treaty rights – Page 78

For far too long, the voices of affected and concerned Ojibwa people have been ignored in the midst of Kennecott’s proposed Eagle Mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

I am a member of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, and we did not invite Kennecott, a subsidiary of multinational mining giant Rio Tinto, to come into our ceded homelands and reservation territory to explore for minerals, blast into our sacred site, and leave behind a dying legacy of colonialism.

Indigenous peoples throughout the world are on the front lines of similar pressures to develop resources within their homelands, with little regard for their aboriginal rights. There is little mainstream media attention bringing awareness to these issues, despite a global movement for indigenous rights and numerous case studies on the impacts of mining and other extractive industries on indigenous communities.

In addition to the proposed Eagle Mine, Rio Tinto’s intentions to open up six additional mine sites, and increasing mineral exploration throughout the entire Lake Superior basin, are threatening Ojibwa treaty rights. Through treaties with the federal government, Ojibwa leaders ensured permanent reservations and retained rights to hunt, fish and gather on ceded lands. If the water and land are polluted from harmful mining, how will our treaty rights and cultural values be honored and continue into the future?

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Opening Materials in Navajo Fifth Amendment Takings Claim in Land Dispute

April 8, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Navajo Opening Brief – without Appendices

Federal Court of Claims Opinions

Saginaw Valley St. Univ. Barstow Lecture on Indian Law — April 1

March 30, 2010March 30, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here (the paper is here):

Barstow Lecturer to Explain History of Indian Land Law

Saginaw Valley State University will host a lecture by American Indian legal expert Matthew Fletcher Thursday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall. In his talk, he will explain how a 2007 decree finally ended a 170-year-old dispute regarding Michigan Indians’ land rights. The lecture is part of SVSU’s Barstow Humanities Seminar series.

Fletcher says the delay owes its origins to miscommunication. In 1836, five Michigan Indian tribes entered into a treaty with the state and federal governments over “inland rights” – a treaty in which the Indians ceded their land in exchange for defined areas where they could fish, hunt and gather. The problem was that two of the treaty’s key words – “occupancy” and “settlement” – had vastly different meanings in the local Indian language. Relying on their understanding, the Indians agreed to the treaty.

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Kennecott Mine Claims It Doesn’t Need EPA Permit

March 29, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

MARQUETTE COUNTY — According to Kennecott Minerals, construction for the Eagle Mining Project might start within the next few months.

With modifictions to their water infiltration system, company officials now claim they don’t need a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency, but not everyone agrees.

One major obstacle stood in the way of constructing the controversial nickel and copper mine in Marquette county: its underground water discharge system. The system required a permit from the epa- but kennecott says moving the system above ground has changed everything.

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