Tribes celebrate end of mine saga

[sybylla]

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/local_13563376.shtml

ASHWAUBENON — Wisconsin Indian tribes on Saturday celebrated a successful, nearly three decades-long fight to keep land near Crandon from being mined. A powwow to celebrate the resolution of the Crandon mine issue was held Saturday afternoon in the Brown County Veteran’s Memorial Arena.

Before the grand entrance ceremony, a coalition of 33 environmental groups honored the Forest County Potawatomi, the Menominee Nation and the Mole Lake Band of the Sokaogon Chippewa tribes for buying the land and putting to rest nearly 30 years of acrimony.

<snip>

Gus Frank, chairman of the Forest County Potawatomi Community, said a woman who works in his office best summed up the importance of the deal. "'She said ‘Now my grandchildren will have water to drink.' That was just a very profound statement," he said.

Environmentalists and the tribes said acidic mine runoff and cyanide used in ore extraction would jeopardize groundwater and adjacent wetlands, including the Wolf River.

<snip>

This deal takes the mining issue off the table for this part of northern Wisconsin. There has been nothing but fighting over whether or not a mine could be placed here without endangering the waters nearby, principally, the Wolf River, the only unpolluted large river in the state where you can actually eat the fish you catch without worrying about pcb's and mercury (thank you repukes and the paper companies).

Unfortunately, racism has started a rumor in Forest county, where the ore deposits are located, that the Tribes will wait a few years and begin mining the land themselves--greedy, cheating, back-stabbing bastards injuns are, ya know.

[terryg11]

1. big win for the environment

unless the indians do decide to mine it themselves in a few years. I hope they don't but they are human and the money that will be thrown at them for the mining contracts will be huge of course. Did they by chance pass a law or make a binding agreement with the stATE that they wouldn't attempt to mine it at a later date?

[sybylla]

3. So far, we have a relatively strict mining permit process

That is how we have managed to stall the start-up of mining for 30 years. I assume that the tribes would have to go through the same process. Some say that as "soverign nations" they would be immune from the permitting process. I just can't imagine they will mine the land. They have been the loudest and most unified voice in the state against it. I suspect the three tribes would have to all agree before mining could take place in the future. Not likely.

[htuttle]

2. I posted something about this back in October when it came through

Tribes buy mine site; 27-year Crandon battle ends
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=115&topic_id=2228

Regarding what Wisconsin's Native American tribes end up doing with the land, all I can say is that I trust them with it way more than I trust a corporation with it. They've withdrawn the application for mining entirely the last I'd heard.

BTW, if someone is interested, it's worth reading the Zoltan Grossman commentary about this issue I posted under my original thread. There were a number of pretty groundbreaking things to happen in the Crandon Mine struggle, not the least of which is that 3 Native American tribes successfully worked with several environmental groups....and won!