Mining Leaves a Wisconsin Tribe’s Hallowed Sites at Risk

https://intercontinentalcry.org/mining-leaves-a-wisconsin-tribes-hallowed-sites-at-risk/

“…There is a palpable change in the tribe as it gathers its voice against the mine, Reiter says. Speaking events, fliers, websites and new partnerships proliferate, but that’s only half the story: Tribal members have taken to days-long walks from the reservation to the Menominee River, tracing their ancestors’ steps. They’ve re-seeded the river’s mouth with wild rice—Menominee is Algonkian for “People of the wild rice,” and other tribes in the region said that when the Menominee appeared, wild rice followed. When they left, the rice passed.

The tribe has also reinstituted language programs at schools. The mine debate, Reiter says, has rekindled the tribe’s river roots.

It’s a revival Reiter himself has lived. In rallying against the mine, he’s learned from elders of the obligation to watch over the river…”

Photo: Brian Bienkowski