Honoring the River: How Hardrock Mining Impacts Tribal Communities

April 25- For more than a century, American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives have suffered the impacts of hardrock mining while enjoying few of its benefits.

A new National Wildlife Federation report, Honoring the River:  How Hardrock Mining Impacts Tribal Communities tells the story of hardrock mining and tribes, from the checkered history of federal legislation allowing mining companies to lease minerals on tribal lands—often without tribal consent—to the many new mines being proposed near tribal communities.

“Access to clean drinking water, clean air, and healthy fish and game are inherent human rights that no lawmaker can give away,” said Mike Wiggins, chairman of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, whose land has been threatened by Gogebic Taconite’s proposed open-pit iron mine. “Some of the environmental impacts, like acid mine drainage, will last into perpetuity.”

Read the Wildlife Promise blog on the report!

Douglas County Schools Receive Eco-Schools Honor

April 25 -Copper Mesa and Flagstone elementary schools in Douglas County were awarded Green Flags Thursday from the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA program for their exceptional achievement in conserving natural resources and integrating environmental education into the curriculum.

The schools are the first in Colorado to earn the Green Flag and just the 14^th and 15^th nationwide. The award is the highest in the Eco-Schools program, an international network of 41,000 K-12 schools in 53 countries. The National Wildlife Federation is the program’s US host.

“We in the regional office of the National Wildlife Federation are proud that these two Colorado schools are part of an elite group of students, faculty and staff members dedicated to ‘greening’ their schools and hands-on education,” said Ann Morgan, NWF’s regional executive director

Click here for more information on Eco-Schools USA.

National Wildlife Federation Donates $15,000 for San Francisco Bay Porpoises

April 20- In celebration of Earth Day, the National Wildlife Federation is making its first donation to Golden Gate Cetacean Research. The donation is in support of the organization’s work to help keep the porpoises in San Francisco Bay. It is the first step in a multi-year campaign to raise $500,000 for the animal’s conservation. The donation will be presented at a special Earth Day Fair hosted by Alcatraz Cruises, a supporter of the campaign.

After a 65-year absence, porpoises have made an amazing return to the San Francisco Bay. To celebrate this success and to ensure the marine mammal’s continued residence in the Bay, National Wildlife Federation and Golden Gate Cetacean Research have partnered on a “Return of the Porpoise to San Francisco Bay” campaign.

 To learn more about the campaign, visit  http://www.nwfcalifornia.org/sfporpoises/

 And now here are highlights from NWF in the news:

• Washington Post: Home Design Certified Wildlife Habitats Bloom Throughout Fairfax County
• Today Show: NWF Celebrates Earth Day with Kathie Lee and Hoda
• CNN.com : 7 stunning U.S. spots for wildlife
• USA Today: Gulf Coast still waiting for funds after spill
• ABC News: Three years later: Oil spill cleanup, study carries on
• Politico: Green groups seeing red over Barbara Boxer’s water bill
• Los Angeles Times: EPA criticizes environmental review of Keystone XL pipeline
• NPR: Tar Sands Pipelines Should Be Held to Different Standards
• San Antonio Express News: Protect whooping cranes to protect Texas heritage
• Public News Service: Clean Water Act “Loopholes” for Mining Affect Montana Tribes
• PennLive: Brook trout is climate change loser; bobwhite quail could be winner
• 9News.com: Douglas County recognized as “greenest” school district in the state
• StarDem.com: National Wildlife Federation launches three contests for children
• InsideClimateNews.com : Arkansas Oil Spill Damage Assessment: If Not the Feds, Then Who?

 For more visit www.nwf.org/news

Photo: Colin Ruggiero

New NWF Report Tells Story of Mining and Tribes

The National Wildlife Federation has just released a new report, Honoring the River: How Hardrock Mining Impacts Tribal Communities, which tells the story of mining and tribes, from the checkered history of federal legislation allowing mining companies to lease minerals on tribal lands—often without tribal consent—to the many new mines being proposed near tribal communities and lands.

Photo: Earthworks

One of the key points of the report is that tribes view water as sacred, something to be honored. Our government could certainly learn from this perspective. Despite its commitment to clean water and environmental justice, the Administration has been slow to make the relatively simple rule changes needed to close the loopholes in the Clean Water Act. It hasn’t honored the river.

