MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota has gone to federal court to block a lawsuit over Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline project from proceeding in tribal court.
The novel case names Manoomin as the lead plaintiff. Manoomin is the Ojibwe word for wild rice. Wild rice is sacred in Ojibwe culture. The lawsuit in White Earth tribal court is the first “rights of nature” enforcement case brought in a U.S. tribal court.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources filed for an injunction in U.S. District Court to dismiss the wild rice lawsuit, saying the tribal court doesn’t have jurisdiction to hear the case.
