Getting Off the Sidelines

Abstract

In this thesis, I examine what motivated individuals to join the movement against the expansion of the Line 3 pipeline in Northern Minnesota and to stay in the movement even after the pipeline was successfully expanded in 2021. Drawing from a digital ethnography and semi-structured qualitative interviews with 11 members of the Line 3 movement, I find that individuals joined the Line 3 movement because they had relationships with members of the movement and because they were concerned that the Line 3 pipeline expansion would harm the environment and Indigenous people in Minnesota. Moreover, while many people were disappointed that the movement failed to stop the expansion of the Line 3 pipeline, I find that people stayed in the Line 3 movement even after the pipeline was expanded because they believed the movement was capable of success and because they felt that they needed to monitor and shut down the Line 3 pipeline and other pipelines in the area.