Chippewa Tribe Raising Funds to Fight Mine
For the City-Times
The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa is now raising money online to fight a proposed iron mine in northwestern Wisconsin.
The band has set up a link on their tribal website allowing contributors to donate directly to the tribe.
The state legislature passed a law streamlining the permitting process for the mine earlier this month, which Governor Scott Walker signed into law on March 11. The state house remains strongly divided on the topic of whether iron ore can be mined without damage to the environment, with Republicans pitted against most Democrats and the Bad River Tribe, who believe pollution from the mine will contaminate their water and wild rice beds.
Gogebic Taconite plans to apply for the mining permit to dig an open-pit mine just south of the Bad River Reservation in Ashland county. With or without the new mining law, potential mines still have to meet guidelines set by the Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to ensure steps are taken to protect the environment. Opponents to the plan say it’s not enough.
“They (Bad River Tribe) said that supporting this bill would be equivalent to genocide. I’m saying that today because they said it, and you should listen to them,” said Representative Katrina Shankland (Stevens Point) on the Assembly floor in early March.
“Polluting the entire watershed for profit is contributing to genocide,” she added.
Assistant Majority Leader Jim Steineke (Kaukauna) has decried Shankland’s statement, pointing to her use of the word “genocide” rather than arguing any environmental safeguards planned by state and federal agencies, or highlighting the mine’s potential for a boost in the local economy or job creation.
“This is outrageous when you consider the recent history of genocide in Rwanda where it is estimated that 800,000 people were murdered. There is the ability to have a reasoned debate on this issue. Unfortunately, Rep. Shankland’s insensitivity to true victims of genocide throughout history is a poor example.”