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Serving the Eastern Upper Peninsula
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Bad River film on Line 5 to screen at Lake Superior
State University on March 15
March 4, 2024
SAULT STE. MARIE — Please join Bay Mills Indian Community for a screening of the documentary Bad River: A Story of Defiance on March 15 at 7 p.m. at Lake Superior State University Arts Center.
The film details the fight of Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewas to shut down the Line 5 oil pipeline that traverses their ancestral land. A story which unfolds in a groundbreaking way through a series of shocking revelations, devastating losses, and a powerful legacy of defiance and resilience. This inspiring project brings us through an epic sweep of history into the present, with a David vs. Goliath battle to save Lake Superior, the largest freshwater resource in America. As Eldred Corbine, a Bad River Tribal Elder declares: “We gotta protect it… die for it, if we have to.”
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What: Bad River: A Story of Defiance
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When: March 15th @ 7PM
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Where: Lake Superior State University Arts Center Circle Drive Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783
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Who: Free and open to the public!
Bay Mills Indian Community is proud to support the Bad River Band. As a sovereign government with responsibility for managing and protecting the Great Lakes, Bay Mills Indian Community has long opposed Line 5 in the Great Lakes because it was an immediate threat to the vast ecosystem contained within our treaty ceded territory, a threat to the treaty protected rights of the Tribes, and a threat to the cultural resource that is the Straits of Mackinac.
Tribes deliver letter to White House
Feb. 28, 2024
The leaders of 30 Tribal Nations in the Great Lakes region sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging the United States to speak out against the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline’s trespass on the Bad River Band’s land. Last June, a federal district court held that Enbridge has been knowingly trespassing on the Bad River Reservation since 2013 and ordered them to stop operating Line 5 on tribal land by 2026. Enbridge appealed the case to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that they should be allowed to trespass indefinitely. The court requested federal input in December 2023, but the Biden Administration has not responded. At the oral argument held before a Seventh Circuit panel on Feb. 8, Judge Frank Easterbrook called the United States’ silence “extraordinary.”
BAY MILLS GENERAL TRIBAL COUNCIL CALLS FOR SECRETARIAL ELECTION & CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Library of Michigan Announces 2024 Michigan Notable Books
Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (Henry Holt and Co.) named
January 08, 2024
LANSING – The Library of Michigan is pleased to announce the 2024 Michigan Notable Book list. This year’s list of 20 titles reflects the rich stories and culture of our state.
The celebrated books encompass the entire Great Lakes basin, to take readers from Sugar Island near the Soo to the cherry orchards of Traverse City, and across the vibrant communities of Metro Detroit.
Each year, the Michigan Notable Books (MNB) list features 20 books, published during the previous calendar year, which are about the Great Lakes, or set in Michigan or the Great Lakes, or written by a Michigan author. Selections include a variety of genres, both fiction and nonfiction, that appeal to many audiences and explore topics and issues close to the hearts of Michigan residents. This latest list continues that tradition with exploring the fascinating lives of historic women leaders on Mackinac Island; examining the struggle for self-identity and acceptance; celebrating the creativity of Michigan artists across diverse mediums; and more.
MNB began as part of the 1991 Michigan Week celebration, designed to pay tribute and draw attention to the many people, places, and things that identify Michigan life as unique and vibrant.
"Michigan truly is a mosaic of inspiration for writers," said State Librarian Randy Riley. "Each MNB selection offers a unique touchpoint into the rich stories and beautiful landscape of our great state. Everyone will find something of interest that speaks to the voices and experiences of what it means to be a Michigander."
2024 Michigan Notable Books
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The All-American by Susie Finkbeiner - Revell
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Cinema Ann Arbor: How Campus Rebels Forged a Singular Film Culture by Frank Uhle – University of Michigan Press
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A Cold, Hard Prayer by John Smolens – MSU Press
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Dearborn: Stories by Ghassan Zeineddine – Tin House Books
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Enough to Lose by R.S. Deeren – Wayne State University Press
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Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant: A Memoir by Curtis Chin – Little, Brown and Company
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Everything is Just Beginning: A Novel by Erin Bartels - Revell
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Girls and Their Monsters: The Genain Quadruplets and the Making of Madness in America by Audrey Clare Farley – Grand Central Publishing
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Great Women of Mackinac, 1800-1950 by Melissa Croghan – MSU Press
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In the Upper Country: A Novel by Kai Thomas – Viking
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Making Art in Prison: Survival and Resistance by Janie Paul – Hat & Beard Press
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Michigan Rocks!: A Guide to Geologic Sites in the Great Lakes State by Paul Brandes – Mountain Press
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My Murder: A Novel by Katie Williams – Riverhead Books
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An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford by Richard Norton Smith - Harper
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Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit by Abra Berens - Chronicle
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The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned Blackhawk – Yale University Press
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Strikers: A Graphic Novel by Kiel Phegley – Graphic Universe
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Tom Lake by Ann Patchett - Harper
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Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley – Henry Holt and Co.
