# BAD RIVER NATURAL RESOURCE (2016) > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Abad_river_chippewa%3Abfb7754994899f31 ## Record - **Collection:** Tribal code - **Document type:** Tribal code ## Text Summer Common Ground BAD RIVER NATURAL RESOURCE 2016 Streamflow During the Recent Flood By: Naomi Tillison, Water Resources Specialist Bad River at Government Road at 10:40 a.m on 7/12/16. Starting on July 11th, up to 12 inches of rain rapidly fell down on our landscape (read Nathan Kilger's article on page 10 for more details). The Bad River rose from around 300 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 30,000 cfs in 10 hours and the river peaked around 39,000 cfs around 11:00 a.m. on July 12th (Figure 1). The streamflow is measured at Elm Hoist Road, which is around 25 river miles upstream of the mouth (where the river enters Lake Superior). There is a gaging station at the Elm Hoist Road crossing that is operated by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Bad River Tribe. Data collected at this station can be viewed by the public at the USGS webpage (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wi/nwis/rt). This webpage is typically updated every few hours, and it was more frequently updated during the July flooding. (Continued on page 4) Inside this issue: Special Point of Interest: Streamflow During the Recent Flood 1 It’s a Bird? It’s a Plane? It’s a Drone? 7 Lead & Wildlife 8 The Rain & Flooding of July 11, 2016 10 Are You Prepared for the Next Disaster 13 Land Buy-Back Program 18  Piping Plovers Nest on the Beach!  Informational Community Meetings About Pipelines on the Bad River Reservation  Standing with Standing Rock: Experiancing #NODAPL  Free “Firewise” Community Brush Chipper Project Streamflow During the Recent Flood Continued By: Naomi Tillison, Water Resources Specialist Figure 1: Flow in Bad River at Elm Hoist Road was around 300 cfs at 7:00 p.m. on 7/11/16 and peaked around 39,000 cfs at 11:00 a.m. on 7/12/16. The Tribal community is located around 20 river miles downstream of the Elm Hoist Road crossing, where flow is measured. Figure 2: (Left) A log stuck on the south side of Elm Hoist bridge after the flood on 7/26/16 (right). Ed Wiggins pointing to a high water mark on a tree north of the bridge on 9/12/16 (right). Page 2 C O M M O N G RO U N D Streamflow During the Recent Flood Continued By: Naomi Tillison, Water Resources Specialist Flow peaked ~39,000 cfs on 7/12/16. Figure 3: Bad River flow peaked ~39,000 cfs on 7/12/16; this is the greatest peak flow recorded at this station. Prior to the July 2016 flood, the greatest Bad River flows recorded were: 27,700 cfs on 4/24/1960; 20,600 cfs on 5/12/2003; and 20,100 cfs on 7/3/1992. Figure 4: Flow in White River downstream of Xcel’s hydroelectric dam was around 250 cfs at 7:00 p.m. on 7/11/16 and peaked around 8,600 cfs at 4:15 a.m. on 7/12/16. SUMMER Page 3 Streamflow During the Recent Flood Continued By: Naomi Tillison, Water Resources Specialist White River Flow peaked ~8,600 cfs on 7/12/16. During the July 2016 event, the Bad River peak flow was about 4.5 times greater than the White River peak flow during July 16 flooding. Figure 5: Annual peak flow measured in the White River (19482015). Graph produced at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wi/nwis/rt, accessed on 9/28/16. (Continued from page 1) The Elm Hoist Road gaging station was originally installed in 1914 and has been operated for most of the last century. The flow on July 12, 2016, was the largest ever recorded at this location since the station was installed. Figure 3 shows the annual peak flow in the Bad River at this location; the annual peak flow is the maximum flow measured in a given year. The White River is the one major tributary that joins the Bad River downstream (or north) of the Elmhoist Road station. The flow in the White River is measured at a USGS station downstream of the Xcel Energy’s hydroelectric dam (at Highway 112). Xcel’s dam, located just over 20 river miles upstream of the confluence with the Bad River, has been commercially operated since 1907. The White River’s flow has been measured by the USGS station since 1948. At 7:00 p.m. on July 11th, 2016, the flow in the White River was around 250 cfs. It rapidly rose and peaked at almost 8,600 cfs at around Page 4 4:15 a.m. on July 12th (Figure 4). This peak streamflow was the largest recorded at this location since the station was installed (Figure 5). Beartrap Creek is a major tributary of the Kakagon Sloughs. The flow in this creek is measured at a USGS station located at Highway 2; this station was installed during autumn 2007. The flow in Beartrap Creek was 39 cfs at 9:00 p.m. on July 11 th, 2016. The creek peaked around 12 hours later, flowing approximately 3,300 cfs (Figure 7). This peak flow was over 2 times greater than the flow on May 20, 2013, when we had a later snowmelt followed by spring rain events, and over 3.5 times greater than the flow on June 21, 2012, when we had a large storm event (and flooding in Duluth, MN). The June 2012 storm event contributed to the closure of the wild rice harvest in the Sloughs as the rapid increase in water levels uprooted the rice that was still in the floating leaf stage. C O M M O N G RO U N D Streamflow During the Recent Flood Continued By: Naomi Tillison, Water Resources Specialist Figure 6: Bad River near the Pow Wow grounds on 7/16/16 as water continued to recede. Figure 7: Flow in Beartrap Creek at Highway 2 was just over 3,300 cfs at 8:45 a.m. on 7/12/16. Beartrap Creek peaked prior to Bad River flowing into the Kakagon. SUMMER Page 5 Streamflow During the Recent Flood Continued By: Naomi Tillison, Water Resources Specialist Figure 8: (Left) Beartrap Creek near its peak flow at 8:00 a.m. on 7/12/16. (Right) Jessica Strand documenting a high water mark on a tree at the Hatchery on 7/19/16. Figure 10: Kakagon River at the Hatchery at: (left) 10:45 a.m. on 7/12/16, prior to Bad River flowing into the Kakagon; (right) 3:00 p.m. on 7/14/16, as water was receding; Page 6 C O M M O N G RO U N D It’s a Bird? It’s a Plane? It’s a Drone! By: Suzi Smith, GIS Specialist, gspec@badriver-nsn.gov Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s), also called Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS’s), are commonly referred to as drones. Whatever you call it, these miniature aircraft have many potential and planned applications for studies carried out by the Bad River Natural Resource Department. Two drones have found their home in our offices – a DJI Inspire drone and a Phantom 4, also made by DJI. The Inspire unit was acquired for gathering forestry stand data. The Phantom 4 is for carrying out multiple studies in the Bad River-Kakagon Sloughs Complex, including: surveying wildlife populations and habitats, invasive species documentation, phenology observations, and wild rice bed assessment. As you can infer, even though both machines have more or less the same features, they are useful to each program for different reasons. Drones are very versatile, and there are several different sizes and attachments. So far, each drone used here is equipped with a video camera, but they could potentially be used to operate any type of remote sensing device. The size of the drone and life of the battery are two of the more important limiting factors when choosing attachments. DJI Inspire, Bad River Forestry Has an autopilot mode Arms pivot to capture in 360° SUMMER Being a geonerd, I’m interested in maximizing the potential of using drones to gather quantifiable information on land cover, elevation, and resource distribution. One study that is possible through the use of drones would be to collect LiDAR data (for more information on what this is, see my article in the Fall 2015 edition of Common Ground) in key areas where significant changes of landscape occurred as a result of the recent flooding. The Tribe acquired LiDAR data that was collected within a year prior to the flood, so a direct comparison begs to be made. That data was collected by a sensor on a fixed-wing airplane, but compact LiDAR sensors for drones are available for collecting data in select areas. Of course, these are just ideas and need to be developed into a more complete project before they come to fruition, but watch for these devices in the sky! DJI Phantom 4, Bad River Wildlife Precise hovering abilities 28-minute flight time, 3 mile range Page 7 Lead and Wildlife By: Lacey Hill Kastern, Wildlife Specialist/ Certified Wildlife Biologist Lead is also commonly used in fishing tackle for sinkers, jigs, downrigger weights, etc. Lead sinkers and jigs can be consumed by fish which in turn can be consumed by avian predators such as eagles which can also cause lead poisoning. Fortunately there are many non-lead alternatives coming out that are proving to be just as, if not more, effective then lead tackle. Tungsten, stainless steel, glass, concrete, tin, bismuth, copper are just some examples. For more information check out this websites:  https://www.nps.gov/pinn/learn/nature/leadinfo.htm  https://www.pca.state.mn.us/living-green/nontoxictackle-lets-get-lead-out-0 Bad River Community Deer Forum Figure 1: X-ray package of processed meat, highlighting lead fragments. Photo from nps.gov. Every year, BRNRD responds to multiple calls reporting injured eagles. The majority of these eagles suffer from lead poisoning. Where is the lead coming from? Well it can come from a variety of different sources but mainly it comes from lead in the food the eagles are eating. Lead was banned from being used to hunt waterfowl in 1991. It is still commonly found in ammunition used to hunt upland game. Once a lead bullet hits its target it fragments and bounces around in the cavity. Many of the small fragments are undetectable by the human eye but are still toxic. This fall the Bad River Wildlife Program will be hosting a community forum about deer management and disease response on the Reservation. With deer populations back on rise and with the onset of climate change the risk of a disease, such as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) also becomes more real. The reason for this meeting will be to explain the potential “known” risks and what options Bad River could take as precautionary measures, but also as emergency response. This forum will be held at the Bad River Casino (time and date will be posted). Items to discuss:    What to do if you encounter a “sick” deer Baiting and feeding regulations Emergency response plan in case CWD or other disease is found on or near the Reservation If you have any questions about this meeting, please contact Lacey, Bad River Wildlife Specialist. Not only is lead shot toxic to wildlife but there is also potential for it to be toxic to humans, especially young children. Below is an image highlighting lead fragments found in a package of venison from a deer that was killed using lead ammunition. Fortunately, there are different alternatives for lead shot. For large game hunting, like deer, there are a number of alternatives that are made out of copper or copper alloys. There are also a number of brands that sell as steel shot alternative for other upland species. Page 8 C O M M O N G RO U N D Piping Plovers Nest on the Beach!!! By: Lacey Hill Kastern, Wildlife Specialist/ Certified Wildlife Biologist This year is the 42nd year of the Piping Plover Project on Long Island and it also marks the first year we have documented piping plovers nesting at the mouth of the Bad River! Every year I put an article about piping plovers in this newsletter. This year we are going to change it up a little bit and talk about what we can do to protect the piping plover that decide to nest closer to people, for example the mouth of the Bad River. detrimental to these birds and other organisms that call the beach home. For more information about the piping plover, suggestions on how to improve protection, or to document a sighting please contact Lacey Hill Kastern, Bad River Wildlife Specialist at wildlifegis@badriver-nsn.gov. The Bad River Tribe is an active partner in the piping plover recovery efforts. For those of you that don’t know what a piping plover is, it is a federally listed endangered shorebird. Up until this summer, it’s only documented nesting habitat in Wisconsin was on Long Island. Just this year, a pair of plovers successfully hatched