Governor Walker urged to veto mascot bill

Odanah, Wis. – The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission’s (GLIFWC) Voigt Inter-tribal Task Force (Voigt Task Force) is urging Governor Walker to veto proposed legislation (Assembly Bill 297/Senate Bill 317) that would change Wisconsin law regarding the use of race-based nicknames, logos, mascots, or team names by school districts.
In a November 8 letter, GLIFWC Executive Administrator James Zorn informed the Governor of the Voigt Task Force’s unanimous action taken at its November 7 meeting in Turtle Lake.  He emphasized that, whether intended or not, enactment of this measure could provide impetus to those who would demean and stereotype Native people.
Zorn notes that the Voigt Task Force’s Chippewa Tribes have a unique and compelling viewpoint because their communities have been the victims of racist actions when exercising treaty-reserved hunting, fishing and gathering rights.  Referencing the behavior and activities by protesters at Northern Wisconsin boat landings in the 1980’s, Zorn states, “This hatred and violence was imbued with slurs and imagery that perpetuated patently offensive and hateful stereotypes as well as objectified Native Americans as inferior human beings.”  These attitudes and images were further carried into the schools at the time.
Zorn stresses that progress has been made since then to overcome the lingering effects of the hatred and resulting divisiveness.  Positive steps through Act 31 and the current mascot legislation have helped to mend relations in the affected communities. He emphasized that enacting this new law would “send the wrong message” and improperly “signal that imagery and behavior that mimics tribal cultural or ceremonial activities are acceptable even though found to be offensive by Native Americans.”

For further information contact GLIFWC Public Information Director Sue Erickson at (715) 682-6619, ext. 2105 or email at serikson@glifwc.org

 

Tribes wait for decision on night hunting

Madison, Wis. – A five-day trial on tribal night hunting of deer in Wisconsin’s ceded territory concluded on July 26, and the parties now wait for a decision from Federal Judge Barbara Crabb.
Six Wisconsin Ojibwe tribes are seeking relief from a 1991 judgment by the US District Court, Western District, prohibiting night hunting of deer under treaty in the ceded territories. The decision called LCO VII resulted from the “Deer Trial” which decided the scope of the off-reservation, treaty deer harvest.
Today, the tribes argue that circumstances have significantly changed, so the Court should be able to revisit the night hunting issue and alter the original judgment. (For the full story, see Fall 2013 Mazina'igan

 

Now available:  Map and description of analysis GLIFWC recently completed to determine what streams could be filled given the provisions of AB1/SB1. In particular, the analysis looked at the effect of Amendment 9 to AB1/SB1 on the ability of an iron mining company to fill streams with mine waste. What GLIFWC found was that many upper watershed stream segments could be filled given the provisions of Amendment 9. Those streams are indicated in red on the attached map.

Notes and Methods Used in Development of Vulnerable Stream Analysis

Surface waters potentially filled by iron mining given provisions of AB1/SB1

 

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