wisc. – This week, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa elders and members, as well as environmental advocates and experts, testified at a two-day hearing before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about the proposed Line 5 pipeline reroute in northern Wisconsin. Line 5 has long trespassed on the Bad River Band’s reservation and jeopardized the Band’s watershed, ecosystem, and way of life.
Canadian company Enbridge is seeking federal approval to reroute the Line 5 pipeline around and upstream of the Band’s Reservation. The construction project would violate the Band’s water quality standards, and the new pipeline would still put the Band at risk for an oil spill.
The following statements are from Bad River Band members at the Army Corps hearing.
Joe Bates, Eagle Clan: “We continue to harvest as our ancestors did before us. Our harvest is directly dependent on water quality. We’ve had years where we’ve had to suspend our harvest due to fluctuating water quality. All water and everything in it above us flows through the heartland of our community. I ask you, please do not allow actions in the watershed above us that would allow the waters to become more impaired. To us, water is life.”
April Stone, Bear Clan: “For 28 years I’ve been living [here] and that’s where I’ve raised my children. My children had access to hunt, fish, and gather right alongside of us, and that’s how we’ve brought them up and that’s how we chose to bring them up.”
Edith Leoso, former Tribal Historic Preservation Officer: “When our place in the world is threatened, which none of you may know what that feels like, we do not feel safe as promised. Our land is not the United States of America. It is not federal lands. It is Tribal lands held in trust with the federal government to care for, so that we can be safe and live in peace. The Bad River watershed and Lake Superior, the place where we were promised to live safe from harm . . . I hope none of you will ever be threatened in your own home.”
US Army Corps officials have said they will post a recording of the hearing online by May 21. The Band and several environmental groups are also challenging the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ approval for the project, with related public hearings scheduled from August through early October.
To connect with the Band, please contact Timna Axel at Earthjustice: taxel@earthjustice.org
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