two chicks on Cat Island in the Green Bay area. Part of our protection efforts is to hire two seasonal employees to monitor the piping plover throughout the summer on Long Island. The summer of 2007 was the first year a Piping Plover Monitor was hired to actually stay on Long Island and monitor the piping plovers and educate the public. In 2008, the WDNR was able to hire two monitors. Since then there have been two piping plover monitors stationed on Long Island/Chequamegon Point. In 2010, the tribe took over the responsibility of hiring and supervising one of the two monitors and in 2011 the Tribe started hiring and supervising both Piping Plover Monitors on Long Island/Chequamegon Point. Mike Wiggins Jr. and Mike Mahr were hired to be this year’s piping plover monitors. This year four pairs have been observed. Three nests on Long Island and one nest on the East side of the mouth of the Bad River. This year all four nests failed and had to renest, due to the weather extremes this summer. Unfortunately, only five chicks fledged this year. According to a paper written by Matteson et al., on Piping Plovers Breeding in Wisconsin that was written in 2007, Long Island/Chequamegon Point can potentially support ten to fifteen breeding pairs of Piping Plovers. We have not observed that amount yet, but are hopeful. Since piping plovers are starting to nest further down the beach we have to re-evaluate are monitoring efforts. Next season I will be looking for volunteers to assist in the effort starting in May and ending in August. Another step forward would be to gather support for limiting ATV traffic on the beaches between the months of May through mid-August. This is a critical time frame for many shoreline nesting birds and ATV traffic it SUMMER Page 9 The Rain and Flooding of July 11, 2016 By: Nathan Kilger, Air Quality Specialist Throughout the morning and afternoon of Monday, July 11 th, a warm and humid air mass crept northward from the central Mississippi valley but stalled as it approached the Canadian border. Thunderstorms that fired up the previous night in the Red River valley found that boundary between the warm and cold air across northern Minnesota and Lake Superior, which allowed the storms to sweep east across the area. In the late afternoon a second round of thunderstorms followed the path of the early storms, but the second round was a little different. These storms were slower-moving and abundant atmospheric moisture and instability contributed to efficient precipitation production. Page 10 The evening thunderstorms didn’t just move through the area, the storms kept firing up and moving over the same locations for several hours, this is called “training” by meteorologists. Like a line of railroad cars passing over the same railroad tracks over and over, these storms kept rolling over Burnett, Washburn, Sawyer, Bayfield, Ashland, Iron, and Gogebic counties. The heaviest swath of rain in our area fell onto the northern slope of the Penokee Range. (Continued on page 12) C O M M O N G RO U N D The Rain and Flooding of July 11, 2016 Continued By: Nathan Kilger, Air Quality Specialist SUMMER Page 11 The Rain and Flooding of July 11, 2016 Continued By: Nathan Kilger, Air Quality Specialist (Continued from page 10) The bull’s-eye of heaviest rain fell between rain gauges, but the highest measured storm total was from near Saxon at 9.80 inches. Outside of Highbridge there was a measurement of 8.67 inches. Barnes reported 7.69 inches, Clam Lake had 7.71 inches, and here in Odanah we measured 7.65 inches. In addition to actually measuring rainfall with a gauge and a measuring stick, National Weather Service radar can estimate how much rain fell. The actual measurements were combined with radar’s estimate to create a map that shows where the heaviest rain fell. While not perfectly accurate, radar estimated that up to 12 inches of rain fell over a period of only six hours in a few locations. The heaviest rain fell in the first three hours. With soil already wet from a fairly wet June and July, very little of that rain had a chance to soak in. Instead, in the hilly terrain of the Penokees, all that rain quickly ran into the streams and creeks creating flash floods that washed out many roads and culverts. As that flood water flowed toward Lake Superior in the Page 12 following hours, the White River, the Marengo River, the Potato River, the Brunsweiler River, and the Bad River all rose and flooded out many bridges, roads, and homes. It took two days for the flood waters to fully reach Odanah, and many more days for the water to finally recede. The Bad River Natural Resource Department responded to the emergency situation and ensuing disaster by staffing the Incident Command Post set up the following day, as well as having staff in the field responding to the needs of the community members, protecting infrastructure, surveying the scope and severity of damage, staffing road blockades, and reaching homes that were cut off by the floodwaters. In the months after the July flood, the Bad River Natural Resource Department continues to work on mitigation and planning so that the Tribe is more prepared for the next disaster; please see Tony Corbine’s article for more information. C O M M O N G RO U N D ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THE NEXT DISASTER? By: Tony Corbine, FEMA Grant Coordinator Bad River Reservation families should be prepared for all hazards that could affect our area. Every family that recently experienced the last flood disaster, preceded by power outages, should have a good idea of what they need for their family disaster plan and disaster supplies kit. The National Weather Service and Wisconsin Emergency Management urge every family to develop a disaster plan. Consider where you might be when the next disaster strikes? What if parents are at work and a student is at school, in a car or on the bus, where is the location all of your family members will meet? If cellular service is down, how will you find each other? Will you know if your children, elders, or other loved ones are safe? A disaster may force you to evacuate your neighborhood or confine you to your home. What would you do if basic