cultural resources – Page 107

Federal Court Suit Filed to Stop Mining Activities in Northern Michigan/Upper Peninsula Mine

May 9, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the materials in Huron Mountain Club v. United States Army Corps of Engineers (W.D. Mich.):

Huron Mountain Club Brief in Support of PI Motion

Here is the Interlochen Public Radio coverage of the suit. An excerpt:

A private club in the Upper Peninsula has filed a federal lawsuit suit to stop the construction of a new mine in Marquette County. The nickel and copper mine, owned by Kennecott Eagle Minerals, has received permits from the state. But the Huron Mountain Club says the U.S. Army Corps needs to review the project to make sure it doesn’t violate the Clean Water Act.

The club owns nearly 20,000 acres of forest downstream from the mine on the Salmon Trout River. The lawsuit says sulfuric acid produced by sulfide mining could pollute the river. And the club is “horror-struck” by the prospect of the watershed collapsing because part of the mine will be dug directly underneath it. The lawsuit also says the federal government needs to consider the potential for damage to Eagle Rock, a site near the entrance to the mine that is sacred to American Indians.

Kennecott says the mine has been extensively reviewed and survived multiple legal challenges going back to 2006. Eagle Mine has been under construction since 2010 and the company says it is 75 percent built.

Social Media and the Urban Outfitters Appropriation Case

May 9, 2012May 9, 2012Kate Fort

Here is a really well done presentation done by a grad student tracing the impact of social media to draw attention to the Urban Outfitters “Navajo” outfits. Our previous coverage is here.

H/T Native Appropriations.

IPR on KBIC/Bad River Letter to UN Special Rapporteur re: Mining

May 4, 2012May 4, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

An excerpt:

A tribe in the Upper Peninsula is appealing to the United Nations in an effort to restrain sulfide mining. The tribe hopes to strengthen its position through an international agreement signed by the Obama Administration.

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community says mines that produce sulfuric acid can pollute the water and threaten places sacred to tribes in the Great Lakes. The Keweenaw tribe fought the Eagle Mine, a new copper and nickel mine under construction in Marquette County.

The owner, Kennecott Eagle Minerals says it is leading a resurgence of mining in the Upper Peninsula.

One of the issues raised was the mine’s proximity to Eagle Rock, a rock outcropping that has been used for sacred ceremonies. Eagle Rock is prominently cited in a document sent to the United Nations. It says tribes are overwhelmed by the development of new mines and the State of Michigan does not consider their cultures when issuing permits.

Many American Indian tribes are raising issues like these with the U.N. now because the U.S. endorsed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People in 2010. A U.N. official is visiting this week to gather information about implementing the declaration.

An attorney for the Keweenaw tribe says the declaration is not law, it’s a political document that sets out principles. But she says it could lead to new laws that would help tribes in the Great Lakes region oppose sulfide mining.

Materials in White v. University of California: Effort to Prevent Repatriation of “La Jolla Skeletons” under NAGPRA

May 3, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here are the materials, available in a federal court removal petition by the defendants:

California Removal Petition

Exhibits

Eastern Shoshone Moves to Enter N. Arapaho Eagle Suit against FWS as Amicus in Opposition

May 3, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here:

Eastern Shoshone Motion for Amicus Status

Federal Court Dismisses $10M Suit by Spirit Lake Members (“Committee for Understanding and Respect”) over Fighting Sioux Name and Logo

May 2, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher4 Comments

Here are the materials in Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe ex rel. Committee of Understanding and Respect v. NCAA (D. N.D.):

DCT Order Granting NCAA Motion

NCAA Motion to Dismiss

Committee Response

NCAA Reply

We posted the complaint here.

Given what I saw in my two years at UND (here is a snippet), I can’t let this go without comment. I just returned from Boulder, attending a conference in honor of David Getches, the leader in American Indian treaty rights litigation. He fought for the very survival of Indian people and Indian tribes, for the right to fish guaranteed by treaty … really for the right to exist. I see this “Committee” assert treaty rights for something as pitiful as a university sports team’s name and logo, despite all of the negative consequences of this name and logo for UND students and faculty, and I am ashamed. I find this assertion of treaty rights deeply offensive. I assume that the 1969 treaty at issue was made in good faith, but treaties between Indian people and others are made for better things than this. So much has been done in good faith by the opponents and proponents of the name and logo. But nothing good can come from the name and logo after all that has happened. Absolutely nothing.

Keweenaw Bay and Bad River Chippewa Media Release on Report on Mining to UN Special Rapporteur

May 2, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here (Media release. Bad River 5.2.2012):

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa recently collaborated on a Statement of Information submitted to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples documenting concerns about the activities of multinational mining corporations in Anishinabe territories. The Statement of Information is available here http://www.badriver-nsn.gov/images/stories/docs/activities_anishinaabeg.pdf.

Today, members of the Bad River Band Council are attending a consultation with the UN Special Rapporteur in Mission, South Dakota. Representatives from Keweenaw Bay Indian Community plan to attend another consultation with the UN Special Rapporteur later this month.