Michigan native Iggy Pop, a music legend and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has endorsed the Keep Michigan Wolves Protected campaign to stop the trophy hunting of wolves and restore the right of Michigan voters to have a say over wildlife policy. Michigan’s first wolf hunt in decades begins tomorrow.

In a letter to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, dated Nov. 12, 2013, Pop writes: “As a Michigan native and someone who has cared about animals, both wild and domestic, for as long as I can remember, I was dismayed…that a bill you signed last May (S.B. 288/P.A. 21) gave Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission the authority to decide which animals can be hunted…which resulted in the first authorized wolf hunt since wolves underwent state protection in 1965.”

“To further compound the issue Mlive.com just unveiled several investigative reports that reveal the state used ‘half-truths’ and ‘falsehoods’ to support authorizing a hunting season on wolves in Michigan. The reports make clear that the decision to approve wolf hunting was based on fraudulent information and not sound science,” said Pop.

“I am asking all of my fans in Michigan to sign up and help gather signatures to reverse this decision and protect the wolf from future hunts,” Pop continues. “The senseless killing of these majestic animals for sport is a disappointment to the people of Michigan and a stain on its Government.” He called on Gov. Snyder to “do the right thing by staying the hunt and allowing the people’s voice to be heard” on the issue.


Click here to view Iggy Pop's letter to Gov. Snyder.

Keep Michigan Wolves Protected launched a second petition drive in August to overturn P.A. 21. Persons interested in volunteering, donating or learning more about the issue can visit KeepWolvesProtected.com.
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In 1980 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared red wolves extinct in the wild. Prior to this biologists had captured 17 wolves of which 14 became the founders of a successful zoo-based breeding program. Slowly some of them have been released back into the wild. But the red wolf is not out of danger yet.

The Red Wolf is classified as "Critically Endangered" by the IUCN's Red List of Endangered Species, with two out of three sub-species already extinct and only 90 to 100 individuals left in the third. It is virtually on the brink of extinction and needs extra protection.

But things are not going well this year for the red wolf. In 2013, 9 red wolves have been killed already. Just this week, authorities in North-Carolina hace found 2 animals that have been shot. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has put out a $26,000 reward for any information that would help its investigation.

According to Brett Hartl with the Center for Biological Diversity, "The actions of a few ignorant, misguided criminals have severely crippled the recovery of one of the rarest animals in the United States. We’re adding $10,000 to the reward in the hope that someone with information about these terrible killings will step forward. But we also need the Fish and Wildlife Service to step up its law-enforcement and outreach efforts to stem this surging tide of poaching.”


But intentional poaching isn't the only problem. To complicate things, the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission has authorized coyote hunting in the Red Wolf Recovery Area which includes night hunting by spotlight. It’s possible that hunters might have mistaken some red wolves for coyotes since they are similar in appearance. Stopping this practice immediately, where the red wolves live, would give them a better chance of survival.

A subsidiary of Rio Tinto and BHPBilliton (the two biggest metal mining companies in the world, by annual revenue and market capitalization) is proposing to mine a rich copper vein on public and private lands east of Superior, Arizona.

Because the copper lies partially under a public campground that has been withdrawn from mining, the company, called Resolution Copper, hopes to pass a land exchange bill in Congress to obtain title to the campground.

A place worth protecting

The proposed mining area is not only prized by birders, campers, climbers and hikers, the tribes in the area consider it sacred. The San Carlos Apache tribe is actively opposed to the land exchange and potential mine because of the destructive impacts it would have on the surrounding ecosystem and traditional use lands.

Keep public lands public

Given the religious and recreational significance of the site, Earthworks opposes privatizing the 3,000+ acres of public land that are part of HR 687, the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2013.

Keeping public lands in public hands ensures that not only are the lands preserved for multiple uses, but that if a mine is to move forward, the company would go through a federal review process with adequate public involvement.

Unified opposition

The San Carlos Apache Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, Fort McDowell Yavapai Tribe, Jicarilla Apache Tribe, InterTribal Council of Arizona and the National Congress of American Indians have all passed resolutions opposing the land exchange.



Conservations organizations ranging from the Sierra Club to the Arizona Audubon Society have also expressed serious concerns. Concerned Citizens and Retired Miners Association has formed to opposed the land exchange and in favor of expanded economic options for the region.
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The Great Oak Flat Land Giveaway from Bryan O'Neal on Vimeo.

In 1989, a gripping image captured just how seriously the Indians took the issue: a photo showed Tuíra, a woman warrior of the Kayapó tribe, threatening to slice the face of an engineer with her machete at a meeting between Indians and dam officials.

Today, 24 years after Tuíra showed the world that the dam was a matter of life-or-death for Brazilian Indians, Belo Monte is reaching peak construction on the Big Bend of the Xingu River. I interviewed the Xikrin, an indigenous tribe living just a few miles away from Belo Monte on the Bacaja River, a tributary of the Xingu, to see if 24 years was enough time for dam officials to meet their demands and assuage their fears. They said it wasn't.