services – water, gas, electricity, or telephone – were cut off? Do you have alternative methods for retrieving safe drinking water, supply alternative heat or cooling source, or supplying power to your refrigerator to prevent spoilage? The State of Wisconsin has proclaimed September as Preparedness Month. The Tribe encourages every family to take the time to answer disaster preparedness questions so all family members understand the steps and are on the same page. Preparation for the plan can be as simple as having a conversation around the dinner table, according to Major General Don Dunbar, Adjutant General and Wisconsin’s Homeland Security Advisor. Don’t forget to include safety considerations for elders and infants. Young children might need diapers, food, and toys to keep them occupied during an event, while elders might need assistance with relocating or walking down stairs. Also, don’t forget about your pets needs and keep them safe and secure with a kennel, extra food and water. Some suggestions when putting together your family emergency plan make sure you have a contact list that contains current phone numbers of family and friends who can assist during an emergency. It is also a great idea to have medical information including contact information for your physician and a list of any medication or allergies. Carry a copy of this in your wallet, purse or have one in your disaster kit. For additional information on inexpensive ways for you and your family to prepare for emergency situations, visit website http://readywisconsin.wi.gov If you have questions or would like to contribute to the Tribe’s efforts in Disaster Mitigation Planning, please contact Tony Corbine 715-682-7123 ext. 1560 or femagrant@badrivernsn.gov Informational Community Meetings about Pipelines on the Bad River Reservation By Lissa Radke, Environmental Specilaist Over 60 years ago, three petroleum pipelines carrying different products were installed across the Bad River Reservation. At the time, the Tribe and landowners along the rights of way entered long-term lease agreements that allowed the pipelines to be used for decades. Those leases are about to expire, which means the Tribal Council and the community needs to decide whether to renew a new set of lease agreements. This fall, Bad River Natural Resources Department (BRNRD) staff and the Tribal Council will be hosting several informational meetings about the pipelines that cross the Reservation. These meetings are specifically for Bad River community members so they can ask questions, and learn about the types of products in the lines, who owns them, why they are here, whether there are risks, the possible future of the pipelines, the Tribe’s right-of-way lease process, and other related issues. The Tribal Council and BRNRD are analyzing fact-based information about the rights of way, past leases, impacts and risks, and other information necessary to consider whether future right-of-way leases will be developed. These informational meetings will be designed to bring community members information that helps the community make the best decisions for the future. BRNRD will send more information about these meetings this fall and early winter, so look for announcements on the Tribe’s and Natural Resource Department’s web pages, email, posters, and social media sites. For more information call BRNRD at 6827123. SUMMER Page 13 Standing with Standing Rock: Experiencing #NoDAPL By: Edith Leoso, THPO During the Labor Day Holiday weekend, as others enjoyed time with family and friends, a small contingency of Bad River Tribal members and others decided to take a road trip to stand with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (SRST). The idea came on Sunday of Bad River Pow-wow. By Friday, we were on our way. So, as we pulled into the Sacred Stone Camp that early Saturday morning, we piled out of three Tribal vans we borrowed. It was still dark and we used headlamps to set up camp, being mindful that people were still sleeping. Our crew consisted of Joe Bates, Aurora Conley and her two sons, Misko and Jordan, Lori Lemieux and our niece Cheyenne Powless, Esie Leoso, two friends from St. Paul, Doreen and Charlene Day, with her granddaughter Reyna Day, Elle Abeles-Allison and her significant other Noah (One of the camp Medics), Linda from Little Shell, and me. We raised our tents while the sun rose, and watched the Sacred Stone Camp come to life. Joe brought the Bad River Tribal flag, and a branch, so that we could strap it to one of the three awnings we brought. As former boarding school students in the Dakota’s, we know full well how many trees they have there to provide shade…because we can count all of them. (Just kidding) While it was still cool the exhilaration of being there drained quickly and we all decided to take a nap. It was a short nap as the day was heating up and we were woken by the droning sounds of a helicopter over head. Someone asked, “Is it a military helicopter?” I said, “Nope. It’s yellow. It’s a private helicopter.” It circled the camp and headed to the southeast. As we lounged lazily under the awnings, a car and truck were heading up the main road from the place of the flags, honking their horns at campers and hollering something at them. We watched as they approached the Bad River Camp. They hollered, “We need every available warrior to the front, they’re bulldozing the burial sites!” We grabbed our skirts and sacred items, jumped in the van and headed to the front line. Aurora and the boys would stay back to watch the camp. As we approached we could see the yellow helicopter hovering over head. Someone said, “Why is it just hovering there?” As we neared, we could see the chaos erupting; dogs on leashes, bulldozers backing up and about 150 people screaming and scampering all about. We parked in the ditch, and by the time all the old lady warriors emptied the vans, a small crowd on the other side of the downed fence were already heading over the knoll, a quarter-mile away. We stood there holding onto our sacred items, and watched. Then, Page 14 someone said, “Where’s Cheyenne and Reyna?” Scanning the area I remembered telling Cheyenne, “Stay with Reyna!” A sense