Tribes Speak Out Against Mining

Even as tribes continue to suffer from poisoned rivers, contaminated sacred sites, and other devastation caused by old and abandoned mines, they face a new round of threats. Mines are being proposed from Alaska’s Bristol Bay, a watershed that supports the greatest remaining runs of wild sockeye salmon on earth, to the Great Lakes basin, which contains 84 percent of North America’s supply of fresh surface water.

Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Chairman Mike Wiggins is fighting to stop the permitting of the largest iron-ore, open-pit mine in the world slated for the headwaters of the Bad River, six miles from the reservation border in northern Wisconsin ceded territory. The Gogebic Taconite mine’s proposed location threatens the Kakagon and Bad River Sloughs, a 16,000-acre wetland complex at the mouths of the two rivers that contains valuable flora and fauna, including wild rice beds of cultural significance to the tribes. These resources are within the Bad River Reservation and contain 40 percent of the Lake Superior Basin coastal wetlands.

“This ecosystem is as good as what we have left in the state and in the world. We all have an impact on the environment. We really have to humble ourselves. Environmental stewardship is a sacrifice.”

-Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Chairman Mike Wiggins

We may not be able to undo all of the inequities of the past, but we can learn from the original stewards of the land and require mines to operate responsibly. Surely nobody can argue that mines should be able to store untreated industrial waste in living waters. Closing the mining loopholes would not stop hardrock mining, but it would help protect tribal communities, all of our communities, from the chemicals, heavy metals, and acid mine drainage produced by modern mines.

Urge the EPA and Army Corps to close these mining loopholes to protect our nation’s waters and wildlife.

Bison Grazing Under Prairie Sky

Many of the foods we eat and the medicines and remedies we use were introduced by Indians and more than one highway follows an Indian trail.  Indians make contributions in every area of endeavor and American life, and our literature and all our arts draw upon Indian themes and wisdom.  Countless American Indians have served in our Armed Forces and have fought valiantly for our country. President Ronald Reagan, Proclamation of American Indian Week, 1986.

There are over 5.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives in the U.S. The 566 federally-recognized, sovereign tribal nations own and manage over 95 million acres of land – 11 million acres more than the National Park Service (to read more notable statistics for American Indians and Alaska Natives, visit the U.S. Census Bureau).

This month, NWF’s Tribal Partnerships Program is highlighting the important contributions Native peoples have made to conservation. Native Americans are our nation’s original environmental stewards. Tribes have been caring for and nurturing Mother Earth for thousands of years. Because Tribes have the longest continual experience with the land, climate, wildlife and other natural resources, they have significant expertise and play an important role in helping us solve today’s conservation challenges.

Since the mid-1980s, NWF has partnered with tribes because we share a common value – to protect wildlife and habitat. This year, the theme of Native American Heritage Month is “Serving Our People, Serving our Nations: Native Visions for Future Generations.” In keeping with this theme – as well as NWF’s mission to “inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future” – we thank our tribal partners for major conservation successes in 2012. Each story is a win not only for tribes, but for all Americans, and is guaranteed to benefit generations to come.

Photo by Ted Wood/The Story Group

Stopping the Keystone XL oil pipeline. In December 2011, Tribal leaders met with federal agencies and members of Congress to voice their opposition to the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a massive project intended to carry oil sands from Alberta to Texas. Tribes object to the massive destruction and pollution caused by oil sands development, fear that a pipeline spill will harm tribal health, safety, and environment, and criticize the State Department’s failure to engage tribes in the permitting process.  In large part due to the efforts of tribes, President Obama put the project on hold in February 2012, citing inadequate environmental review.

Tribal Schools Receive Awards from NWF’s Eco-Schools USA Program. This year, the STAR School in Leupp, AZ – on the Navajo Reservation – received an Eco-Schools Bronze Award from NWF as well as a Green Ribbon School award from the U.S. Department of Education. Several Navajo elementary schools – Mesa Elementary in Shiprock, Chee Dodge in Yatahey and Navajo Elementary in Navajo –are in various stages of completing the Eco-Schools Bronze award. In addition, Tohatchi High School in Tohatchi, NM became an officially registered Eco-School.

