“Taking a Stand”: Sacred Site Celebrated Despite Citizen Arrest

By
Gabriel Caplett
– 04/24/2010

On Tuesday, a Big Bay resident was arrested for allegedly “trespassing” on a 120 acre tract of public land Rio Tinto wants to mine.  Since then, public support for keeping that land public has increased and has inspired some to travel to the proposed mine site, despite ‘no trespassing’ signs posted by the company and the threat of arrest.

Charlotte Loonsfoot (foreground) and Chelsea Smith on Eagle Rock

Charlotte Loonsfoot and Chelsea Smith, members of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, arrived at Eagle Rock late Friday night on April 23 to “take a stand” for their sacred site and their treaty rights to hunt, fish and gather on lands.   Smith is a 20-year old student at the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community College; Loonsfoot is a proud mother of five.

Under the treaties of 1854 and 1842, Ojibwe leaders secured the rights of their people and their future generations to hunt, fish and gather on ceded lands.   Kennecott Eagle Minerals and the State of Michigan have not honored these rights.  The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is opposed to metallic sulfide mining on ceded lands at this time.

Loonsfoot and Smith were inspired after the recent arrest of Cynthia Pryor, who was arrested on Tuesday for sitting on a stump with her dog at the base of Eagle Rock.  Pryor, a citizen of Big Bay, and an outspoken opponent of Rio Tinto’s Eagle Project, was recently released from the Marquette County Jail on personal recognizance, after declining to bail herself out.

Rio Tinto posted 'no trespassing' signs around Eagle Rock, on public land, after getting a Big Bay resident arrested for "trespassing" at the site

Loonsfoot and Smith plan to camp at the base of Eagle Rock at least for the weekend, perhaps until they stop Rio Tinto’s project that threatens their sacred site and treaty rights.

Rio Tinto proposes to blast a portal through Eagle Rock and mine underneath the Salmon Trout River, a tributary of Lake Superior.  Experts have called their project “equivalent to high school level work” and said the mine could collapse.

When asked what prompted the pair to travel to Eagle Rock, Loonsfoot said she was inspired after Pryor’s arrest and strong stance in support of public land rights.  Looking out over the Yellow Dog Plains from atop Eagle Rock, Loonsfoot said, “I feel like I have a reason to be here.  I have been putting tobacco in the water for the water spirit—she can use me to protect here. . .and here I am”.

Friends and supporters of Loonsfoot and Smith will be joining them this evening as they prepare for ceremonies at Eagle Rock.  They said they welcome supporters to stop by.


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