of dread overwhelmed us as we looked at the crowd moving over the knoll…about a quarter-mile away. After a brief moment of swear words no child should hear, someone said with great concern, “We gotta get those girls! Somebody has to go get those girls!” And we all stopped pacing and looked at Esie. Esie said in an inquisitive tone while pointing at herself, “I guess…I’d be the one to go get those girls?” Doreen said, “Uhhuh.” We continued to look at her as she turned to step over the downed fence. About the time she was making the second step over the fence, an individual standing near the legal observers, grabbed a bull horn and hollered, “All of you on the other side of the fence heading towards the bulldozers; BE INFORMED, you are on private property and are now at risk of being arrested for TRESPASSING!” Esie turned to us and said grudgingly, “Oh…well…that’s just GREAT!” I hollered to her enthusiastically, as she navigated her way through the bulldozer ruts, “I got bail money!” However, that was only to ease her tension while she walked through private property without permission, towards a group of trained mercenaries, with attack dogs, and bulldozers, because - I really did NOT have bail money. She was wearing a blaze orange tee-shirt, which, I thought, she really doesn’t look that bad in blaze orange, realizing her possible impending doom with the County Jail. Written across the back of her t-shirt was, “2013 Bad River Water Walkers.” As she moved further from us, a non-native man standing nearby looked at the writing on her shirt, and exclaimed, “Bad River! Bad River’s here!? Hey!...” Trying to get her attention, he turned abruptly towards us and looked at our skirts, saying, “Are you guys from Bad River!? Wisconsin!?” In a confused sort of way, I responded, “Yes, we’re…umm…from Bad River.” An excited, “YES!” with a fist pulled down, was blurted from the man. He turned to others and excitedly exclaimed, “Bad River’s here!” And we could hear him, “They’re from Wisconsin! There was this mining company…” At that moment, we knew we were right where we were supposed to be and we realized, we were only there for 3 hours. About 15 minutes passed before we saw Esie’s blaze orange shirt emerge from over the knoll, and the familiar skirts of the girls, in tow. A breath and sigh of relief spewed from the line of long skirts on the other side of the fence. As we watched the girls approach, we discussed how we needed to talk to our youth about blindly following a crowd of strangers into a dangerous (Continued on page 15) C O M M O N G RO U N D Standing with Standing Rock: Experiencing Continued #NoDAPL By: Edith Leoso, THPO (Continued from page 14) were watching over us, as they always do. situation. In the future, they were to stay behind us at all times. Later, we found that they were smart enough to keep their distance, and they recorded everything that had happened to the protectors over the knoll. While we were waiting for them, the question arose; “What was this strategy?” Why, on a holiday weekend, would a construction company bulldoze a place with burials, with a private helicopter overhead, and have armed private security with attack dogs? Clearly, it was only to incite violence and chaos among the people. We wondered what they might be doing elsewhere while we were being distracted. That evening, women from other parts of the U.S. went to sweat and approached Doreen and Esie with water from their place, asking to do a joining of the waters ceremony the next day. One woman came from the Southwest, one from the Northwest Coast. Both carried water from their respective Tribal lands. That evening was spent meeting and visiting with friends and people attracted to the Bad River flag at camp. We planned our strategy for the next day and made tobacco ties to place at the fence with all the other tobacco offerings, which was near the downed fence. We would place them there before we left. We would talk to the SRST people to see if they wanted us to dress the Little Boy Water Drums, who also travelled with us; conduct a water ceremony at the camp center; provide a water bundle offering to the Cannon Ball River; and sing the Nibi song. They said, “Yes, that’s what this area here is for, to do ceremony!” We said we would be there by 9:00am. As the evening dwindled, it was evident that the word of the attack dogs was out there in Indian Country. Before retiring for the evening, Lori counted 150 cars entering the camp. Countless more were behind those cars. Sleep came while smelling camp fires and listening to drum songs. Cars rolling into camp and words of encouragement from Tribal leadership lulled us to sleep. That evening, the Sacred Stone Camp was full of love and commitment for our Mother. We woke early Sunday morning, and found that the showers were eight miles away and four of those miles down a dirt road. By the time we got to the showers, we had enough time to turn around and head back to be on time for the water ceremony. While we were singing the Nibi song, nobody but us would know we didn’t shower or brush our teeth that morning. The Nibi song went viral…of course. That evening we had a most excellent meal at camp of soup and frybread and ga-boo-boo bread, which is Sioux lug. Women approached the camp with tobacco for Esie and Doreen to conduct a sweat that evening. While the sweat went on, the rest of us held the camp in place, literally. It was very, very windy, and rainy. We knew and were grateful that the Thunderbirds We knew it was our last evening and we also knew we had to raise the Bad River flag before we left, so we gave a task to Joe - find us a flag pole by morning. Monday: Break camp day. That morning we conducted the joining of the waters ceremony on the bridge over the Cannon Ball River, sang the water offering song and took pictures with the camp as our background. We headed back to break camp, leave supplies, and load up the vans. I brought my Tribal flag that I had been holding onto for 3-years for just the right moment, and place, to put it on a flag pole. It had a water stain on it from the flood, so I told everybody that we were not only leaving our Tribal flag, but a part of the Bad River