Tag Archives: Treaty Rights
Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah)

Rep. Kaufert Backs Down on Threat to Lac du Flambeau Community and Cultural Center

May 22, 2013  by Rebecca Kemble During today’s meeting of the Wisconsin Building Commission, Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) agreed to not pursue reconsideration of a $250,000 grant from the Commission to the Lac du Flambeau tribe for construction of a community and cultural center. On March 26, 2013, Rep. Kaufert accused the Lac du Flambeau tribe […]

Leave a Comment Continue Reading →
Tyler Forks River, Photo: Rebecca Kemble

Penokee Water Walk from Bad River to Red Cliff, March 22, 2013 8 AM

March 21, 2013 by Barbara With Friday, March 22, 8 AM Bad River Wake House located just east of Ashland City Limits 30.2 mile, 1-day Voluntary Journey In Honor of International World Water Day 2013, the Misa Ziibii (Mississippi) Water Walk 2013 and local efforts to prevent sulfide mining in Northern Wisconsin The People of […]

1 Comment Continue Reading →
THE WORLD'S DEADLIEST MINE Just outside Butte, Montana lies Berkeley Pit: a pit filled with greenish poison a mile and a half wide and over a third of a mile deep. It was once a thriving copper mine where millions of tons of copper ore, silver, gold, and other metals were extracted from the soil. When underground mining became too costly in the 1950’s, Berkeley Pit became an open pit mine. As the mine grew bigger and deeper, groundwater began to seep into the pit, and pumps had to be installed to keep it from slowly flooding. Thirty years later, the mine was so exhausted that it was no longer profitable. The pit was abandoned and the water pumps were shut down. Without the pumps, rain and groundwater gradually began to rise in the pit, leaching out the metals and minerals in the surrounding rock. The water became as acidic as a lemon, creating a toxic mixture of heavy metal poisons such as arsenic, lead, and zinc. No fish live there, and no plants line the shores. There aren’t even any insects around, only some rare kinds of microorganisms survive in the toxic water. The Berkeley Pit had become one of the deadliest places on earth. The iron-rich water near the surface is reddish, yielding to a vibrant lime-green hue not far below the surface, where copper concentrations are higher. If you were to drink large amounts of this water it would kill you by corroding your body from inside.  Source: http://www.losapos.com

Under New Mining Bill, DNR Has No Regulatory Power

March 7, 2013 by Barbara With As the “contentious” mining bill AB1 is being debated in the Assembly, more people are mobilizing to protect the waters of the state from the environmental destruction that would be allowed to take place because of this legislation. Rep. Janet Bewley (D-Ashland) whose district is firmly opposed to the […]

1 Comment Continue Reading →
jeenanote

Rude Gesture Interrupts Pillage of Wisconsin; The Press is Not Amused

March 2, 2013 by Hematite Note: The following is in response to an article that appeared on February 28th on the WKOW web page, “Journalist loses credential after making obscene gesture in Senate chamber.” In the shadows of the Senate balcony nestled between the stately pillars of the chamber, the professional press is assigned two […]

2 Comments Continue Reading →
Ashland City Council member Richard Ketring guarateed that area residents, elected officials and local governments of the north are "united in defense of the water."

Resistance Mounts as Mining Bill Speeds Towards Final Passage

March 3, 2013 by Barbara With First claiming that new mining bill SB1 protects the environment, and then admitting that it actually allows mining companies to pollute without consequence, Sen. Tom Tiffany stepped up to take responsibility for spearheading what could become one of the worst long-term environmental and economic disasters in history of the […]

1 Comment Continue Reading →
The Tyler Forks River with Carolyn Lake and the headwaters of the Bad River. This land is sacred ground for the Anishinaabeg, and provides the fresh water for the entire area. The mine will go directly in its path.

Mining Bill Fractures Community

March 3, 2013  By Maureen Matusewic [Maureen Matusewic grew up in Hurley, Wisconsin, and recently moved back there. -Editors] Dear Senators, The mining bill is sliding into the final stage. I have studied the earlier bill and this new one for hours. My representatives at the state level have turned from the people of this […]

1 Comment Continue Reading →
Lake Superior near the mouth of the Bad River which would bear the brunt of pollution from mining waste tailings piles.

Amidst Controversy, Superior Days Promotes Mining Legislation

February 14, 2013 by Barbara With and Rebecca Kemble A long-standing and formerly non-partisan grassroots project that sends delegates from northern Wisconsin to Madison to lobby their representatives has included mining in the agenda this year, creating a violation of core principles of the 28-year-old group. According to the Superior Days website, the yearly effort […]

Leave a Comment Continue Reading →
Photo: Barbara Gabois

Hearing Records Show Overwhelming Opposition to Mining Bill

February 11, 2013 by Barbara With Almost three weeks after the only public hearing was held on controversial mining bill SB1/AB1, the chairs of the legislative committees charged with vetting it have yet to release the results. Neither Sen. Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) nor Rep. Mary Williams (R-Medford) has publicly announced information on testimony presented at […]

11 Comments Continue Reading →
BRB logo

Stop Abusing Rights of Native Sovereign Nations

[The following is a letter written by Lake Superior Chippewa Bad River Band Chairman Mike Wiggins, Jr. to Senate Committee on Workforce Development, Forestry, Mining, and Revenue Chairman Tom Tiffany explaining what government-to-government relations between sovereign entities entails. Click here for a review of the history of the mining bill in question. -Editors] February 1, […]

Leave a Comment Continue Reading →
Sen. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) listening to testimony at the November 28
9, 2013 Mining Committee hearing. Also present were Senators Holperin, Schultz, Cullen and Grothman. Senators Lehman, Erpenbach, Coles and Lazich are also on the committee. Grothman was sitting in for Lazich.

Jauch Calls New Mining Bill a “Hoax”

January 19, 2013 by Barbara With Just days after releasing their next version of a mining bill, Wisconsin Republicans announced on late Friday afternoon that the only public hearing on the bill will be held on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 in a small hearing room at the Capitol in Madison. Sen. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) issued this […]

Leave a Comment Continue Reading →
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 3,199 other followers