Sexual violence along pipeline route follows Indigenous women’s warnings

The $2,9bn Line 3 pipeline has brought thousands of workers to Minnesota – and one crisis center has received more than 40 reports of harassment and abuse

Hilary Beaumont
Fri 4 Jun 2021 12.00 BST

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The Canadian company Enbridge is building the Line 3 oil pipeline through Minnesota, a $2.9bn project that replaces a corroded, leaking pipeline, and increases its capacity from 390,000 to 760,000 barrels a day. The project has brought an influx of thousands of workers who are staying in hotels, campgrounds and rental housing along the pipeline route, often in small towns like Thief River Falls, and on or near Native reservations.

Before Minnesota approved the pipeline, violence prevention advocates warned state officials of the proven link between employees working in extractive industries and increased sexual violence. Now their warnings have come true: two Line 3 contract workers were charged in a sex trafficking sting, and crisis centers told The Guardian they are responding to reports of harassment and assault by Line 3 workers. Johnson said VIP, a crisis center for survivors of violence, has received more than 40 reports about Line 3 workers harassing and assaulting women and girls who live in northwestern Minnesota.

Enbridge spokesperson Michael Barnes said it has “zero tolerance for illegal behavior by anyone associated with our company or its projects,” and said anyone caught or arrested would be fired. Barnes said the two workers facing trafficking charges were fired by the contractor. He also said before construction began, the company worked to raise awareness of human trafficking by partnering with contractors, Tribes, local officials and Truckers Against Trafficking, which combats human trafficking.

After a lull in construction due to muddy spring conditions, workers are now returning to Minnesota. Enbridge chief Al Monaco said Line 3 is on schedule to be completed by the end of the year, but Indigenous groups and environmentalists are attempting to stop the project through peaceful protest, divestment campaigns and court action.

Advocates warned of violence

In 2018, the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) held hearings to decide whether to approve Line 3 permits. Sheila Lamb, an Ojibwe-Cherokee city councillor for Cloquet and member of the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force, testified that extractive industries were linked to human trafficking and disproportionate violence against Indigenous women.

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