too. Joe came through with his task and found a sapling that Jimmy Northrup brought from Fond du Lac. It was a good size sapling. We tied the flag on with wire and used glow in the dark rope, too. Lori carried the flag to the line of flags, as we all walked with her. When we approached the line of flags we looked for someone who might help us with a post hole digger. A man wearing fatigues came up to us and said, “You’s wanna raise your flag?” We replied, “Yes, we just need…” He cut us short, and told us, “We already have a spot for you’s over there, come on, this way! And, we already have a sturdier pole for you too! That one will break in this wind!” We followed as he brought us directly in front of the main gathering area. A stone was imbedded in the ground in front of the hole that was dug. It looked as though it had been there for a long time. It looked as though it was meant to be there, for us. We looked in the hole and seen a cigarette butt inside. Misko was standing with us looking in the hole. “Misko, could you reach in that hole and get that cigarette butt out?” I asked him. He did it without hesitation. As though he knew he was there for an important purpose. We gathered and retied the flag to a large metal pole, still using the wire and glow in the dark rope, but also including some added protection from the wind – duct tape. We noticed that nearly all the flags were secured with duct tape. The men in fatigues, evidently Veterans, had a box of roughly 40 flags to hang. We each took some tobacco and placed it in the hole with (Continued on page 16) SUMMER Page 15 Standing with Standing Rock: Experiencing Continued #NoDAPL By: Edith Leoso, THPO “Yeah! That’s that microphone right there!” pointing at my hand. …Blam…Mic drop. We were being broadcast throughout the entire Standing Rock Sioux Reservation…of course. Many people approached us, hugged us and thanked us for the words that were said, and the songs that were given. A few women from Oglala even asked Doreen if they could sing the Nibi Song in Lakota. Doreen told them yes, and gave them the words in English so that they could translate them into Lakota. Doreen is the author of the Nibi Song. From there we said our goodbyes, got in the vans and went to the fence with the tobacco ties. We tied our tobacco offerings and took more pictures. (Continued from page 15) a prayer. We carefully raised the flag and placed it straight in the hole. Dirt was surrounding the hole and Misko carefully pushed the dirt in, while we tamped it down in the hole. Afterwards, we placed tobacco on the Grandfather Stone near the flag pole, and went to the main area to ask if we could leave them with a song before we left. They said, “Of Course!” We sang the Women’s song. We explained that it is a song of the first woman who ever walked the Earth. It describes how she is walking and swooping under the Trees, lifting the branches to see the beauty that laid ahead in all that the Creator had left for us to live, and knowing she has an important part of that Creation. After the song, we told the people that we too had a battle against a mining company and through ceremony we were told to use our tools. We told them what those tools were; our pipes, our drums, our songs, sweats, fasting camps, feasts and all the Ceremonies we knew, we did. We told them that they too have the same tools to use, and those tools will defeat that pipeline. We said we would be thinking of them and praying for them every day until the end. Upon giving the microphone back to the M.C., we noticed a sign. “87.9 Public Radio” I asked the M.C., “What’s that? Is that the local Radio station?” He said, Page 16 As we were leaving we passed the area of the downed fence and saw a group standing on the opposite side of the road hollering at people walking through the private land. They were telling them not to go over there and asking them to come back. The people walking ignored the protectors standing on the other side of the road in the ditch, within the right of way. We asked what was going on and a man from Spokane said that those two people came out of nowhere and started walking into the field when they told them not to. I said to him, “Possible infiltrators?” He shrugged his shoulders. Just then, another man holding an Eagle wing raised it to make an announcement to everybody standing there, “Those two people who went over the fence, if they come back here, they are out of this camp! We don’t need that! That is not who we are! They are jeopardizing our cause! Everyone understand that?” The crowd replied “Hau!” I replied, “Hau,” gave him a thumbs up, and we were on our way home. It was a solemn feeling to leave. But we also felt that we had done what we were intended to do; to pray for the Water, our Mother, and the people. Since we left, there has been more news coverage, and social media is constantly updating as to what is happening at Sacred Stone Camp. We are all glad we went to stand in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. It is the beginning of a time we will never forget. C O M M O N G RO U N D FREE “FIREWISE” COMMUNITY BRUSH CHIPPER PROJECT Help make Bad River Communities more “Firewise”! Join us for a week of brush and branch collection during the week of October 17th. . We have obtained a grant that will assist in defraying the cost of this project. We plan to have a week where a crew with a brush chipper and truck will travel through each community and chip woody debris on site. They will be hauling chips to our Bad River Food Sovereignty hoop houses to be used as compost and other projects. *Pile your brush at the end of your driveway by Monday, October 17th. *Pile brush with the cut ends facing the road, all laying the same direction. This will help the crew feed the cut end into the chipper. *Only bring brush and branches less than 5 inches in diameter to the curb or they will be too big for the chipper. *Do not include leaves, treated wood, wood like composites, wreaths or any items that have nails, wire or similar things in them. You can reduce the potential of home or property loss from a wildfire by removing as much brush and woody debris starting at your home’s exterior and out 