MINNEAPOLIS — More than 100 people protesting the new Line 3 pipeline were in a short, peaceful standoff with Minnesota state troopers on the Capitol grounds Friday, following days of demonstrations to persuade elected officials to stop construction on the nearly completed oil pipeline.
The Treaties Not Tar Sands protests had permits for events on the upper and lower malls Aug. 24-26. More than 100 troopers, many carrying wooden batons and zip ties, had surrounded roughly a dozen protesters Friday afternoon, as dozens more protesters from outside a caution tape perimeter.
About 1:30 p.m., Niimi Makoons (Little Dancing Bear) told the crowd that law enforcement had agreed to leave so a religious ceremony could be held, and asked the crowd to be respectful. They cheered as troopers left and chanted, "People united, we will never be defeated."
Makoons said she plans to stay on the Capitol grounds more than 30 days. She said what was happening Friday was a ceremony, not an event or protest, and that attendees had agreed to remove tepees.
The Capitol building remained fenced off, with other law enforcement guarding the building.
Demonstrations this week culminated Wednesday when about 2,000 people including Indigenous leaders, elected officials and water protectors — activists who oppose projects and policies that they believe harm water systems — descended on the Capitol grounds. They called on Gov. Tim Walz and President Joe Biden to halt construction of Enbridge's Line 3, which will carry oil from Canada to Superior, Wisconsin.
The $3 billion-plus new Line 3 prompted a six-year battle through Minnesota's regulatory process, with Calgary, Canada-based Enbridge getting its final permits late last year. The pipeline replaces the 1960s-vintage original Line 3, which is corroding and can run at only 51% capacity.
Enbridge maintains the new pipeline is a significant safety improvement; it will restore the full flow and boost the company's earnings.
New Line 3 runs partly on a new route. Pipeline opponents say it will expose new regions of Minnesota's lakes, rivers and wild rice waters to oil-spill degradation — and will exacerbate climate change.
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(Staff writers Mike Hughlett and Stephen Montemayor contributed to this report.)
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