Fighting Reckless Energy Development in the Powder River Basin. The Powder River Basin is the most active area in the country for coal mining and coal bed methane development. NWF works with Tribal members from across the Northern Plains who have long-standing historical and cultural ties to the Powder River Basin landscape. We are working to create a Carbon Trust, which would provide economic incentives for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe to keep its coal in the ground and preserve its pristine habitat of grass-covered plains and rolling hills. Currently, we are rallying with Tribal members and local landowners to fight the proposed Tongue River Railroad. Stopping this new spur line will inhibit the development of new coal mines in southern Montana and the export of U.S. coal to Asian markets, which will in turn protect wildlife habitat, historic and cultural resources, and clean air and water.

The National Wildlife Federation is honored to partner with tribes on wildlife conservation. Please join us in thanking them for inspiring us “to protect wildlife for our children’s future.”

Please visit our Tribal Partnerships Program, learn more about what we do, and join us in protecting wildlife and habitat on tribal lands.

The Great Plains spread eastward from the foothills of Wyoming (Photo by Sarah Pizzo)

Jason explains that the plants, animals and humans of the American prairie have been evolving together for millennia. Bison were an integral part of the prairie ecosystem: their hooves broke up the soil so seeds could germinate and their wallows – the depressions left when they rolled in the dirt – gathered rain which fed medicinal plants.

The lives of Native Americans were also inextricably tied to the bison. They followed the herds across the plains, relying on the great creatures for food, shelter and tools. They worshipped bison, performing religious ceremonies to promote its abundance and express gratitude for its ultimate sacrifice to them in the hunt.

The U.S. Army recognized this reliance in the late 19th century, when the westward movement of miners and homesteaders led to clashes with the resident Sioux, Cheyenne, Shoshone, and Arapaho. To defeat the tribes and clear the way for “Manifest Destiny,” the U.S. Army used the following tactic: eliminate the tribes’ main food source.

A herd of wild bison approach the author’s car in Yellowstone National Park (Photo by Sarah Pizzo)

NWF has been working for two decades to transfer some of these Yellowstone bison – whose numbers now overwhelm the Park’s capacity – back to their native lands. Our first major victory came last spring when we helped the Fort Peck Tribes move 61 Yellowstone bison to their reservation in northeast Montana. The tribes are thrilled to have these “tatanka” home. The bison and their 21 new calves are enjoying thousands of acres of wild prairie.

Today, NWF is working with Jason and other members of the Shoshone and Arapaho tribes to move a herd of Yellowstone bison to the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. A group of bison awaits transfer on a Montana ranch. The land and the tribes are ready to receive them. Standing in the way is a complex web of legal and political hurdles that we are working to overcome.

Late in the day on my visit to Yellowstone, I came upon a lone buffalo walking the center line of the Park’s loop road. I pulled to the shoulder to give him space to pass and he paused long enough to make eye contact. I stared with a sense of wonder and respect. His return gaze was fearless and unconcerned. And at that moment I knew: we are beginning to restore the balance.

A Yellowstone bison wanders along the Park road (Photo by Sarah Pizzo)

The latest projection for tar-sands pipelines. Via U.S. Department of State.

Debra White Plume previously said “I think our Native Nations are going to stay opposed to the Keystone XL Pipeline and stay opposed to any other oil pipelines that come through here because we understand that water is a precious resource. It is a gift from our grandfather, and it’s a gift for life, a gift of life.”

At the conclusion of the press conference, Tom Weis, president of Climate Crisis Solutions, delivered an open letter signed by prominent individuals, including Bill McKibben, Darryl Hannah and tribal leaders, to both Obama and Romney campaign offices calling on them to withdraw support for Keystone XL.

Late last year, President Obama rejected TransCanada’s bid to build a $7 billion oil pipeline linking the tar sands of Alberta to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico so that the State Department could further study the environmental impacts of the pipeline on its 1,179 mile route from Alberta to Nebraska. The Department of State has recently started the process for issuing a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The previous EIS failed to include the required government-to-government consultation with Indian Tribes and did not adhere to the laws regarding tribes, such as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney has stated that on the first day of his presidency he will sign an executive order to build the Keystone Pipeline. It certainly doesn’t appear that he cares whether the pipeline will negatively impact tribal communities. While Obama delayed the project for further study, his current stance is unclear.