30 feet. See the picture below for ideas and examples. Please call Bad River Natural Resources' Tribal Warden (715) 292.7822 or the Air Quality Specialist (715) 685.7840 ext.1555. SUMMER Page 17 Land Buy-Back Program: What does this mean for Tribal Nations? The Secretary of the Interior established the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Land Buy-Back Program) to give individual landowners an opportunity to help address the problem of fractionation, as part of the Cobell Settlement. What are the Program Priorities? Land Buy-Back Program works to unify fractionated tribal land bases that resulted from the failed historical policy of allotment. Fractionated affects approximately 150 locations and results in tracts of land with potentially hundreds of owners. Over the next decade, the program and tribes will partner to help communities consolidate these lands across Indian Country. The Program has $1.9 billion available to purchase fractional interests in trust or restricted land from willing sellers at fair market value Individuals who choose to sell their interests receive payments directly into their Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts. Consolidated interests are then immediately restored to tribal trust ownership for uses benefiting the reservation community and tribal members.. Individuals. Promoting landowner awareness and education to facilitate informed landowner decision making. Maximizing landowner opportunities to participate. Tribes. Strengthening partnerships and respecting and upholding tribal sovereignty. Tailoring the effort to each location based on tribal involvement and priorities. Bad River Reservation Facts:       The 32nd most fractionated location in Indian Country Unique landowners: 4,512* 852 Whereabouts Unknown (WAU) landowners Landowners live in 48 states and Canada Majority of landowners located in WI (31%) and MN (24%) Offers tentatively scheduled Fall 2016 What information is available to landowners?  Individual Trust Interest Report (ITI):  Contains detailed information on each undivided interest owned by an individual Indian  Provided by BIA or OST to landowners upon request  Landowner Income Report (LIR):  Shows income (excluding oil and gas royalties) earned on all leased tracts in which an individual Indian owns an undivided interest  Provided by BIA or OST to landowners upon request  Original Allotment Documents:  Can be found on BLM site using ITI tract legal description (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ search/) Image represents the fractionation of possible allotment through six generations. Fractionation resulted from the Allotment process (e.g., Dawes Act 1887). The image represent how tracts of land were past down through the generations and have gained more and more individual owners. Because of the number of owners it makes it difficult to use the land and often allows the land-use to stay idle. Page 18 C O M M O N G RO U N D Land Buy-Back Program: Staff Patti J. Bigboy-Land Buy Back Project Manager Greetings from the shores of Gitchii Gumee, My name is Patti J. Bigboy. I am a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Band of Chippewa. My parents are Harold and Mildred (Barbano) Arbuckle. My spouse is Peter Bigboy. I have three adult children and several grandchildren. I have a BA from Northland College in Public Policies and a State of Wisconsin certification in Library Management. I started the first Public Library in the village of Odanah. My working experience includes several years as human resource manager. I have also been the General Manager for the Bad River Casino and Isle Vista Casino. I worked in California in Public Relations on Proposition 5 in support of Indian Gaming. I was also the Democratic representative from the 2 nd district in the city of Ukiah and represented my district at the California Democratic convention. Other past experience includes Indian & Public Housing and Federal Indian Land certification. (Continued on page 20) SUMMER Page 19 Land Buy-Back Program: Staff Continued (Continued from page 19) Samantha Rosin-Media Coordinator Gloria Rodriguez-Administrative Assistant Boozhoo, I am a proud member of the Bad River Tribe. I am the daughter of Lee Ann Rosin and Donald Nelis Jr. and The great- granddaughter of Catherine “Kotchie” Denomie. I have three children of my own; Ariana age 9, Kylie age 6 and Braylen age 5. Aaniin Niiji-anokiimaaganadok Gloria Rodriguez indizhinikaaz zhaaganaashiimowin. Miikawaadizi Waabigwan nindigoo Ojibwemong. Makwa nindoodem. Mino-Akiing ningii-tazhi-ondaadiz. Mashkiiziibii indoonjibaa. Apegish weweni ingikendaan Ojibwemoyaan. Zaagi’idiwag, Mangide-inwin, Minwaabamewizin dasobezhig minowaa gidwenimo gegabe-giizhik. Mii’iw, Miigwech bizindawiyeg. **Greetings Co-Workers I have four credits left to obtain an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. Previously I worked as a Teacher at the Bad River Head Start for the past 8 years. I am currently enrolled and attending school at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College- Ashland Campus as a Nursing Assistant Student and hope to continue in school to obtain my Nursing Associate Degree, and Certification from the State of Wisconsin. Gloria Rodriguez is my English name. Beautiful Flower is my Ojibwe namesake and what I am known by the spirits. I am bear clan. I was born in Milwaukee. I live in Bad River. I wish to learn the Ojibwe language better. Love, have Courage and Respect others and yourself…all day every day. That is all, Thank You for listening to me. ** My goal as Media Coordinator is to Educate land owners about the program so they can make informed decisions about buying/ selling their land. Also to make sure that we reach as many tribal members as we can via: Mail, Radio, Newspaper, and Social Media. I am a Bad River Tribal member and the eldest daughter of Rose and (late) Gustavo Gomez. My maternal grandparents are Lawrence and Arlene(Rufus) Smart of Bad River. I have two children-Jessenia, age 24 and Jason aka “JJ”, age 13. I also have a charming 4yr old grandson named Manuel. Barb Fernandez-Outreach Coordinator In May 2013, I received my Associate’s Degree in Native