12/20/2024

ASHLAND - A new documentary focuses on longstanding issues facing the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in northern Wisconsin, including its Line 5 dispute with Canadian energy company Enbridge. The Tribe and environmental groups just filed a legal challenge against state-issued permits for a new stretch of the pipeline, which were issued days after an oil spill from an Enbridge pipeline in Jefferson County. An independent documentary highlights the struggles of northern Wisconsin's Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, including the Tribe's lengthy dispute with Canadian energy company Enbridge. The film outlines the 70-plus-year battle to get Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline off of tribal land. One person interviewed in the film is Patty Loew, retired director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research at Northwestern University. As a member of the Bad River Band, she says her Tribe’s environmental struggles of sovereignty have a universal theme.

               :14  "I think everyone, whether you live in a red or a blue state, or whether you are native or non-native, wants clean water and clean air – not just for themselves, but for their children and grandchildren."

After years of protests, a federal judge last year gave Enbridge three years to shut down the pipeline on the reservation. Last month, the state issued construction permits to reroute Line 5 about 40 miles south of the reservation by 2026. The permits came days after an Enbridge pipeline spilled about 70-thousand gallons of oil on grounds in Jefferson County.  Loew and others in the film say the proposed reroute isn't enough to protect their lands and nearby areas. Enbridge lawyers and the U-S government say a 1977 energy treaty with Canada prevents them from shutting down the pipeline. But Tribe members point to Ojibwe treaties, which established reservations and land rights and predate that. In the documentary, an Enbridge representative asserts the Tribe isn't concerned about all the people who rely on energy from the pipeline. Loew disagrees.

               :14  "It’s as if Enbridge is not willing to accept that, and has decided that the federal government is going to be the final arbiter of this. And that’s just not respecting our treaty rights and our sovereignty."

There have been over 20 spills along the Line 5’s 645-mile route since 1968, including more than 14-thousand gallons in Bad River land. The film, "Bad River: A Story of Defiance," is streaming on Peacock.