|
KBIC calls Mt. Bohemia sacredsite as
"Walk to Remember" brings tribal groups together
|
|
|
KBIC member Pauline Spruce,
holding microphone, joins Wisconsin Native Americans Mel Rasmussen and Sylvia Cloud in stating Mt. Bohemia is a sacred
site for the Anishinabe people. Rasmussen and Cloud stopped in Baraga Saturday during "A Walk to Remember" around
Lake Superior and joined Spruce in a WBKP-TV 5 interview. At left is Janet Drennan of TV 5.
|
|
BARAGA -- Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) members met Saturday with Native and non-Native Americans participating in the "Walk to Remember" around Lake Superior and joined with other tribal groups in expressing a common concern
about reports of unearthed remains found on Mt. Bohemia.
KBIC member Pauline Spruce said the tribe has made repeated efforts to arrange a
meeting with Crosswinds Communities, Inc., the developer of the Mt. Bohemia ski hill
project, to discuss doing an archaeological survey of the area, following several reports
of remains found during ski hill construction. Although the finder of the remains has not
handed them over to the tribe, Spruce said the reports impose a "burden of proof" on the developer.
"When we receive these reports, itís something that we cannot take lightly," Spruce said,
"because that mountain is a sacred site to our people. And the artifacts that have been
found in the whole general area are . . . further proof to us that (the Mt. Bohemia area)
was a significant stopping point in the history of our people."
Spruce noted a letter from KBIC Tribal Chairman Richard Shalifoe to Bernie
Glieberman, Crosswinds president, and his son Lonie Glieberman, project manager for
the ski resort development, asked for a halt in the construction until an archaeological
survey, with the tribeís assistance, could be done on Mt. Bohemia. Spruce added the
letter was sent at about the time the blasting started earlier this summer but the company has continued the blasting and the development.
"Their resistance against letting us assist with an archaeological survey again shows the
incredible disrespect that they have for the land and for the people," Spruce said.
Mel Rasmussen of the Ojibway reservation at Lac du Flambeau, Wis., said he was
supportive of any steps the KBIC decides to take.
Said Rasmussen, "(Lonie) Glieberman with his petulance is zeroing out any
communications or shared correspondence in working with the tribes. So the bottom line
is - I suspect there will be a confrontation at some time, but I think there will also be
some developed political and at-large general news activities generated within Indian country across the (United States)."
Rasmussen added an impending confrontation is "in the wind" - possibly political or
judicial.
"There will be a confrontation of some type," he said. "Maybe not physical confrontation.
Maybe it will be a camp. Maybe itíll be just a battle of the words - the pressure that comes down on them (Crosswinds)."
|
|
|
Mel Rasmussen of the Ojibway reservation at Lac du Flambeau, Wis.,
expresses support for KBIC in their efforts to require an archaeological survey of the proposed Mt. Bohemia ski hill
development. At far left is Janet Drennan of WBKP-TV 5. KBIC member Pauline Spruce, second from left, and Sylvia Cloud of the
Bad River reservation in Odanah, Wis., also spoke during the interview Saturday in the Ojibway Campground in Baraga.
|
|
Sylvia Cloud of the Bad River reservation near Odanah, Wis., explained that a "camp" would mean a memorial ceremony.
"Weíll camp there, and weíll stay there four days and four nights," she said. "We are here to support them (KBIC) . . .Thatís what I see needs to be done."
Cloud said Native Americans set up such a spiritual camp at Madeline Island (in Lake
Superior) to protest the building of a marina on an ancient burial site. She noted her tribe
is still trying to get the remains back from the Smithsonian and the Wisconsin Historical Society.
"We set up a spiritual camp to protect the graves," she said. "The scientists make money
on the remains of our ancestors . . . Itís a possession thing to them, but itís a desecration to us."
Rasmussen noted he was aware of a lack of cooperation on the part of the State
Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) with efforts to register Mt. Bohemia as a sacred, historical site.
"Thatís the first move (KBIC has to make) - to push that," Rasmussen said. "If worse
comes to worst, if push comes to shove, the odds are theyíre going to end up having a
face-off. The tribe has to talk to the solicitor general . . . for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
to help them in dealing with these religious sites on ceded territory lands."
An April 24, 2000, letter from State Historic Preservation Officer Brian Conway to UP
Engineers and Architects mentioned a national register nomination that had been
prepared for the Lac La Belle site at the foot of Mt. Bohemia - a site researched by
Patrick and Susan Martin, archaeologists and Michigan Technological University
professors. Written at the time of Crosswinds - proposed water-sewer grant application,
the letter asked for a new archaeological survey to be done since federal funding would be involved.
In that letter, Conway wrote, "Given the existing knowledge of known and potentially
significant sites in the project area, we recommend that an archaeological survey be done
in the potential drainfield/lagoon corridor in Section 30, the extreme southwest corner of
Section 29 and the extreme northwest corner of Section 32. Survey work in Section 29
and Section 32 has been of sufficient intensity to identify significant remains and no
additional archaeological general survey work is necessary. However, should this project
go ahead, we strongly recommend that intensive survey take place in those area[s]
scheduled for disturbance as the archaeological deposits, particularly on the flats, tend to
be isolated concentrations rather than a broad, general spread of occupation."
Since the county board turned down the grant application and the project no longer
involves federal funding, SHPOís position appears to be that they are not required to intervene since the project is on private property. (See "Development Threatens Artifacts" in the News Archives.)
Rasmussen said, however, that since local Native Americans have identified Mt.
Bohemia as a sacred site it has to be looked at.
Donna Lynk of the Bad River band agreed.
"Just by virtue of the fact that the tribe has identified those areas as traditional cultural
properties is proof that theyíre violating federal laws - the American Indian Freedom of Religion Act and the National Historic Preservation laws," Lynk said.
"Somehow the tribe, or whoever is concerned enough, needs to . . . find a way to get the federal government involved."
Spruce pointed out that many tribes in the Lake Superior basin are related, since the
Ojibway, Cherokee and Sioux were once all part of the Anishinabe nation.
"These are all my brothers and sisters . . . my aunties, my uncles," Spruce said. "The only
thing that separates us is the federal government is by giving us different names and different land areas."
Added Lynk, "If they take a stand and ask for support from other Indian communities,
Iím sure weíll be here . . . Whenever we go anywhere to do these things it’Ä™s always
with spiritual guidance - with prayers and ceremonies. If that happens, Iím sure weíll be here."
|
|
|
Just for fun, Ashley Leoso, 13, pretends to interview Pangi Le Mieux,
15, after witnessing the TV 5 interview with their elders Saturday in Baraga. The two girls - members of the Bad River
band in Odanah, Wis. - are participating in "A Walk to Remember" around Lake Superior.
|
|
Editorís note: See guest columnist Vern Simulaís July 23 story on "A Walk to Remember" - a sacred journey around Lake Superior to create community awareness of the need to protect the air, land and water for the Seven Generations yet to come. The
walkers who stopped in Baraga Saturday are now on the last leg of their journey and
expect to arrive at the Bad River reservation near Odanah, Wis., this Friday in time for
the Bad River Pow wow August 25, 26 and 27. Stay tuned for more photos and KeweenawTodayís interview with the walkers. For more information on the walk see Protect the Earth.
- Michele Anderson
August 21, 2000
|