American Studies with Ojibwe Language Emphasis at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College. I have a year left to complete my studies at Northland College where I am double majoring for my Bachelor’s in Native American Studies and Sociology/Social Justice. My name is Barb Fernandez. I am a member of the Bad River Band. My Parents are Robert and Judi Blanchard. I was born and raised here in Odanah, WI. I am blessed with 3 children and 3 grandchildren. I attended LCO Ojibwe Community College (outreach program) and graduated with an Associate degree in Office Management in 2006. I love to cook, dance, read, travel, Powwow, participate in community events, walk for the water=life and spend quality time with my loved ones. I worked for the tribe for several years, including the Head Start Program and Social Services Department as Office/ Administrative Assistant. I have also worked in the casino’s restaurant as server/hostess for over a year prior to this position. Bad River has a strong community bond and with hard work/ dedication, we can strengthen our sovereignty into becoming a successful independent tribe. With that said, I’m proud to be a tribal employee and look forward to working with everyone… A’ho! My goals in my current job as Outreach Coordinator for The Land Buy Back Program is to educate land owners about the program so they can make informed decisions about their land, and the benefits to the tribe should they decide to sell their land/fractionated shares that are eligible to be purchased. I do believe that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our tribe. It is designed to reduce fractionated land and facilitate the consolidation and use of reservation land for development and/or preservation. (Continued on page 21) Page 20 C O M M O N G RO U N D Land Buy-Back Program: Staff Continued Words from a Tribal Member On Standing Rock By Edith Leoso (Continued from page 20) Linda “Linny” Lemieux-Outreach Coordinator Greetings to All, My name is Linda (Linny) Lemieux. I am now working as one of three Outreach Coordinators for the Bad River Land Buy Back Program. I am a Bad River Tribal Member and I live in Odanah on Bear Trap Road, with my husband of 42 years, Luis Salas. Together we have raised 5 children, one daughter and four sons and we are blessed with 5 grandchildren. My life as a mother has been the joy of my life, as you know, a mothers work is never done. I have previously worked for 24+ years for the Bad River Tribe, most recently as the On-Site Coordinator for the Honor Our Children Project. Prior to that I managed and owed a Mexican Restaurant in Wautoma, Wisconsin with Luis and the Salas Family. My parents were Angeline Jewel (Whitebird) Lemieux and Bernard Francis Lemieux, who also lived in Odanah most of their life. They loved it here and so do I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, I find great peace here, with my home in the woods and especially with all the family and friends that I have come to know and love. It is my great pleasure to be working again for the Bad River Tribe and the Buy Back Program. I will try very hard to do the best that I can do on behalf of my Tribe and community. Please feel free to contact me at 715-292-9481 (cell) or 715-682-2851 (office) with any questions or concerns that you might have about the Land Buy Back Program. I look forward to talking with you in the near future. SUMMER “The SRST is the resistance leader in environmental and cultural impacts this year. They are standing in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipe Line (DAPL), which threatens to create a volatile, uncertain environment for the SRST people. But the issue is more than the installation of an oil pipeline. It is the beginning of a new movement that will reflect upon centuries of blatant disregard for First Nation people’s health, values and beliefs, centuries of disturbing burial sites, centuries of ignorance to acknowledge the very existence of First Nation people, centuries of dishonor to our Mother who provides everything we need to live a good life. We are no longer Indians, Native Americans or American Indians. We are the First Nation to walk this land. We are the First Nation to fight for this land. We are the First Nation to protect this land. We are the First Nation that cared for this land. And we cared for it so well, that people left their own homelands in Europe to move here to raise their families. Today, we still care for and protect this land, along with everything that the Creator placed here for us to live a good life. We remember that it is our responsibility as Anishinaabeg, and we will not waiver from our responsibilities. We are and have always been the leaders of federal policy change. We will no longer sit idly by while the land is destroyed by extractive industry to the extent that it has caused the climate to change. We will not sit idly by and watch helplessly while our Ancestor’s burials are disturbed and the health of future generations is placed at risk. There is less than 1% of the population in North America who has the resources to use politicians as puppets, in order to have cart Blanche to manipulate and destroy our natural environment. We know that, and we know it is simply – not right.” Page 21 July 11, 2016 Flood: Old Odanah BAD RIVER NATURAL RESOURCES Bad River Natural Resource Department Chief Blackbird Center 72682 Maple Street Odanah, WI 54861 Phone: 715-682-7123 Fax: 715-682-7118 We’re On The WEB! Www.badriver-nsn.gov Photo Courtesy of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Photo shows the “Old Odanah” community, which includes: St Mary’s Church, Powwow Grounds, and Tribal homes. -MISSION STATEMENTThe Department strives for resource management which both conserves the natural resources for the future generations and provide for the needs of the present. The departments existence reflects the importance the Bad River Tribe places on its right and ability to exercise sovereignty, self-determination and self-regulation in the area of natural resource management. --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Abad_river_chippewa%3Abfb7754994899f31. Public record. Not legal advice.