Saving the wolves:
Michigan Indians
fight wolf hunt
lansingstatejournal.com;Louis Knott Ahern
Jimmie Mitchell keeps a screen saver on
his computer, a photo of children he never
knew in a place he's never been.
It's an image of students at
the Carlisle Indian Industrial
School, a Pennsylvania
boarding school founded
in 1879 where American
Indian children were sent
to learn how to assimilate
into a white world.
the Carlisle Indian Industrial
School, a Pennsylvania
boarding school founded
in 1879 where American
Indian children were sent
to learn how to assimilate
into a white world.
Mitchell — a member of the
Little River Band of Ottawa
Indians tribe — said his aunts
and uncles were among the
thousands of Indian children
who were taken from their parents
over a 40-year period and placed
in boarding schools such as
Carlisle.
There, the children were forced to
forget their language, their culture
and even their native names.
Little River Band of Ottawa
Indians tribe — said his aunts
and uncles were among the
thousands of Indian children
who were taken from their parents
over a 40-year period and placed
in boarding schools such as
Carlisle.
There, the children were forced to
forget their language, their culture
and even their native names.
"It breaks my heart," said Mitchell,
who heads his tribal government's
natural resources department.
"My uncle is still alive. When I try
to speak to him in our language,
he says, 'I understand everything
you're saying to me. But I can't,
the words get stuck in my throat.' "
who heads his tribal government's
natural resources department.
"My uncle is still alive. When I try
to speak to him in our language,
he says, 'I understand everything
you're saying to me. But I can't,
the words get stuck in my throat.' "
It would take nearly a century —
until the 1978 passage of the
American Indian Religious
Freedom Act — for native
culture to enjoy a widespread
resurgence, Mitchell said.
until the 1978 passage of the
American Indian Religious
Freedom Act — for native
culture to enjoy a widespread
resurgence, Mitchell said.
"You could be proud to be an
Indian again," he said, "rather
than feeling like a second-class
citizen or not even human at all."
Indian again," he said, "rather
than feeling like a second-class
citizen or not even human at all."
That long-fought pride is why he
and members of other Michigan
American Indian tribes are
increasingly nervous about
what's happening to another
important piece of their heritage
and culture — the Great Lakes
gray
wolf.
and members of other Michigan
American Indian tribes are
increasingly nervous about
what's happening to another
important piece of their heritage
and culture — the Great Lakes
gray
wolf.
Indian tribes are among the most
vocal opponents of a proposed
hunting season for wolves in
Michigan
. They've joined the Humane Society
and other wildlife advocates in a
petition drive to try to put the issue
on a statewide ballot in 2014 and
to block legislation passed in
December last year that classified
wolves as a game species.
vocal opponents of a proposed
hunting season for wolves in
Michigan
. They've joined the Humane Society
and other wildlife advocates in a
petition drive to try to put the issue
on a statewide ballot in 2014 and
to block legislation passed in
December last year that classified
wolves as a game species.
The Keep Michigan Wolves
Protected
campaign hopes to gather 225,000
signatures by March 27. To date,
they've gathered nearly 200,000.
Protected
campaign hopes to gather 225,000
signatures by March 27. To date,
they've gathered nearly 200,000.
Proponents of a wolf hunt say the
animals have thrived well beyond
the original population goal of 200
when they were placed on the
endangered species list in 1973.
With 700 to 1,000 wolves in
Michigan today, Upper Peninsula
residents say wolves are coming
too close to homes and towns
and are attacking livestock.
animals have thrived well beyond
the original population goal of 200
when they were placed on the
endangered species list in 1973.
With 700 to 1,000 wolves in
Michigan today, Upper Peninsula
residents say wolves are coming
too close to homes and towns
and are attacking livestock.
