Recognizing the rights of nature in Wisconsin
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Rights of Nature OpEd to the editor from our own Dan Barth of Wausau
Born a city kid in Milwaukee I had, at the beginning of my eighth summer, what now seems to me to have been miraculously good luck; that June I was sent to my Aunt and Uncle’s small dairy farm in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for the summer. Unlike the orderly city streets I was accustomed to, this farm sat high on a hill across the road from the old family farm my aunt and mother were born and raised on. It was a small, hard scrabble farm carved out of the woods, as close to wilderness as you can get. It was, and remains, an incredibly beautiful place to live.
For the next four years this is where I spent my summers. It changed my life. It was where at the age of eight I first saw something sacred waving at me from the edge of the deep forest, beckoning me to come and play. It’s been a mysterious game of hide and seek ever since, a game I do not fully understand but a wonderful game nonetheless. I never found anything so compelling in a church. |
A small dairy farm
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The natural world I play in still fills me with awe. A visit to the woods is to visit an old friend. Regardless of my sour mood I am immediately lifted up on angel’s wings. There are lessons to be taught along a good trout stream and surprises upon an icy lake. Imagine the intelligence of an otter or a muskrat who dredges up sea weed from the bottom, making a mound of it to cover its doorway through the ice. So well insulated is that hole it does not freeze over. There are in Nature wonders upon wonders, mysteries upon mysteries. After 77 years here I have learned this: There is more to the natural world than meets the eye. Some will know what I am talking about, many will not.
Impacts of Mining
Rights of Nature OpEd from our own Nancy Stencil of Rib Mountain and Juliana Reimann of Madison, native of Taylor County
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We have seen this all too often, jargon from a mining company promising to upright a
town's economy by bringing jobs. Let's take a closer look at who will be the benefactors. History tells us that across the globe the mining story has been one of boom and bust. In the vast majority of cases, jobs that were created were short-lived and when the mine closed the mining company pulled out leaving the community with the expense of repairing a poisoned landscape and a damaged infrastructure that the mining company's bond failed to cover. Whether the economic boost holds true as now promised by Greenlight Wisconsin (GLW), remains to be seen, as their press releases have read more like an enticement to potential investors. The repeal of the "Prove it First" law by the state legislature in 2017 which required mining companies to show proof that a mine had not polluted for at least 10 years after its closure now placed the burden of protecting Wisconsin waters from the harmful effects of mining on taxpaying citizens. At a June 25th meeting at the Medford library with GLW board member Steve Donohue, he was asked why the Prove it First law was repealed; Donohue replied, "Because it wasn't good for business." . . . . |
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The case Manoomin et al. v. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a landmark legal battle centered on the rights of nature, treaty rights, and tribal sovereignty. Filed on August 5, 2021, in the Tribal Court of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, the lawsuit aimed to protect *manoomin* (wild rice) by asserting its inherent rights to exist and flourish. The plaintiffs, including the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and tribal members, sought to halt the Minnesota DNR's permit allowing Enbridge Corporation to divert five billion gallons of water for constructing the controversial Line 3 oil pipeline. They argued that this diversion violated the rights of *manoomin*, Chippewa treaty rights, and tribal sovereignty..
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First, I would like to acknowledge my ancestors, who endured so much so that we could have what we have today. I’m forever in your debt. Waewaenon Ketaenon (I say thank you)!
Posoh, Anahkwet newiswan, Wapaesyah netotaem. My name is Guy Reiter, and I just introduced myself in my Menominee language. My elders taught me to always introduce myself and my clans before I speak to a new audience. It’s hard for me to write down what I want to say because I value the spoken word over the written word. So I’m going to write as if I’m sitting with you speaking. My Tribe, the Menominee Indian Tribe, is the longest living inhabitant of this land that is called Wisconsin. Like most Tribes in America, we’re one of the most studied peoples on the planet. Our beginning as a Tribe begins a mere 60 miles northeast of our current reservation at the mouth of the Menominee River. The city of Marinette, Wisconsin, now lies on that sacred site. Our oral history states that this is the place where our creation began thousands of years ago. In order to know my Tribe, you have to start with the creation of my Tribe. This creation story can be looked up on the internet or in a book (just take care to remember that the people writing the story were using translators, and a number of things can get lost in translation). The Menominee Creation Story was told to me by one of our elders on the reservation when I started to organize against the Back Forty Mine. We, Menominees, were given the responsibility to look after that river and land by the creator thousands of years ago, and that supersedes any treaty or law. (This article isn’t designed to inform of our whole history, it’s just giving you a very small piece.) |
This guest blog by Anahkwet/Guy Reiter is a part of our America’s Most Endangered Rivers® series on the Menominee River in Wisconsin and Michigan.
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