Saturday, there’s a ceremonial water walk to highlight the need to protect the well-being of Lake Superior.
A water walk is not a protest but a ceremony and each step is taken mindfully.
The Copperwood Mine Project is planned for the western edge of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Gogebic County, Michigan.
Environmental advocates and tribal leaders oppose it, and on Saturday, they’re hosting the Gichigaming Water Walk in response to new proposals.
In March, the Michigan Strategic Fund approved a resolution to send $50 million to a copper mine in the western Upper Peninsula to cover infrastructure costs.
But then in June when the state legislature finalized their yearly budget, more funding for the Copperwood Mine Project was left out, to the celebration of environmental advocates.
The Canadian mining company Highland Copper say that Copperwood Mine would create over 300 well-paying jobs and invest $425 million in the area.
Critics point out that they only plan on staying for 11 years, which they say perpetuates a boom and bust cycle.
Menominee Organizer Anahkwet, or Guy Reiter, explained that Indigenous people in the Great Lakes region have been holding water walks to express their opposition to mining projects for years now.
“They promise jobs, they promise this, promise that, but really, at the end of the day, what you get is a Superfund site, or a contaminated site that you're now responsible for,” said Anahkwet.
Critics are also very worried about waste, since copper mines tend to produce more waste than copper, by a long shot.
Tom Grotewohl is a resident of Wakefield Township in Gogebic County and the founder of the Protect the Porkies campaign.
“Regulations are not enough, because contamination isn't the exception, it's the rule of these operations, and that's why we need to exercise very good judgment in where we place them. Of course, the groundwater is connected to the streams. The streams lead to the lake. Water flows everywhere, ” said Grotewohl.
Water walkers will transport water relay-style from the Montreal River along the Wisconsin/Michigan border 31 miles north to the shores of Lake Superior.
During a water walk, participants aren’t expected to actually walk all 31 miles.
They relay the water from point to point.
“You know, water walk is much bigger than just simply step by step, walking down the road, right? There's a lot of mindfulness that is evolved, that is involved in it,” said Anahkwet.
It’s open to Natives and non-Natives alike.
“I even heard sometimes people say, ‘Well, you know, well, what is that going to do right? You know?’ And we kind of come from the perspective of, ‘we need to do something right.’ And you can't just be neutral on a moving train. You have to, you have to stand up and do something,” explained Anahkwet.
WXPR reached out to Highland Copper but did not hear back before publication.
The walk begins at 8am in Ironwood and will end with a ceremony at the Presque Isle Scenic Area at 6pm.
