Seattle City Council Stands with Ojibwe Tribes Fighting Line 3 Pipeline

Seattle, WA - On Monday May 10, 2021, the Seattle city council unanimously approved a joint statement supporting Tribal Nation’s efforts to halt the construction on the Line 3 tar sands pipeline.

In a letter addressing the Tribal Chairmen of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, White Earth Band of Ojibwe, and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, the Seattle city council states that they are in, “support of your efforts to halt construction of the tar sands Line 3 pipeline. We recognize impacted Nations are fighting a long battle to decommission oil pipelines and to transition to renewable resources. This letter recognizes the harmful impacts of the oil industry on Native American community lifestyles, health, and sovereignty.”

Seattle becomes the first non-Tribal government to openly oppose the Line 3 pipeline. The Seattle city council previously supported the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s fight against the Dakota Access pipeline when they became the first city in the nation to divest from Wells Fargo due to their involvement with Energy Transfer Partners.

The statement, written by community activist Matt Remle (Lakota) and sponsored by council-member Debora Juarez (Blackfeet), will also be sent to the Biden Administration calling on them intervene and halt the construction of the pipeline.

See full statement below:

Debora Juarez (Blackfeet) is a politician on the Seattle City Council. She was elected in 2015 to represent the 5th district. She was the first Native American person elected to the council.

Matt Remle (Lakota) is the co-founder of Mazaska Talks, he sits on the steering committee of Stop the Money Pipeline and a member of Seattle’s Green New Deal oversight board.

*Cover photo by MPR News