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The White Stripes: Complete Lyrics, 1997-2007 by Jack White – Third Man Books
BMIC receives grant for language preservation
BAY MILLS — Bay Mills Indian Community has received a three-year, $363k grant to provide cultural and language instruction within the community. The grant, part of the 2023 Native American Language Preservation and Maintenance Project, will allow the tribe to hire an individual that will serve as the cultural language educator.
The educator’s primary goal is to assist in building second language fluency in Anishinaabemowin. The person serving in this position will lay the groundwork for the development and implementation of a community-wide immersion program that will provide Anishinaabemowin instruction, workshops, and events with wide community involvement bringing a range of ages from elder to youth together. Activities will include social media postings, interactive activities, and signage in Anishinaabe throughout the community.
BMIC at large, BMIC tribal citizens, community members, and BMIC employees will have materials made available to them to help preserve and promote language within the organization and community.
“Language is a vital component of culture,” said BMIC President Whitney Gravelle. “When we lose our language, we lose a unique understanding of our history, relationships, and perceptions we have of the world. It is extremely important as we develop other areas throughout our tribal nations that we are also developing cultural language resources as well. Our language, Anishinaabemowin, has existed for thousands of years and it is our responsibility to ensure it exists for thousands of years more.”
The cultural language educator position will be posted later this fall. Once hired, the individual will coordinate their activities with the existing cultural and history department.
MSU Extension is seeking candidates for a Tribal Health Extension Educator position that has a focus on delivering health educational programs to community-based adult audiences. Please visit https://careers.msu.edu/en-us/listing/ and search for posting #931044 to learn how you can become the next SPARTAN WHO WILL! Application deadline 4/15/24.
MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer.
NOW HIRING
FOR THE SEASON!
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RETAIL SALES CLERK
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HISTORICAL INTERPRETER
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MUSEUM CUSTODIAN
FULL TIME & PART TIME OPTIONS
New Lock at the Soo project gets updated, increased Benefit Cost Ratio
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District New Lock at the Soo project fiscal year 2023 (FY23) Supplemental Economic Update has been approved with a policy-compliant Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of 2.1 at the 2.5% Federal Discount Rate, allowing the Corps of Engineers to more accurately document benefits and analyze the value this project will bring.
“The economic update was completed to evaluate critical assumptions and uncertainties in the BCR, justification of the project was not in question,” Mollie Mahoney, Senior New Lock Project Manager said. “The primary focus was on updating the benefits identified in the 2018 Validation Study, including the cost estimate for the Escanaba Build Out.”
The 2018 outdated cost estimate for the hypothetical Escanaba Build Out required a robust reevaluation. The cost of the Escanaba Build Out included expansion of the Port of Escanaba and associated rail infrastructure from Duluth to Escanaba as well as operation and maintenance costs. To calculate the BCR, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers updated and evaluated the hypothetical plan of constructing the Escanaba Build Out to calculate what the costs of an alternative mode of transportation would be in the case of an unscheduled Poe Lock outage to derive the benefits.
“Construction of the New Lock at the Soo has continued through the economic update based on the total project benefits and criticality to the nation,” said Mahoney. “Resiliency of the Soo Locks is vital to America’s economic and national security.”
The economic update, including the new BCR of 2.1 (at 2.5% Federal Discount Rate for FY23), further emphasizes justification of the project and its value to the nation.
With the updated BCR and more accurate comparison of benefits to cost, the New Lock at the Soo project will continue to follow the agency’s budgeting process for project implementation and should compete more favorably with other construction projects throughout the country.
The Supplemental Economic Update is an addendum to the FY22 Post Authorization Change Report and was conducted by the Corps of Engineers.
To find more information on the New Lock at the Soo, visit the Detroit District Website: https://www.lre.usace.army.mil/About/Highlighted-Projects/New_Soo_Lock/.
National Income Guidelines for Free and Reduced Priced Meals for Schools and the Child and Adult Care Food Program are Announced
The Michigan Department of Education has announced the release of the household income guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for free and reduced-price meals and free milk through the National School Lunch, School Breakfast, Special Milk, and Child and Adult Care Food programs. The income guidelines are effective now through June 30, 2024.
Families should contact their school, school district, childcare center, or family day care home sponsor to find out whether it participates in these programs.
Will Canada Stand Up for Indigenous Rights or Continue Supporting Big Oil?
The Line 6b disaster was a wake-up call for the Bay Mills Indian Community and other Anishinabek peoples living around the Great Lakes. Before the spill, many community members were unaware that their neighborhoods even had pipelines, which isn’t surprising since most were installed in the 1950s. The rusting, aging infrastructure poses a serious threat of another catastrophic oil spill, particularly Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline, a 70-year-old dinosaur lurking in the Great Lakes.