“My life is perfect,” said Winona LaDuke, the final speaker in Oswego State’s I Am Oz Diversity Speaker series. 

LaDuke lives on a lake in the woods and is able to drink the water out of the spring that feeds into the lake, in addition to being able to tap trees for maple syrup.

“I have sugar from a tree, water that you can drink from a lake and I have fish and wild rice which grows throughout my ecosystem,” LaDuke said. “I would like my grandchildren to have the same and I intend to work on ensuring that.”

LaDuke spoke to students and members of the Oswego community on Tuesday regarding her experiences as a sustainability and women’s rights activist. She showed the audience photos and shared her experiences of becoming a pipeline fighter four years ago.

“This is when your people are trying to protect your land and you are in the water,” LaDuke said. “They fire upon you with their tear gas and their chemicals and you were in the water, and they are shooting rubber bullets at you and you are in the water.”

She said she is grateful for those who protect the water and those who support the protection. LaDuke said while they were protecting the water, law enforcement used mine-resistant armored personnel carriers, which are military vehicles designed to withstand improvised explosive devices.

“There is no reason that military equipment should be used against civilians in the United States,” LaDuke said. “Because we are civilians and all we were trying to do was protect our water. We are not protestors, we are protectors.”

LaDuke said there is a lot to be learned from this experience.

“What happened in North Dakota should not happen in our society,” LaDuke said. “You should not take off people’s arms and destroy people’s eyes for the benefit of an oil company.”

LaDuke has been fighting the Enbridge Pipeline, which transports oil from Canada to the United States, for four years. LaDuke said she is not opposed to pipelines in general.

“I’m a fan of water and sewer, I think that those are great,” LaDuke said. “Now, in northern Minnesota, I have 300 miles of pipe that is never going to be put in the ground and I keep saying ‘Why don’t you send it to Flint?’ Flint needs pipes, we don’t.”

Her inspiration to be an activist was something LaDuke said her family instilled in her early on life.

“I grew up early knowing that you should stand for what you believe in and not just sit on the side lines,” LaDuke said. “I don’t think democracy is a spectator sport. My parents and grandparents were good role models for me.”

LaDuke is also a two-time Green Party vice presidential candidate. She ran in 1996 and 2000 with presidential candidate Ralph Nader. She said she does not agree with the current government system and has not considered running.

The infrastructure all throughout the country is falling apart, LaDuke said.

“It’s not that we do not need to put union people to work fixing infrastructures, but the question is what will the infrastructure be for?” LaDuke said. “Will it be for corporations or will it be for people?”

Senior Sarah Pasquarelli attended the talk and thought that LaDuke was motivational.

“I love Winona LaDuke,” Pasquarelli said. “I read a lot of her stuff in my women’s study courses so I was really excited to see her because I am super passionate about sustainability.”

LaDuke said they are starting to fight another pipeline.

“The company is not pleased with us and we are not pleased with them,” LaDuke said. “It will be a bitter battle, but we intend to win.”