As expected, President Biden emerged as the Democratic nominee following the conclusion of the Michigan presidential primary. This predictable outcome does not negate the necessity for a comprehensive evaluation of Biden as a candidate, particularly regarding his impact on Michigan.
With seven months left before the general election, Biden will need Michiganders and Michigan tribal citizens to win. It is imperative that we acknowledge his shortcomings to each other and work together to forge coalitions that can shape the next Presidential term.
One of those is his lack of action regarding Canadian corporation Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipeline, a faulty piece of infrastructure that jeopardizes the entire Great Lakes region.
President Biden has not totally ignored the dangers of fossil fuel infrastructure. His administration blocked the Keystone XL pipeline project that threatened tribal lands and ecological security. More recently, he put an indefinite hold on planned liquified natural gas export terminals. These are unequivocally positive actions and the Biden White House should be given that credit.
However, there is still a 70-year-old ticking time bomb on the lake bed of the Mackinac Straits.
Since its secretive construction in 1953, Line 5 has spilled over one million gallons of oil across its path through northern Wisconsin and both peninsulas of Michigan. These ruptures have consistently occurred over the pipeline’s lifetime and have sadly become an expected cost of business with Enbridge.
Now, 22 years since Line 5 exceeded its engineered operating life and three years since Governor Whitmer revoked Enbridge’s easement, the oil giant wants us to believe that the illegally operating pipeline is safe.
They convinced the Michigan Public Service Commission that to make it even safer, Enbridge must build a replacement line, bury it under the lakebed, and encase it in cement with oil, gas and other utilities.
Enbridge hopes that we will trust them at their word and hand them the safeguarding of our lakes, whose shores contain 20% of the world’s fresh water. Those of us who live in the Great Lakes region aren’t buying those lies, but it appears Joe Biden has.
Enbridge had already proven to Michigan how incapable they were when Line 6B spilled in Marshall into the Kalamazoo River 10 years ago, the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history.
While Gov. Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel have taken Enbridge to court to assert Michigan’s authority over our water, the Executive Office has failed to place its own regulatory or political pressure.
It is the job of the President of the United States to ensure a negligent corporate actor is not allowed to use American soil and water as a shortcut to Canadian oil profits or to protect the Canadian government’s addiction to pulling dirty crude out of First Nation territories.
The President’s job is to protect his constituents’ health, guarantee Michigan’s ability to decide who can use our waters and recognize the Anishinaabek rights established in US law almost 200 years ago.
To the Anishinaabe, the Straits of Mackinac are the birthplace of our world. It is where the first woman came from the sky and joined with our animal relatives to build Turtle Island, to live and love upon the new ground, and to honor our responsibility to care for what became our home.
I can’t know what you believe, but what I do know is that none of us are untouched by the waters of the Great Lakes.
Make your way to the shores of the bountiful Great Lakes, to the very Straits themselves, and find yourself a quiet moment. Then tell me why you are not fighting to protect these Great Lakes we call home. I dare you.
Now is the time for action. We cannot stand by while the Great Lakes, our environment, and our communities are put at risk.
Join us in calling on President Biden to shut down Line 5 and stop the Enbridge Tunnel project. Email the White House using the script provided here, and let your voice be heard in the fight to protect Michigan’s future.
Andrea Pierce, a citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBB), is a prominent Indigenous rights activist and lead organizer of Idle No More Michigan, a grassroots movement focused on Native rights and opposing Line 5/No Tunnel.
Beginning her activism on the streets, she has worked with groups like the Detroit Light Brigade and co-founded the Ann Arbor Light Brigade, organizing numerous protests across Michigan. She has been a key figure in the Pipe Out Paddle Up Flotilla for five years and serves as the Chair and co-founder of the Anishinaabek Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), the first caucus in Michigan advocating for Native American issues.
As a Precinct Delegate in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and a member of the State Central Committee of the MDP, Andrea was a DNC Delegate in the 2020 elections. She played a vital role in discovering a 10,000-year-old Cultural Sacred Site at the Straits of Mackinac and is currently the Chair of the LTBB Election Board, ensuring fair tribal elections. Her efforts extend to her role as Network Manager for the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, all while being a devoted grandmother, mother, sister, auntie, and cousin.
Andrea’s work is dedicated to protecting tribal lands, treaty rights and opposing the Enbridge tunnel project. Andrea is a Grandmother, Mother, Sister, Auntie, and Cousin to many wonderful people as her circle keeps growing with love and activism.