The federal government has a duty to consider tribal impacts when considering whether to approve the pipeline. Given the lack of attention to tribal concerns about keystone during the campaign, one has to be left wondering: will either of the candidate stand up for tribal rights and protect their cultural and environmental resources that Keystone threatens?

The National Wildlife Federation has a long history of partnering with Native American Tribes to conserve and protect wildlife for our children’s future and currently partners with tribes to oppose the Keystone Pipeline and ensure their concerns regarding the pipeline are addressed.

A Popular Decision

The newly designated Chimney Rock National Monument. Photo by Flickr user Jah~.

When the country seems so divided on many important issues, preserving Chimney Rock brought people of diverse backgrounds together to demonstrate positive support for a place steeped in history. The site, with the twin pinnacles of Chimney Rock and Companion Rock, has strong cultural and spiritual significance for Native Americans, and was home to ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians. Garrit Voggesser, National Wildlife Federation’s National Director of Tribal Partnerships, explains the importance of the decision:

“This is extremely significant for tribes and recognizes their historical, cultural, and spiritual connections to Chimney Rock and the surrounding region.  This is a great use of the Antiquities Act.  It reflects that this is something that everyone wants—local communities, tribes, the state, Republicans, Democrats and the administration.  This is refreshing given the current gridlock in Washington.”

An Economic Boost to Southwestern Colorado

The momentum to upgrade the Chimney Rock Archaeological Area to a national monument was a locally driven process with strong backing from area residents, tribes, businesses and conservationists. This momentum translated into bipartisan support from Colorado’s congressional delegation, including Rep. Scott Tipton and Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall. In addition to its intrinsic value, Chimney Rock National Monument is expected to bring in $1.2 million in economic activity to the area, based on a study commissioned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Native American ruins on and around Chimney Rock date back 1,200 years ago, and the elevated federal designation is bound to bring in archaeology enthusiasts and folks who just want to hike to see the ruins and surrounding San Juan National Forest. One of the most fascinating aspects to this area is the Great House Pueblo, where every 18.6 years the moon rises exactly between the two rock spires, known as a Lunar Standstill.

Pledge to speak up for wildlife in this election season and vote for lawmakers who will address the challenges we face.

A Win for Conservation

Besides Chimney Rock’s rich cultural heritage, the area is home to many iconic wildlife species, such as black bear, mountain lions, elk, mule deer, bald eagles and peregrine falcons. It’s a truly great western landscape that now will be preserved for our children and grandchildren. The Antiquities Act is a special conservation tool that was established in 1906 and has been used by 16 presidents since then to designate national monuments. The president can use the Antiquities Act to protect special natural, historical and cultural areas as national monuments.  In the case of Chimney Rock, all the requirements were in place to make this a perfect use of the Antiquities Act.

Learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s efforts to protect our nation’s public lands for communities and wildlife at NWF.org/PublicLands and OurPublicLands.org.

Yellowstone Bison in the quarantine pasture in Gardiner, Montana – Photo by Ted Wood

Over the past few decades, the tribes have restored six of the seven ungulate species that were historically present on our tribal lands. With today’s resolution, we are taking a huge step to restoring the last of those seven species, the bison. The resolution and an accompanying letter have been delivered to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar requesting that Yellowstone bison, currently being held on Ted Turner’s Green Ranch in Montana, be relocated to Wind River and formally asking for government-to-government consultation to make their request a reality.

Priority landscapes for bison

Yellowstone bison return to Fort Peck Reservation in Montana – Photo by Ted Wood

The Yellowstone bison are among the few in North America with no cattle genes. The Yellowstone area is the only place where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. Two centuries ago, there were more than thirty million buffalo roaming North American, but by the turn of the 19th-century, less than one hundred remained. Tribal peoples rounded up some of those bison to save them, and some of those bison became seed animals for the Yellowstone herd. Today’s decision by the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes provides an opportunity for the historical relationship between buffalo and American Indians to come full circle, and is a huge stride toward achieving the return of bison to their Wind River homeland.

Help us get the Yellowstone Bison to Wind River

Please donate to the National Wildlife Federation Tribal Lands Partnerships Program to help get these 140 bison back to tribal lands.

