water rights

Information can be found here and here.

KBIC, Eagle Rock, and Kennecott Mine in Scientific American

June 13, 2012Kate Fort

The article is Part 5 in a series called “Pollution, Poverty and People of Color”

“A Michigan Tribe Battles a Global Corporation”:

An abundant resource, this water has nourished a small Native American community for hundreds of years. So 10 years ago, when an international mining company arrived near the shores of Lake Superior to burrow a mile under the Earth and pull metals out of ore, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa had to stand for its rights and its water.

And now, as bulldozers raze the land and the tunnel creeps deeper, the tribe still hasn’t backed down.

“The indigenous view on water is that it is a sacred and spiritual entity,” said Jessica Koski, mining technical assistant for the Keweenaw Bay community. “Water gives us and everything on Earth life.”

The Keweenaw Bay Indians are fighting for their clean water, sacred sites and traditional way of life as Kennecott Eagle Minerals inches towards copper and nickel extraction, scheduled to begin in 2014.

It’s a good longreads article. Our previous coverage, including the multitude of lawsuits the article mentions, is here.

Kansas Kickapoo Water Rights Claim Partially Dismissed

May 30, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the materials in Kickapoo Tribe of Indians of the Kickapoo Reservation in Kan. v. Black (D. Kan.):

DCT Order Dismissing Individual Defendants

Individual Defendants Motion to Dismiss

Kickapoo Opposition

Individual Defendants Reply

And:

Proposed Second Amended Complaint

Long Read on Goshute Water Issues

May 17, 2012May 17, 2012Kate Fort

Here. From the Salt Lake City Weekly.

H/T @pechohawk

United States Removes Oklahoma’s Water Rights Case to Federal Court

March 13, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the notice of removal and all the accompanying documents:

Fed Govt Removal Notice

And the news coverage.

Release: Important Victory in the Klamath Tribes Water Rights Adjudication

December 4, 2011December 4, 2011Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Important Victory in the Klamath Tribes Water Rights Adjudication

Chiloquin, OR- Today was a milestone in the lengthy Klamath Basin Water Rights Adjudication. The judge hearing the part of the Adjudication that deals with the claims of the Klamath Tribes issues six Proposed Orders quantifying the Tribes’ water rights. In each case he ruled largely in favor of the Tribes’ claims.

“The Proposed Orders give everyone in the Basin plenty to think about,” said Jeff Mitchell who leads the Klamath Tribes’ Negotiating Team. “These rulings highlight the role that the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement can play in resolving Basin water issues. The Tribes will be evaluating the rulings and discussing them with others in the Basin to determine the best path from here on.”

Some interests in the Basin advised people that the Tribes’ water rights are minimal, but those interests have been proven wrong. People who followed that advice have obviously been misled in a situation where they are risking a lot.

The rulings encompass the Williamson, Sycan, Sprague, and Wood Rivers along with many of their tributaries, as well as the Klamath Marsh and springs scattered throughout the former Klamath Reservation. Cases involving Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River are expected to have decisions handed down in April.

“These rulings emphasize the need for Basin water interests to work together to find ways to share the water, share the pain of drought, and share the bounty of our waterways,” said Tribal Vice-Chairman Don Gentry. “The Tribes are committed to restoring fisheries and water bodies in the Basin, and we believe that agricultural and other water dependent communities can be restored at the same time. That is what the KBRA can do,” he said.

The ruling is welcomed by the Tribes who have fought for their treaty rights for many decades, and are prepared to fight many more. The Tribes’ commitment to the Adjudication reflects their commitment to restoring the health of Basin fisheries and water bodies. “Our commitment to these bounties provided by the Creator will never end,” said Mitchell.

Water Pollution Regulations Ignore Native Community Fish Consumption

November 18, 2011Adrea Korthase

Huffington Post article is here. An excerpt:

For many communities, the consequences also go beyond just health concerns.

“Traditional families are still very active in the smokehouse. They are still fishing for their primary source of living,” says Jamie Donatuto, an environmental specialist for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, in La Conner, Wash. “Fish are not just a source of nutrients, they have cultural and spiritual meaning for these people.”

Donatuto has been working with the Swinomish tribe for more than a decade on the issue. She recently conducted a survey and found that if tribal members had access to as much safe seafood as they wanted, they would consume more than 100 times the state’s estimate.

“In the Pacific Northwest, fish consumption is a way of life. It’s an important cultural hallmark of tribal nations that live here,” adds Elaine Faustman, a professor of environmental and occupational health studies at the University of Washington.

In fact, as she points out, it’s not uncommon to find kids “teething on salmon jerky.”