St. Paul, MN – Over 2000 people came to the Minnesota State Capitol building, Wednesday, August 25, occupying the capitol grounds in protest of the Line 3 oil pipeline. Over 40 people walked 256 miles from the headwaters of the Mississippi to the capitol building to demand that Governor Tim Walz stop the pipeline’s construction. Over 200 people met the water protectors about a mile and a half away to march through the streets for the final stretch with them towards the capitol grounds.
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization urges all progressive activists to take action to support the Ojibwe people in their fight against the Line 3 oil pipeline. Line 3, just like the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects before it, tramples on the sovereign rights of the indigenous peoples whose traditional lands and waters it crosses – in this case the Ojibwe, who are part of the broader Anishinaabe peoples. In FRSO, we see the struggle against pipelines not just as an environmental issue but also one of the most important and militant struggles for indigenous sovereignty.
Coffee Pot Landing Bridge, MN – More than 2000 people protested at the Treaty People Gathering on June 7 at Coffee Pot Landing, a metal bridge over the Mississippi River, near Itasca State Park and the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The protest was a part of a three day event to build public pressure to stop the construction of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 pipeline. The pipeline expansion will bring nearly a million barrels of tar sands oil per day from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin.
San José, CA – On Friday June 4, the U.S. Department of Labor monthly report on the job market for May 2021 showed that 559,000 new jobs were created, bouncing back from the poor showing the month before. But the economy remained down 7.6 million jobs from February 2020, when the recession began. If job creation continues at the same rate as in May, it would still take until summer of 2022 to reach the pre-pandemic level.
Green Bay, WI – The family of Jonathon Tubby, an Oneida Nation man killed by the Green Bay Police Department in October 2018, has vowed to continue fighting for justice even after a federal judge dismissed their wrongful death lawsuit against the city. Speaking at a May 23 press conference, on the Oneida Nation Indian Reservation, the Tubby family responded to Judge William Griesbach's decision with a renewed call for changes to the policing system in the United States.
Palisade, MN – A contingent of anti-war organizations including Woman Against Military Madness (WAMM) and the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) visited the Line 3 encampment on the edge of the Mississippi River in Palisade, on January 10.
Palisade, MN – A contingent of anti-war organizations including Woman Against Military Madness (WAMM) and the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) visited the Line 3 encampment on the edge of the Mississippi River in Palisade, on January 10.
Green Bay, WI – On the evening of December 15, the Green Bay City Council voted unanimously to require the Green Bay Police Department to wear body cameras while on duty, part of a $2.5 million overhaul to the department over five years. This comes over two years after Jonathon Tubby of the Oneida Nation was shot five times in the sally port of the GBPD building, murdered by Officer Erik O’Brien while he laid on the ground, handcuffed, pepper sprayed, and restrained by a police dog. The implementation of a body camera policy for officers of the GBPD is a win for the family of Jonathon as it was one of the primary demands in their fight for justice.
Minneapolis, MN – Over 100 protesters gathered in Minneapolis to stand in solidarity with Indigenous people on Thanksgiving, November 26, for a National Day of Mourning. It is a reminder of the genocide and suffering of Native Americans that still continues today. 400 years have passed since Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and colonized the land Native Americans had been living on for thousands of years. In the shadow of the Minneapolis skyline, several speakers touched on the many struggles Indigenous people face today and the erasure of their people.
Fort Yates, ND – On October 23, 2017, the Bureau of Indian Affairs murdered 35-year-old Ryan Gipp after he was pulled over outside of Fort Yates, North Dakota. Gipp and his parents were returning home from a hunting trip and stopped at a gas station. Gipp was ejecting a shell from his shotgun, when it accidentally discharged. The family began to drive home and was pulled over by BIA officers shortly after. Gipp threw the only weapon in the vehicle, his shotgun, out the window in an effort to play it safe and present himself unarmed. BIA officers Raymond Webb and Gary Sandland Jr. then tased and shot Gipp several times. The two officers were not charged and are still in their current positions, but Gipp's family continues to fight for justice.
