Urge President Biden to Act

Please close this very old pipeline. The thought of this pipeline breaking and spoiling the waters of Lakes Michigan and Huron is what nightmares are of. In 5-10 years the billion dollar storms caused by climate change will occur so often that the use of fossil fuels will be forced to decline.

Even though you have so much on your plate right now Mr. President, many years from now your efforts to shut down Line 5 here in Michigan will surely be one of the most important measures you will have undertaken.

PLEASE support the SHUT DOWN of Line 5! Do not jeopardize our Great Lakes!

I am a member the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, one of the 12 federally recognized tribes in the state of Michigan. The Straits of Mackinac hold immense importance to the Anishinaabeg people, spiritually, culturally, and historically. The 1836 Treaty of Washington, which both my ancestors and your predecessors signed, guarantees the Anishinaabe peoples reservation lands and forever access to all natural resources, including fishing and hunting rights. This by default and common sense extends to the waters of the Great Lakes and the necessity of their continual health necessary to sustain our native fish populations in order to carry out said treaty promise.

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians (as well as the majority of the other federally recognized tribes of Michigan) has passed an official resolution (Resolution 2021-38) denouncing pipeline operations in the Straits of Mackinac and calling for a safe and thorough decommissioning of the pipeline—the full text of which I will put at the bottom of this message.

Your constitution of the United States describes treaties as such: “all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby.”

By all measurements of merit, logistically, environmentally, morally, legally, and ethically, you are called upon to uphold the past by upholding treaty law and secure the future for all in the Great Lakes region by working to decommission Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac.

Mii iw. Chi-miigwech.

Thank you very much.

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Full Text of Resolution 2021-38 from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians:



" To Protect the Straits of Mackinac as a Traditional Cultural Property Site WHEREAS, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians (Sault Tribe) is a federally recognized tribe and invested with inherent sovereignty and right to self-governance;

and WHEREAS, the Sault Tribe is signatory to the 1836 Treaty of Washington which ceded the use of land that allowed for the formation of the State of Michigan;

and WHEREAS, the 1836 Treaty of Washington reserved usufructuary rights in perpetuity, such rights to include hunting and gathering and the rights of usual occupancy, to the native peoples signatory to the treaty;

and WHEREAS the Tribal Board of the Sault Tribe is in support of the Sault Tribe’s Language and Cultural Department and Environmental Department compiling preliminary research that will be used to support the protection of tribal cultural, historical, and natural resources;

and WHEREAS the Enbridge Line 5 twin pipelines and its proposed tunnel lie within the terrestrial and submerged bottomlands of the Straits of Mackinac;

and WHEREAS the Sault Tribe never ceded control of the lakes or lake bottomlands to any other government entity in the Treaty of Washington or any other treaty of cession;

and WHEREAS the Straits of Mackinac, including the waters, the terrestrial ecosystems adjacent to the waters, and the submerged bottomlands, as the heart of Turtle Island in the middle of the Great Lakes, has significant culture, history, and identity to the Sault Tribe;

and WHEREAS the Sault Tribe Board of Directors supports the designation of the Straits of Mackinac and its submerged bottomlands as a “Traditional Cultural Property” site with significant culture,

history, and identity,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians does hereby, as follows:

1) Direct the Sault Tribe Language and Cultural Department and Environmental Department to compile preliminary research for the area around the Enbridge Line 5 twin pipelines and the proposed tunnel project in order to protect the traditional cultural and historic resources of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and further

2) Direct the Sault Tribe Language and Cultural Department and Environmental Department to submit the information to the US Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies for formal designation as a Traditional Cultural Property site.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Chairperson and Treasurer, are authorized to execute any and all documents necessary to carry out the intent of this resolution.

C E R T I F I C A T I O N

We, the undersigned, as Chairperson and Secretary of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, hereby certify that the Board of Directors is composed of 13 members, of whom __13___ members constituting a quorum were present at a meeting thereof duly called, noticed, convened, and held on the _2nd____ day of _February_____________ 2021; that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted at said meeting by an affirmative vote of _12____ members for, ___0__ members against, _0____ members abstaining, and that said resolution has not been rescinded or amended in any way."

Please support Governor Whitmer and don’t allow Enbridge and the oil industry “trump” up excuses and fantasies to keep this Line 5 going and flowing in Michigan