Tribes: We Must Be Consulted About Mines

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An organization that represents Wisconsin’s Native American tribes told state lawmakers today that those tribes are required to be consulted when the state considers a major mining project like the one proposed for Ashland and Iron Counties.

The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, or GLIFWC, works for several tribes to both enforce and preserve their federal treaty rights. GLIFWC’s Ann McCammon Soltis says those rights are very clear when it comes to the permitting and siting of mines. “When the state is considering the issuance of a permit that might be expected to affect wild rice or wild plants, they must consult with the tribe.”

Soltis says consultation means more than just paying the tribes a visit. If tribes are not satisfied, they can object to a project and potentially block it at the federal level. Soltis’ testimony sparked a lengthy debate among legislators on a special committee studying mining. The panel was formed in light of the ongoing debate over whether to change state law to clear the way for a mine in Iron and Ashland Counties.

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Given the power the tribes hold under federal treaties, West Bend Republican Glenn Grothman pressed Soltis on whether they would ever support a mine in that region, which is in the watershed of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. “Do you believe their attitude is, ‘We would be happy to have economic development in the area assuming we can have an environmentally safe mine’? Or is the tribe’s attitude going to be, ‘No matter what we do, no matter how many assurances we get from state and federal government, life is good today in 2012,and we just don’t want a mine and we will do what we can to fight it’?”

Poplar Democratic Senator Bob Jauch shot back that the legislature’s job was not to guess how the tribes would respond, but to recognize their authority. “We need to recognize that this is the real world. That is a process that has to be undertaken. It’s impossible for anyone to make a judgment on a permit that hasn’t been submitted on a project that hasn’t been identified. And I hope that we can stay away from this question of what are the tribes for and against something that hasn’t even been proposed yet.”

GLIFWC’s Soltis said she could not speak for the Bad River on Grothman’s question, but said if the state wants to understand where the tribes stand on projects; it should have them at the table.

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