For more information on NWF’s efforts to restore Yellowstone bison to tribal lands, please check out NWF’s Tribal Lands Partnerships webpage.

Shoshone Tribal Bison Representative – Jason Baldes – Photo courtesy Kelly Gorham, Montana State University

Baldes, a sought after speaker, is currently an officer of the Society of American Indian Graduate Students.

21  bison calves were born in the last 3 months on the Fort Peck reservation

This week, the Sioux and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation have reached another conservation milestone–after being held in a temporary surveillance corral for the past four months while fencing for a larger enclosure was specially crafted, the 61 bison adults and their 21 calves will be able to freely roam within a 2,200-acre pasture.

These are the first wild Yellowstone bison to be restored to the Great Plains. Later this fall, an additional 5,120-acre pasture will be opened to the bison, allowing them access to more than 7,000 acres of their native habitat.

Bison are one of America’s most iconic species, a symbol of the West, and a vital part of our nation’s wildlife heritage. Their return to Fort Peck is a critical step forward in returning the animal to important parts of its historic range across the West. Building on this victory, NWF is working with the Wind River Tribes of Wyoming and other tribes to restore wild, genetically-pure bison. To accomplish this goal, we need your help. Together, we can bring wild bison back to the tribes and public lands, restoring them to their rightful place on America’s western landscape.

Learn more about our work at nwf.org/tribalbison

Deer Medicine Rocks

Yesterday, in the beautiful Rosebud valley in southeastern Montana, hundreds gathered to celebrate and honor an important and sacred place, Deer Medicine Rocks, as a National Historic Landmark. Northern Cheyenne, Oglala Lakota, ranchers, historians, and others came to this remote site, just north of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation to honor and recognize a place where Native Americans have carved their prophecies, their history and their dreams for thousands of years. I was honored to attend the celebration as a representative of NWF’s Tribal Lands Partnerships Program and as a proud Montanan. Deer Medicine Rocks demands your attention. It juts out into the never ending Montana sky amid other sandstone bluffs and prairie and sage brush flats. This region and the abundant wildlife that call it home, is one of the most special in all of Montana and the Nation. When you step foot in this country, you’ll never forget it.

Petroglyphs cover the walls of the sandstone face of the rocks, including a rock art inscription of the prophecy of a tribal victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn that was revealed Hunkpapa Lakota medicine man Sitting Bull during a Sun Dance held in the Rosebud Valley in June 1876. For those of you who may never make it out to southeastern Montana to see this amazing place, the National Park Service has described some of the petroglyphs that reveal themselves on the rocks.

“There are elk with tracks; buffalo bull sitting down (possibly Sitting Bull’s signature); buffalo tracks; bear tracks and a grizzly bear; mountain sheep; deer; birds; salamanders; a thunderbird; a coyote; the sacred Sun Dance of the Lakota people, with pole and piercing of the flesh; tepees; a man on horseback; war regalia in the form of bear claws, a mirror, and eagle bone whistles; a view of soldiers with grasshopper-like legs falling into camp; a medicine wheel with quadrants including a moon and a man smoking a pipe; and a human with a shield.

Lightning Strike on Deer Medicine Rocks

On the northeast side, a lightning bolt struck the rock creating a blue stripe that seared through the image of a deer and knocked away a piece of the stone thereby providing the site’s most common name, “Deer Medicine Rocks.” National Park Service

These photos and the video below capture the welcome home ceremony.

The Round Up

Bison bound for release at Fort Peck, MT are herded together.

Driving the Bison Home

Jim & Lexi Marsh prepare to drive one of the trailers with bison bound for Fort Peck, MT.

The Bison are Released

Bison leaving the trailer at Fort Peck, MT.

Bison leaving the trailer at Fort Peck, MT.

Bison being released at Fort Peck, MT.

The Pipe Ceremony

Tribal drum ceremony

Video of the Bison Release:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Help support National Wildlife Federation’s ongoing work to bring wild bison back to tribal lands >>

Related Links

• Wild Bison Homecoming for Indian Tribes
• National Wildlife Federation’s Tribal Bison Work
• Article: “Tribes Welcome Home Yellowstone Bison”