Iron County, Lac Courte Oreilles Make Peace

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Barbara With

LCO Vice Chair Rusty Barber shakes hands with Iron County Board Chair Joe Pinardi.

Last night, the Iron County Board decided to negotiate with the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa about their Treaty Education and Harvest Camp in the woods near the proposed mine. The Iron County Board was to vote on a recommendation of the Forestry Committee to pursue criminal and civil charges against the Camp for camping without a permit. Board Chairman Joe Pinardi announced that they had received a letter from LCO requesting that the county go back to the bargaining table to discuss terms for the camp. At the end of the meeting the Board voted to postpone the vote on the issue until after those negotiations have taken place.

Of the 50 people showed up for the meeting, only about five were pro-mine.

Photos: Rebecca Kemble

Bad River girls. Photo: Rebecca Kemble

Iron County Board Meeting Tuesday July 30, 6 PM Public Testimony Welcomed

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Barbara With

Flags of LCO Harvest and Education Camp. Photo: Rebecca Kemble

Please join us for a peaceful, silent protest at the next Iron County Board meeting Tuesday, July 30 at 6 PM at the Iron County Courthouse at 300 Taconite St, Hurley.

We will be gathering at the Hurley Visitor Center at 4:30. Join us or call 218.341.8822 for more information.

Why will we stand in silence?

On July 16, 2013 the Iron County Forestry Committee voted to press criminal and civil charges against Lac Courte Oreilles Treaty Harvest and Education Camp for allegedly operating without a permit.

Without any discussion or input from Harvest Camp, the Forestry Committee went into closed session to determine what actions should be taken, despite the fact that Camp Manager Paul DeMain was present at the meeting.

The same committee had previously given a unanimous green light to Lac Courte Oreilles to set up the camp on County Forest Land. There is confusion as to why the permit has not been issued. The new attorney for the county advised the committee to press criminals charges or the DNR has threatened to revoke their certification for managing County Forest Law — including partial funding of forestry positions — if they allow the Harvest Camp to remain in place.

As outlined by the Forestry Committee, this move will likely push Iron County into probable litigation, costing Iron County residents possibly millions in lawsuits over the next .. undetermined number of years.

We will stand in silence to protest this unjust, unnecessary, wasteful and unreasonable solution to a minor conflict.

We request Iron County Forestry sit down with LCO Harvest Camp and work together towards a solution that will be in everyone’s best interest.

Please come to the courthouse and stand in silent protest of this unjust and unnecessary action. You are also encouraged to testify before the committee and share your thoughts.

video: Rebecca Kemble

Senators Schultz and Jauch Visit Harvest Camp

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Barbara With

Last Saturday, Sen. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) and Sen. Dale Schultz (R-New Richmond) made a visit to Harvest Camp, where they and their wives were treated to a lunch of chicken soup and dumplings made by camp denizen Felina La Pointe. Area residents concerned about the mine spent time talking to the Senators. Paul Demain, official camp representative took them on a tour. Photos: Rob Ganson

Bad River Chairman Rejects Tactics Used by Protesters in Video and GTAC Security

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Barbara With

In a statement to Wisconsin Public Radio, chairman of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe Mike Wiggins Jr. says he’s against the tactics used by the anti-mine protesters in a June 11 action.

Members of an unidentified group attacked workers at an exploratory drilling site June 11, the day Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) began drilling the first of eight bore holes. One person from the raid has been charged with four criminal counts of theft and damage to property.

Bad River Tribal Chairman Mike Wiggins says the video is not what they’re about. Their strategy is non-violent opposition. For example, the tribe is participating in the GLIFWC 2013 Healing Circle Run/Walk, from July 13-19, 2013. The run/walk will connect eight Ojibwe reservations in northern Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. He explains Bad River’s approach:

For a nation to heal, it must begin with the individual. As a person heals, then that person can help heal his/her family. As a family begins to heal, they can help heal their community. As communities heal, they can help the nation heal. As nations heal, they can help Akii (the earth), our plant and animal relatives to heal. The 2013 Healing Circle Run/Walk is an opportunity for people to come together to pray for healing for themselves, their families, their communities, their nation, Akii, and our relatives.

Wiggins thinks this entire week has traumatized the region, climaxing with GTAC bringing in an unlicensed security force illegally carrying assault rifles in the hills outside of LCO Harvest Camp.

“The semi-automatic assault weapons … was a public relations ploy to try and label the good people of Wisconsin and the others who are peacefully resisting as violent people,” says Wiggins. “It’s a shame, it’s really a shame and no one’s buying it.”

United in Defense of the Water stands with the Bad River Band in denouncing the tactics of the protesters in the video and GTAC, and once against makes a strong commitment to working cooperatively to empower our neighbors in peace and non-violence, and affect change through education that will unite and inspire all people to take action to protect the water.

Press Conference and Walk, Mellen, July 10 4:30 PM Gilman Park

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Barbara With

Armed Security Forces in Northern Wisconsin. Photo: Rob Ganson

Mellen Press Conference and Walk
Gilman Park, downtown Mellen
Wednesday, July 10, 4:30 PM
Contact: Frank Koehn, Penokee Hills Education Project, 218-341-8822

Community leaders and citizens speaking at the Mellen Press Conference will be addressing concerns about the presence of a paramilitary force in the Penokees hired by Gogebic Taconite GTac) to patrol the drill site. These paramilitary operatives work for Bulletproof Securities, a private mercenary firm out of Arizona.

After the press conference, those in attendance will walk to the Morse Town Hall at 402 2nd Ave, Mellen, where a 6:00 Ashland County, Iron County, Anderson and Morse Mining Impact Committee is scheduled.

The walk is a peaceful event and is not intended to interrupt or delay the meeting in any way.

See a news report about Bulletproof Security here.
http://youtu.be/IfJlgIswetc

Press Conference sponsor: PHEP. The Penokee Hills Education Project was formed to educate the public about risks to the Bad River watershed and the Penokee Hills posed by GTAC’s mountaintop removal mine; to share relevant information about the impact of mining on our economy, health, and environment; and to connect with citizen-led groups locally, statewide, and nationally.

United In Defense of The Water

Water is Life

Monthly Archives: July 2013