Bad River is the title of the film shown by the Anti-Racism Team and the Earth Justice Ministry last summer. It documents how The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa believes that the reroute of the Line 5 (oil) Pipeline proposed by the Canadian company Enbridge still puts the Tribe’s land, water, and ways of life at risk.
Line 5 has been trespassing on Tribal Land for more than a decade, after the tribe chose not to renew the easement. The proposed reroute would still lie within the watershed that impacts the lands of the tribe.
According to an article in the August 11 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (mjs.com), the contentious plan to reroute the Line is entering a critical new phase of legal and regulatory scrutiny. A contested case hearing began on August 12 and is expected to last seven weeks.
There was a chance on August 12 for the public to provide testimony in Ashland, and there will be another public hearing in Madison on September 3. A leak of this 70-year old pipeline would affect not only the tribe, but likely also the Great Lakes, which provide over 20% of the world’s surface fresh water.
Terry Wiggins, Co-Chair, Earth Justice Ministry
Follow the News on the Bad River
Here are a few links to follow the news on Bad River and the proposed pipeline. If you want to get involved along with other church members, you can connect with the First Church Earth Justice Ministry team!
Earth Justice website page HERE
Midwest Environmental Advocates article:
https://midwestadvocates.org/wpcontent/uploads/Line-5-CCH-Explainer.pdf
350 Wisconsin news on Bad River is HERE
by Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom
Senior Minister