On Thursday, January 26th, the lower house of the Wisconsin legislature (the Assembly) passed a bill to exempt iron ore mining from most of Wisconsin's environmental regulations. The bill passed on a party line vote with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. The bill had no sponsors in the legislature and was introduced to the body as a whole by a committee. No individual legislator will take credit for authoring the bill, and it is generally accepted that the bill was written by Gogebic Taconite, the company which will be the sole beneficiary of the exemption.
The bill was rammed through the Assembly over strong objections from environmental groups and Native American tribes whose land and water will be threatened by the open pit mine proposed in northern Wisconsin by Gogebic Taconite.
The facebook community "I Stand With the Bad River Tribe" is now reporting...
BREAKING ON WI MINE ISSUE! "...The US Dept of the Interior, Indian Affairs has assigned Kimberly Bouchard, Great Lakes Agency Superintendent, to look into possible Treaty violations by WI Assembly passing this Bill. Contact her at 715-682-4527, Mon-Fri 8AM-4PM with concerns."
Elders and others from a number of Indian bands from northern Wisconsin were in Madison last week, trying to convince legislators to vote No. They participated in a tribunal against the bill and a rally outside the Capitol. They met with some officials, but were largely ignored by Republican Assembly leaders. They have vowed to fight the bill in any venue available to them, and it looks like at least one opportunity to stop the bill from becoming law has now opened with the Bureau of Indian Affairs getting involved.
The state Senate has yet to even schedule a vote on the bill, and there is reason to believe it might not pass the Senate, where Republicans hold only a one vote majority. Some Republican Senators do not like the bill in its present form. Backlash from the disrespect shown to Indian leaders during their stay in Madison (by Republicans and by Capitol Police) has others feeling a bit reluctant to move ahead.
As an example of the disrespect, the Wisconsin Public Radio reporter Mike Simonson writes that the arrest of Lincoln "Sam" Morris of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has deeply offended many tribal members:
A brief arrest of an American Indian ceremonial drummer who was escorted out of the Wisconsin State Capitol building Thursday is causing reverberations through tribal communities, who say it’s the same as arresting a member of the clergy who was in prayer.
Sam Morris, a 39-year-old Red Cliff tribal member, was playing a drum song when Capital Police told him to pack up and leave. A YouTube video shows the crowd shouting “No! No! No!” as he was led outside.
Here is that video:
It should be noted that the Capitol Police had earlier told Mr. Morris he could not drum on the first floor. It was his understanding that it was because of the Solidarity Sing Along happening on the ground floor, so the Solidarity Sing Along invited Mr. Morris into their circle and observed as he began to drum and chant. When Capitol Police intervened, the singers objected to the arrest, even offering to take their event outside to allow Mr. Morris to use the indoor space. Police ignored the offer, briefly apprehended Mr. Morris (who did not resist), issued him a $263.00 citation for disorderly conduct, and escorted him from the building, knocking over an elderly woman in the process. They said later that they had told Mr. Morris he could not drum anywhere in the building, a questionable claim contradicted by multiple witnesses and at least one video:
Bad River Tribal Chairman Mike Wiggins witnessed the incident and said “That young man was down there to try and sound a voice to say ‘What happened to balance? What happened to truly taking matters and listening to your citizens?’ And he was yanked out of there by armed security. That, to me, very, very tragic.”
Morris's attorney says they will fight the citation. "...they desecrated our freedom of religion and our way of life on the drum and they disrespected our ancestors, all the spirit helpers, even theirs. In their terms, it’d be angels.”
Simonson also quotes the attorney as saying “It doesn’t make sense to me that the Assembly can do a prayer when they start their session and that people can chant, but Native Americans can’t use a drum which is also a prayer.”
Indeed. Take a look at the following photograph that I took just last month in the Capitol Rotunda. I had been standing by the railing when the group you see kneeling arrived, led by a priest. As they kneeled and began to pray out loud, I overheard the priest refer to Madison, Wisconsin as the epicenter of evil. With the Republicans in charge, I might agree with that assessment, but I think they were referring to other things. I respected their space and wandered through the Capitol one floor above. I was struck by the religiosity of the scene below me: a giant, state-sponsored Christian symbol dominated the rotunda while a group of people prayed openly to their Christian god. Capitol Police did not disturb them (nor should they have, though I am uncomfortable with the state-approved, taxpayer-funded religious icon.)
UPDATE: (h/t to noise of rain):
Here is the donation address. This is for sending checks. Please designate "for Bad River Objibwe" or something like that on the check, so they know to direct it all to the folks who travelled down to Madison. At this point, the Paypal link is still not working.
Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin
PO Box 834
Ashland, WI 54806