Wolf advocates, however, say the
wolf population in Michigan is still
too fragile to be hunted. It's been just
over one year since the animals were
removed from the federal endangered
species list, said Jill Fritz, Michigan
director of the Humane Society o
f the United States. She said the
animals have not had enough time
to maintain and thrive outside federal
protection.
wolf population in Michigan is still
too fragile to be hunted. It's been just
over one year since the animals were
removed from the federal endangered
species list, said Jill Fritz, Michigan
director of the Humane Society o
f the United States. She said the
animals have not had enough time
to maintain and thrive outside federal
protection.
For Indians, the issue goes much deeper.
Back to creation
In the beginning of time, the Creator
made Anishinaabe, the original
man,
and his brother Ma'iingan, the wolf.
Together, they walked the Earth
naming
all of the other creatures on the
planet.
There came a time when the
Creator
said the two must live apart but
warned
that whatever happened to one
would
happen to the other. To this day,
the
wolf howls in mourning for the
loss of
his friend, Anishinaabe.
made Anishinaabe, the original
man,
and his brother Ma'iingan, the wolf.
Together, they walked the Earth
naming
all of the other creatures on the
planet.
There came a time when the
Creator
said the two must live apart but
warned
that whatever happened to one
would
happen to the other. To this day,
the
wolf howls in mourning for the
loss of
his friend, Anishinaabe.
The connection between animal
and
man environment and the human
condition
, are prevelent in nearly all indigenous
creation stories.
and
man environment and the human
condition
, are prevelent in nearly all indigenous
creation stories.
For Michigan's native populations,
however, the wolf is a central player
in not only their past, but also their
future, said Aaron Payment,
chairman
of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of
Chippewa
Indians.
however, the wolf is a central player
in not only their past, but also their
future, said Aaron Payment,
chairman
of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of
Chippewa
Indians.
There is a direct parallel, Payment
says,
between the eradication of wolves
from
Michigan and the decline of its native
populations.
says,
between the eradication of wolves
from
Michigan and the decline of its native
populations.
Though wolves once roamed every
section
of Michigan, they were all but wiped
out in
the Lower Peninsula and only a handful
remained in the U.P. by the early part
of the 20th century because of
aggressive,
systematic hunting by white settlers.
section
of Michigan, they were all but wiped
out in
the Lower Peninsula and only a handful
remained in the U.P. by the early part
of the 20th century because of
aggressive,
systematic hunting by white settlers.
At the same time, Michigan's native
people
became impoverished as they were
moved
off their land, their population a fraction
of
what it had been at the time Europeans
arrived.
people
became impoverished as they were
moved
off their land, their population a fraction
of
what it had been at the time Europeans
arrived.
They can never let it happen again,
Mitchell said.
Mitchell said.
"We are so connected to our
environment,"
he said. "Those plants and animals
are a part of who we are, a cultural
dimension of how
we exist. Having them around us,
our culture
will flourish. When they are absent,
our culture
falls into impoverishment."
environment,"
he said. "Those plants and animals
are a part of who we are, a cultural
dimension of how
we exist. Having them around us,
our culture
will flourish. When they are absent,
our culture
falls into impoverishment."
Legal remedies
Tribal leaders say they have more
than a
cultural stake in the wolf, however.
than a
cultural stake in the wolf, however.
They also believe the state has a
legal
obligation to give Michigan's tribes
an
equal say in the management of
the wolf
and other wildlife species because
of a
treaty signed in 1836.
legal
obligation to give Michigan's tribes
an
equal say in the management of
the wolf
and other wildlife species because
of a
treaty signed in 1836.
The Treaty of Washington was an
agreement between the Ottawa
and Chippewa nations and the
United States in which the Indians
agreed to cede 13 million acres of
tribal land to the U.S. government —
a move that paved the way for
Michigan to become a state in
1837. In return, Indians were
granted
unlimited hunting, gathering and
fishing
rights to the land. In 2007, the treaty
was
strengthened in a court-mandated
consent
decree between the Department of
Natura
l Resources and the tribes.
