Climate and Indigenous Solidarity in the Upper Midwest
The UU Congregation of Duluth Exemplifies the Intersectional Approach to Climate Justice.
You may know Duluth for its good-hearted, down-to-earth people and its enviable location on the shores of Lake Superior. But this beautiful city is also next-door neighbor to an ugly reality: the controversial Line 3 pipeline that runs through the upper portion of Minnesota. This mammoth piece of fossil fuel infrastructure moves gallons of planet-warming tar sands oil each day, in violation of centuries-old Indigenous treaty rights to hunt and fish on the land.
The UU Congregation of Duluth (UUCD) knows from this experience that the struggles for Indigenous sovereignty and climate justice are linked. The same fossil fuels that are heating the planet are also interfering with the rights of Native people that the U.S. government swore to uphold. As congregational sponsors of the Climate Justice Revival, who have acted in solidarity with the Line 3 struggle, UUCD models the intersectional approach at the heart of this event.
A Pipeline Route of Broken Promises
Duluth sits on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe people. Under the terms of a 19th Century treaty that the U.S. government signed, Indigenous communities in this region retained the rights to hunt, fish, and gather wild rice in northern Minnesota without obstruction. Yet now, almost two centuries later, Ebridge’s Line 3 pipeline cuts through this territory, interfering with these usufructuary rights and damaging the planet’s health.
The Anishinaabe Indigenous community have been contesting this violation of their rights at every step of the pipeline’s construction—and the UU Congregation of Duluth has followed their lead to act in solidarity. As Beth Tamminen, a leader with the congregation’s Climate Action Team, described their approach to solidarity, they “looked to the Anishinaabe Indigenous community for partnership and direction.” She explained their work on this issue:
“We joined with partners in the long campaign to active[ly] oppose the Line 3 pipeline through northern Minnesota, and we have continued these relationships, in particular with a local Indigenous organization the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) that provides housing, social services, a cultural center, a food program and other resources, all centering Indigenous values and working to change systems.”
Indigenous Sovereignty is a Climate Justice Issue
The story of the Line 3 pipeline is just one of many ways in which climate justice is an intersectional issue (that is, it connects more than one justice struggle). The forces warming the planet are rooted in colonialism and exploitation. Thus, the struggles to advance racial, economic, and Indigenous justice are all intertwined. This is all the more true because the effects of climate destruction are magnified by other forms of structural oppression.
The UU Congregation of Duluth’s climate justice work has therefore acknowledged the interdependence of these struggles. As Tamminen put it: “We recognize the harms being done to all of us, and all life on the planet—and in particular to those with fewer resources and marginal positions in political spheres[.]” She added that the Climate Action Team is looking forward to the Revival in part because it offers a chance to build upon this cross-movement solidarity:
“We are excited to be part of this initiative of Unitarian Universalists, as we find power and hope in being part of a broader movement. Our congregation is active with Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light and with the Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance (MUUSJA). These connections strengthen our voice in the state arena and help us to focus on where best to dedicate our resources to further positive change.”
Concentric Circles of Climate Action
Even as the congregation takes action at the policy level to advance climate justice and Indigenous rights, “we also are acting in our own space,” as Tamminen put it. The congregation has been a Green Sanctuary since 2005. They derive more than 40% of their electricity from a solar array, and they are advocating in Washington to enable more congregations to do the same.
The congregation has also had several proud “firsts” to its name. As Tamminen explained, they were “the first congregation in at least a 50 mile radius to have a solar array”—as well as the first UU congregation in the state to achieve Green Sanctuary status. As part of these commitments to their physical location, a working-group at UUCD takes care of their four-acre grounds by “removing invasives, planting pollinators,” and maintaining a meditative space.
As Tamminen summarizes their approach:
“Our congregation has long thought about how we can live more lightly on the Earth and how we can reach into our community to build partnerships that help everyone thrive. Taking our part in this Climate Justice Revival is a powerful way for us to honor our Seventh Principle alongside so many other UU congregations.”
In all these ways and others, the UU Congregation of Duluth exemplifies the values of the UU Climate Justice Revival. We are coming together this month not only for the sake of the planet—but also because achieving climate justice is part of how we will advance collective liberation for us all. Climate justice is one crucial piece of a larger struggle for human flourishing. The UU Congregation of Duluth not only recognizes this truth—they have lived it!