honeymushroom: According to tribal history, this land is where the Menominee Nation’s creation

honeymushroom:According to tribal history, this land is where the Menominee Nation’s creation story took place about 10,000 years ago. Their story states that the five main clans of the Tribe—Ancestral Bear, Eagle, Wolf, Moose, and Crane—were transformed at the mouth of the river into human form and became the first Menominee.The river also feeds directly into Green Bay and Lake Michigan, so it contributes to the drinking-water supply of the more than 35 million people who get their water from the Great Lakes. 6.6 million people in Illinois alone rely on Lake Michigan for their water …Now, Toronto-based Aquila Resources wants to put an open-pit sulfide mine 150 feet from the river, near the point of the Menominee Nation’s origins. Tribal members are deeply concerned about what that means for their ancestors who are buried on the site.“The Great Lakes hold 20 percent of fresh water in the whole world,” Reiter says. “The Menominee River flows into Lake Michigan, where millions of people get their drinking water. Ninety percent of the breeding stock of Lake sturgeon only use the Menominee River. If project goes through,  you can say goodbye to Lake Michigan’s lake sturgeon and to clean water. This isn’t just a Menominee problem. It belongs to all of us.”Calling themselves Water Protectors—like North Dakota’s Standing Rock Sioux before them, who fought to keep the Dakota Access oil pipeline from crossing their sacred traditional lands and burial sites—the Menominee and numerous other members of the local community are mobilizing for a stand-off against Aquila. Excerpt from The Back Forty Mine: Is It the Next Standing Rock?What can you do to help?- Donate to/volunteer for The Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River which:inform the public regarding the dangers of the mine.seek donations for legal feeshas filed a Petition For Contested Case Hearing in the state of Michigan, challenging the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s (MDEQ) decision to grant the wetland permit to Aquila Resources. They’re far away from their fundraising goals!- Write or email the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Please consider adding your voice during the public comment period open until July 23.  E-mail to EGLE-Mining-Comments@michigan.gov with “Back Forty Mining Permit” as the subject. Example letterHow to contact the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy -- source link

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