[News] Brutal arrests, tear gas, rubber bullets used on Water Protectors at Stop Line 3

Mon Aug 2 19:08:57 EDT 2021

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Brutal
arrests, tear gas, rubber bullets used on Water Protectors at Stop Line 3
August 1, 2021
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*Water Protectors fighting Line 3 need your help!*

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Water Protectors at Stop Line 3 were brutally arrested by Sheriffs'
deputies using excessive force, tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper
bullets. Water Protectors now in Pennington County jail in northern
Minnesota are being denied medications and being fed moldy food, Giniw
Collective said.

*By GINIW Collective*
*giniw at protonmail.com <giniw at protonmail.com>*
*Censored News*
*TRIGGER WARNING*

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minnesota -- Water Protectors fighting Line 3 are
enduring increased repression and violence from the state and local police.
For the first time in this campaign, police used pepper spray, mace, pepper
and "less than lethal" bullets on unarmed Water Protectors just south of
Thief River Falls on July 29 at Red Lake River crossing at the Red Lake
Treaty Camp.

Twenty people were arrested and are being held in Pennington County Jail
over the weekend including Tara Houska, other members of Giniw and
Non-Native Accomplices.

This is a call to action! Come Join us on the Frontlines. We need warriors
to the front! Enbridge is drilling under the rivers and using the local
police to target people wanting to stop this immoral and unethical project.
Call Pennington County Jail (218)681-6161.

After facing excessive force in the form of pepper spray, pepper bullets
and aggressive arrests supporters are now learning that water protectors
have been denied medications as well as proper food due to dietary
restrictions and allergies. People have received moldy and inedible food.
Certain Individuals are being held in solitary confinement. These tactics
are being utilized to humiliate and punish Water Protectors for taking
action.

Tweet @govtimwalz @ltgovflanagan and call Pennington County Jail
(218)681-6161 and demand: Sample script: "I am calling today to demand that
water protectors are treated humanely and fairly, that their dietary needs
are respected and their medications be given properly."

*Giniw Collective said on July 30:*

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minnesota -- Dozens of Water Protectors and Tribal
Members Flow Into Line 3 Drilling Site Under Red Lake River met with
“less-than-lethal” and chemical warfare yesterday, dozens of BIPOC water
protectors and tribal members flowed into the drill pad on the Red River,
where Enbridge is set to complete pullback against the will of Red Lake
Nation. Half a dozen Indigenous and BIPOC water protectors scaled fences
and others blockaded a gate into the site as allies helped hold space.

Water Protectors were maced, tear gassed, shot with rubber bullets, and
pepper bullets.

The mass action comes as another spill was reported on the Mississippi
River headwaters, where Enbridge has continued to drill despite a temporary
halt buffer zone issued by White Earth Nation.

Last week, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, along with
numerous representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers, met with two
Anishinaabe nations, tribal representatives, and land defenders to tour
portions of Line 3 construction, wild rice beds, and spill sites. The Army
Corps and the White House remain silent.

“If those who can stop Line 3 will not take action, we will,” said Tara
Houska, Couchiching First Nation Anishinaabe land defender. “This is our
land, our wild rice, our culture, our future we are defending.Human beings
are literally destroying life with our addiction to the status quo of
over-consumption. We have to be brave. We have to stand strong. We have to
try. Actions, not words.”

“I’m standing in opposition of industrial development of my treaty
territory by a foreign corporation,” said John Shimek, Red Lake Nation. “An
estimated 20 percent of the freshwater supply left on the planet exists in
my treaty territory, it’s my obligation to protect it for my children and
all future generations.”

Twenty people were arrested and are currently being held in Pennington
county till Monday.

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*PROTECTORS SHUT DOWN WORKSITE*

On Thursday, July 29th, four Water protectors locked down to machinery at
an Enbridge worksite near Clearwater River to stop the drilling and
destruction of Mother Earth in Anishinaabe treaty territory.
Enbridge has been pumping thousands of gallons of water to flush the pipe
and dewatering entire lakes and streams.

An activist and their mother locked down together in solidarity with their
Indigenous kin in an act of love and bravery. Two other young people locked
down to machinery to shut down the work site. One water protector locked
down near an active water pump that was pumping hundreds of gallons of
water and overflowing onto them, as workers laughed nearby with no regard
for their safety. A deputy from the Red Lake Sheriff came over and did
nothing to stop the pump.

Sheriffs from all over Minnesota arrived at the scene showing once again
that the police response to water protectors is excessive force against the
struggle to stop line 3.
"I’m here in solidarity with my Indigenous and Black and Brown relatives,
I’m an accomplice and if you want to be an accomplice you have to be here
doing this work. You got to lock down, you gotta be taking action.

"I’m here not only as an ally, but as an accomplice, because I’m putting my
body on the line. I’m putting myself to the machine."

"And here on the other side I have my mother, she’s sixty-eight years old
and she’s out here. She’s doing this work because she cares and she’s an
accomplice too, so I urge you, if you’re listening to this, please get out
here, we need you. We need accomplices."

"Hi I’m the mother of an accomplice which is on the other side of this
device, and I just want to say to all the mothers out there, if your child
is involved in activism with regard to line 3, it would be really great if
you could be here too, and show your support for your offspring and become
an accomplice and a water protector, its really important work and I invite
you to join."

Seven water protectors are still being held in Polk County jail facing
misdemeanor charges, being kept over the long weekend in another display of
elevating punitive measures against water protectors.
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