skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, July 19, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump tells Justice Dept. to seek release of Epstein grand jury testimony; NV education advocates blast freeze on federal funds; and VA leaders push EV adoption as economic, national security imperative.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

An asylum case sparks alarm, protests invoke the late John Lewis, Trump continues to face backlash over the Epstein files and the Senate moves forward with cuts to foreign aid.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Trump administration's axe to clean energy funding could hit rural mom-and-pop businesses hard, cuts also jeopardize Alaska's efforts to boost its power grid using wind and solar, and a small Kansas school district engages new students with a focus on ag.

Tribal interests remain at heart of opposition to Great Lakes oil pipeline

play audio
Play

Monday, April 8, 2024   

Later this month, Indigenous leaders will speak before a United Nations panel about their ongoing concerns with a controversial oil pipeline in the Great Lakes region.

Enbridge Energy's Line 5 operation is likely to come up when the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues convenes in New York.

Back in the Midwest, organizations such as Earthjustice represent the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

The tribe has been contesting Line 5 in Wisconsin as Enbridge seeks to re-route the pipeline.

Earthjustice Senior Attorney Stefanie Tsosie said the proposal isn't an improvement in minimizing the effect on tribal lands.

"The Bad River Band is already at a risk of an oil spill because the pipeline is going directly through their reservation," said Tsosie, "and the re-route, if you look at the map, it's basically hugging the reservation boundaries."

She said her team is preparing for litigation if permits for the re-route are issued.

The tribe has previously filed lawsuits against Line 5 in an effort to shut it down, prompting the latest route plans. Similar cases have been active in Michigan.

Enbridge argues the pipeline is a key source of energy and rejects claims and legal decisions that it's trespassing on tribal lands.

On the Michigan side, opponents say they're worried about Enbridge's latest Line 5 plans to construct an oil tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac, a connecting waterway.

The company says it would be safer than the existing pipeline section, but Native American Rights Fund Senior Staff Attorney Wes Furlong said there's real concern about a worst-case scenario.

"If a leak happened within that tunnel, it would cause a catastrophic failure," said Furlong, "pumping crude oil into the Straits and into the Great Lakes."

He said pushing back against Line 5 aligns with calls to reduce the use of fossil fuels, citing their connection to climate change and the impact on treaty-reserved resources Midwest tribes rely on.

First built in 1953, the pipeline can transport up to 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids per day.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Department of Education has frozen grants that support summer learning, teacher professional development, after-school programs, English-language classes, support for children of migrants, school-based mental health and adult education. (Syda Productions/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Public education advocates are sounding alarms about the upcoming school year because the federal government is holding up about $60 million in funds …


Social Issues

play sound

An Eau Claire resident is speaking out about how federal cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could affect his life and …

Environment

play sound

A cleaner environment through less waste is the goal of a new state organization, the Indiana Composting Council. The council will enlist …


According to CalRecycle, 2.6 million tons of plastic packaging and foodware end up in California landfills every year. (Erik/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

California receives high marks in a report on the fight against plastic pollution. This is Plastic-free July and the United States of Plastics report…

play sound

Environmental groups say Oregon's new groundwater law, meant to curb pollution, has been diluted to the point they can no longer support it. …

At least one in seven Nebraskans, or 287,240 people, are facing hunger, with one in five children considered food insecure. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Groups working to end hunger in Nebraska are reaching out to all parts of the state to train food insecure people to advocate for others facing simila…

Social Issues

play sound

New Mexico demonstrators will join nationwide protests today to oppose policies of the Trump administration. The "Good Trouble Lives On" nonviolent …

Social Issues

play sound

More seniors in Washington state are facing financial strain or even losing their homes and seven local organizations will expand support for them wit…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021