The agreement
requires the DNR to manage
the state's
natural resources based on
"sound scientific
management" and to coordinate
their efforts
with the tribes.
agreement between the Ottawa
and Chippewa nations and the
United States in which the Indians
agreed to cede 13 million acres of
tribal land to the U.S. government —
a move that paved the way for
Michigan to become a state in
1837. In return, Indians were
granted
unlimited hunting, gathering and
fishing
rights to the land. In 2007, the treaty
was
strengthened in a court-mandated
consent
decree between the Department of
Natura
l Resources and the tribes.
The agreement
requires the DNR to manage
the state's
natural resources based on
"sound scientific
management" and to coordinate
their efforts
with the tribes.
Payment said the state is not living
up to that
mandate with the wolf issue. It's
not enough,
he said, that tribal leaders have
been invited
to speak at public hearings before
the
Legislature or the Natural Resources
Commission.
up to that
mandate with the wolf issue. It's
not enough,
he said, that tribal leaders have
been invited
to speak at public hearings before
the
Legislature or the Natural Resources
Commission.
Further, he said the DNR has not
provided
adequate scientific evidence that
Michigan
cannot sustain the current wolf
population
without human conflict.
provided
adequate scientific evidence that
Michigan
cannot sustain the current wolf
population
without human conflict.
"What is the biological basis for
a hunt,"
he asked.
a hunt,"
he asked.
Still in talks
State officials hope to answer
that question
and more in the next few months
through
a series of public hearings and
meetings
with tribal leaders. DNR officials
are in
Marquette this week meeting with
representatives of Michigan's
12 Indian tribes.
that question
and more in the next few months
through
a series of public hearings and
meetings
with tribal leaders. DNR officials
are in
Marquette this week meeting with
representatives of Michigan's
12 Indian tribes.
DNR tribal coordinator Dennis
Knapp said
they're doing everything required
of them by
not only the 2007 consent decree,
but also a
2002 Tribal-State Accord, which
requires each
side to work together on issues
that would
significantly impact either government.
Knapp said
they're doing everything required
of them by
not only the 2007 consent decree,
but also a
2002 Tribal-State Accord, which
requires each
side to work together on issues
that would
significantly impact either government.
Since the wolf hunt is still in the
idea stage —
no decision has been made or
even officially
proposed for action by the Natura
Resources
Commission — the state has not
violated the
terms of the consent decree,
Knapp said.
idea stage —
no decision has been made or
even officially
proposed for action by the Natura
Resources
Commission — the state has not
violated the
terms of the consent decree,
Knapp said.
"The process is not at the point
where a
proposal is on the table," he said.
"So
we're consulting without specifics
at this
point. But we are inviting all
Michigan tribes
for consultation."
where a
proposal is on the table," he said.
"So
we're consulting without specifics
at this
point. But we are inviting all
Michigan tribes
for consultation."
Knapp added that tribes
were also
represented in a roundtable
that crafted
the state's current Wolf
Management Plan
and signed off on the plan's
call for a wolf
hunt should the need arise.
were also
represented in a roundtable
that crafted
the state's current Wolf
Management Plan
and signed off on the plan's
call for a wolf
hunt should the need arise.
The Wolf Management Plan
calls for two
hunting options — a statewide
recreational
hunt like a deer season or a
small hunt
designed to help specific
regions dea
l with wolves that are causing
problems.
calls for two
hunting options — a statewide
recreational
hunt like a deer season or a
small hunt
designed to help specific
regions dea
l with wolves that are causing
problems.
It's the second type of hunt
that's being
considered by the state's Natural
Resources Commission.
that's being
considered by the state's Natural
Resources Commission.
That's not much comfort to
tribal leaders.
tribal leaders.
"Whatever befalls one will befall
the other,"
said Mitchell. "There is a
correlation. As
the tribes began to heal, the
wolf began to
heal. Do we risk the possibility
of the
population being hunted beyond
sustainability
and lose them again?"
the other,"
said Mitchell. "There is a
correlation. As
the tribes began to heal, the
wolf began to
heal. Do we risk the possibility
of the
population being hunted beyond
sustainability
and lose them again?"
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