Oil has been flowing through the completed pipeline for months now, but the White Earth Band of Ojibwe — Minnesota's largest Native American tribe with about 20,000 members — continues fighting the project in court, and through extraordinary surveillance efforts.
The media refers to them as "activists." I call these often violent people who routinely disregard rules of property and ownership what they are: thugs.
State regulators ordered Enbridge to stop the groundwater flows and restore the sites. The company already has paid more than $3 million for the violations, and could face additional penalties.
Over the course of construction, around 900 people were arrested during protests. Many are still facing charges ranging from trespassing, a misdemeanor, to felony theft.
How much of the often violent activism against things like oil development and oil pipelines is an organic part of American politics, and how much of it was the result of Russian manipulations and inducements?
The social cost and long-term effects of the negative views developed toward each other during the protests are incalculable and will haunt us into the future.
This past year, it has been incredible to see the number of tourists and pipeline workers as a part of our community here in Thief River Falls once again.
There are no other legal options available and no possible avenue for protesters to take. They have been defeated at every turn, with numerous courts and agencies siding with Enbridge and the pipeline project.
As reported earlier this week by Forum News Service, the Minnesota segment is the last portion of the 1,000-mile line that stretches from Alberta, Canada, to Superior, Wis. It is expected to transport nearly 32 million gallons of oil per day.
