Environmental activists and members of the Native American community on Monday blocked the construction site of a controversial oil pipeline between Canada and the United States in Minnesota, in the north of the United States, to protest the environmental threats to the pipeline.

To the sound of “Stop Line 3” and tribal drums, several hundred protesters, including actress and environmental activist Jane Fonda, barricaded a construction site at Lake Itasca, before being removed by police.

Built by the Canadian company Enbridge, the “Line 3” pipeline transports oil from tar sands from Edmonton in the Canadian province of Alberta to refineries in Superior, Wisconsin.

But the new route, which makes it possible to increase the amount of transportation, is contested by Native American communities in Minnesota, who condemn the danger of seepage into local rivers catastrophic to their way of life.

They condemn violations of treaties signed with the US government and ask President Joe Biden to revoke Enbridge’s license.

“Enbridge should not build a replacement pipeline that crosses the state of Minnesota and rivers, and given the risks involved in building it, I agree to take the risk of closing it,” AFP told AFP. told AFP, an environmental activist.

Another protester, Mary Rosenberg, said, “We need water, we need water that is pure and does not mix with oil.”

In late April, Enbridge indicated that about half of “Line 3” had already been built.