"I think the dam will ruin everything," says Ngrenhkarati, a grandmother at the Xikrin village of Poti-Krô. She is skeptical of what representatives of Norte Energia, the consortium managing the dam, has told her tribe -- that the dam will have little impact on the Xikrin's environment.

"The engineers say the river won't dry all the way, that the water level will go down only a little," she says. But the water level is not the only impact of the dam -- Ngrenhkarati and others in her village have already witnessed decreased fish populations. The tribe is also weathering through negative impacts on their society: relationships among Xikrin villages are deteriorating. While some village leaders decide to accept compensation offers from Norte Energia, others continue to demand further consultation. The situation has bred feelings of ill will and betrayal among the villages. This is eroding the tribe's vibrant culture, says Mukuka, a leader of Poti-Krô village.


"[Norte Energia] started granting food and gas, and this caused infighting," Mukuka says. Although villagers still interact, the spirit of unity is gone. "We still talk, but it's not the same," he says.

"We Indians want to know, 'What will happen if the river dries up? Will you drag our canoes everywhere?'" Ngrenhkarati says. No one has an answer to her question. According to scientists, nobody -- not even Belo Monte's engineers -- know how the dam will affect the environment until the dam is completed and begins operation.

In the meantime, the Xikrin can only watch, wait, and hope that Norte Energia will make reparations for negative impacts on their life. But how can a company compensate for eroding culture?

"I would like our language and culture to be preserved, to not lose them as other people have," Mukuka says. The task, it seems, is up to them.
SOURCE Nina Wegner Vice President, Vanishing Cultures Projet

A Native American teen from Alabama is being fined $1,000 and denied her high school diploma for wearing an eagle feather in an expression of her tribal heritage.

Seventeen-year-old Chelsey Ramer, a senior at the private Escambia Academy High School in Atmore, wore the feather in her graduation cap at her May 23 commencement ceremony. She is of the Poarch Creek Band of Native Americans, descendants of a segment of the original Creek Nation, who have lived in the area for centuries. The Poarch Creek are the only federally recognized Indian tribe in the state of Alabama.

Ramer wanted to wear the eagle feather as a display of pride in her heritage. The feather also connects her people with their spirituality. But school policy forbids “extraneous items” from being worn without permission. Graduating seniors were required to sign a contract prior to the ceremony; Ramer says she never signed it. She asked the headmaster for permission to wear the feather but was told she couldn’t. With her family’s (and some teachers’) support, she walked across the graduation stage proudly wearing the feather.

She was then fined $1,000, with her diploma withheld until she pays up.

“I feel like this wasn’t fair,” Ramer told Indian Country Today. “It really did hurt my feelings. I have watched others wear it and I looked forward to it my whole four years there. Now when it was my turn, [they said] I couldn’t.”


“I feel like it’s discrimination,” she told WPMI.

Betty Warren, the headmaster who denied Ramer permission to wear the eagle feather, has been replaced by David Walker, who supports Ramer’s position.

“[Walker] said it it was up to him, he would give me my diploma,” Ramer told Indian Country Today. “But he had to go through the board to get it approved.”


Alex Alvarez, a Creek Indian who formerly taught Ramer at Escambia Academy, told Indian Country today that even though the school is private, it is still required to obey federal laws regarding personal displays of religious freedom.

“Private institutions still have to follow the federal guidelines, especially in regards to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act,” he said.

Alvarez called the girl’s situation “ridiculous.”

“If they took the time to understand and respect the differences in individuals, this would never have happened,” he said. “We don’t have much left as an Indian people, to give a child an eagle feather as an achievement should be adhered to.”
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Four filmmakers, two canoes, six cameras and a passion for the environment came together to create this inspiring timelapse video aimed at preserving what remains of Ontario's ancient Red Pine forest from mining.

Wolf Lake is surrounded by the largest ancient red pine forest in the world - an endangered ecosystem that remains in only 1.2% of its former extent.

The government of Ontario promised protect the ancient forest, but 13 years later it is still open to destructive mining and mineral exploration. (Source)

The Story

Save Wolf Lake

Wolf Lake is in the south-western part of the greater Temagami canoe area, 50 km northeast of Sudbury. It is at the heart of the world’s largest contiguous ancient red pine forest and lies on the Chiniguchi River, a popular wilderness canoe route. Old growth red pine forests are critically endangered and remain on only 1.2% of their former extent.


What is the issue?

The wolf lake ancient forest is being scarred and fragmented by mining exploration.

In 1999, the government of Ontario committed to protect the Wolf Lake ancient pine forest. The Chiniguchi Waterway Provincial Park was created upstream and downstream of Wolf Lake. However, mining claims and leases surrounding Wolf Lake prevented the inclusion of that area within the park. Instead, it was designated a Forest Reserve, which allows mineral exploration and mining, but prohibits logging. When the mining claims and leases expire, they are to be added to the neighbouring park.

But Ontario recently renewed the Wolf Lake area mining leases for another 21 year term, and could continue to do forever if supporters of Wolf Lake do not take action.

Save Wolf Lake from Rob Nelson on Vimeo.