Northern Wisconsin Chippewa tribes might use treaties to halt or slow proposed mine

[hue]

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/northern-wisconsin-chippewa-tribes-might-use-treaties-to-halt-or/article_29df2076-59c9-11e1-851c-001871e3ce6c.html


Armed with its status as a sovereign nation and powerful treaties with the federal government, the Bad River Chippewa tribe has the legal muscle to do what Democratic opponents of an iron mine proposed for northern Wisconsin have so far been unable to do: halt or delay the project.

Those powers, say experts on Native American law, appear to have been both underestimated and misunderstood by proponents of the mine, including Republican legislators who have been criticized for failing to consult with tribal members as they work on a bill to streamline permitting for the mine.

"All of us are going to get an education in federal Indian law," said Larry Nesper, a UW-Madison scholar in Great Lakes Indian law and politics.

Read more: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/northern-wisconsin-chippewa-tribes-might-use-treaties-to-halt-or/article_29df2076-59c9-11e1-851c-001871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1mqWzwNvJ

[Scuba]

2. K&R Thanks for posting. More...

http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12078

A northern Wisconsin tribe ramped up its push to stop a proposed iron mine, meeting with Gov. Scott Walker to voice their fears the mine would destroy their way of life.

The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s tribal council, with representative of Wisconsin’s other 10 tribes held a 90-minute news conference before meeting with the governor and his aides behind closed doors at the state Capitol, telling reporters the mine presents an imminent threat to their air and water quality. “This is our land. This is where we live. We just can’t pack up and move,” council member Frank Connors said. “Our land is our culture, our history, which runs deep. We came here to protect it.”

...

The Bad River tribe and other environmentalists fear the mine could pollute the Bad River watershed, which drains to Lake Superior, and hurt air quality. The tribal council adopted a resolution in May opposing the mine, but took things a step farther, journeying all the way to Madison with its lawyers to air their grievances with the media and Walker.

The tribal council reiterated its opposition to the mine to reporters, calling the company’s job creation claims propaganda, warning the mine could ruin the wetland sloughs where the tribe holds its traditional rice harvests and complaining the tribe has been left out of all discussions about the mine.

[postulater]

3. The tribes here have really deep pockets

from the casino businesses.

They will stop at nothing to keep this mine from happening. It will be tied up in court for so many years by treaty challenges that the company will give up.

A friend of mine is from that tribe and keeps me informed. She gives me hope. And how ironic that the native people will save us from ourselves.

Not that we should rely on them to do all the work though. The bill still needs to be stopped and the repubs recalled.

[madrchsod]

4. i`ve been up there several times over the years...

open pit mining would destroy the reason any one would live or visit there. i know of people around here in northern il that have or had cabins/property up there. i sure hope the people up there can stop this disaster.

sounds like a couple day road trip to northern wisconsin when the weather breaks