Megan Wittman, megan.wittman@sierraclub.org
EMMET COUNTY, Mich. – Circumventing federal review processes designed to protect Indigenous lands, Enbridge, the massive Canadian fossil fuel company responsible for Line 5, signed a lopsided $1.5 million land swap deal with Emmet County, Michigan, for land near the Straits of Mackinac. The land swap included a parcel of historical significance to Odawa tribes that had been identified for additional archaeological surveys.
The deal was signed without Tribal knowledge in a blatant effort to push the Line 5 tunnel through. Any items found on the Indigenous site would have required Enbridge to stop its work until the tribes were notified.
In response, Sierra Club released the following statements:
“This land grab scheme shows a blatant disregard for Indigenous rights and federal rules. The philosophy of Enbridge appears to be profits at all costs, and those costs are steep for everyone other than company executives. The company is proving they’ll find loopholes to skirt the rules; that’s a dangerous practice when moving millions of gallons of fossil fuels under our Great Lakes,” said Mahyar Sorour, Director of Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy.
“We are appalled that Emmet County Officials would use Tribal lands as a bargaining chip to help Enbridge move the Mackinac tunnel forward. This is a gross abuse of power by both Emmet County and Enbridge. Time and time again Enbridge has proven they will stop at nothing to move their plans for Line 5 forward,” said Elayne Coleman, Sierra Club - Michigan Chapter Director.
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