Peg Hunter

Film/ Environmental + Climate Justice (L3)

In May 2021, members of the San Francisco Bay Area group 1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations* and their sister group of Lakota grandmothers from South Dakota traveled to Northern Minnesota to stand together with the “Water Protectors” in the Indigenous women led struggle to stop the Line 3 tar sands pipeline**. At stake in the struggle are treaty rights, the protection of land, water and wild rice beds, and a habitable climate for future generations. This video captures a rally in front of the Minnesota governor’s mansion where 1000 Grandmothers, Lakota grandmothers, grandmothers from the Twin Cities and Anishinaabe grandmothers joined together to call on the governor to stop the Line 3 tar sands pipeline and honor his own words: “Any line that goes through treaty lands is a nonstarter for me”.

* 1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations – “We are elder women and allies stepping up to the urgency of the climate crisis. We act in support of the rights of Native Americans and other frontline communities. We believe that we cannot address the climate crisis without addressing systemic racism. That is what climate justice means to us.”

** Line 3 tar sands pipeline – The Line 3 pipeline originates in Alberta, Canada and spans Minnesota, ending in Superior, Wisconsin. It is intended to carry an average of 760,000 barrels per day of one of the dirtiest fuels on earth, tar sands crude. While this has been presented as a project to replace existing problematic pipes, the new pipes are larger and much of the route is new, crossing pristine watersheds. This will lock in decades of increased tar sands production in a time of climate crisis, when the world needs to transition quickly off fossil fuels.

About Peg

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Peg Hunter works as a freelance photographer and videographer with a focus on climate justice and immigration. Having worked in a male dominated and politically non-engaged field for many years, she has a very special appreciation for people who come together creatively to fight for the health of their communities, the planet and future generations. She especially embraces the rich and passionate organizing of women who are at the center of so many of these battles, and looks for creative ways to amplify their work.

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