Win Awenen Nisitotung “One Who Understands” • Official newspaper of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Mskominike Giizis Raspberry-Picking Moon August 7, 2015 • Vol. 36, No. 8 National Wildlife Federation to sue Dept. of Transportation over oil pipeline oversight failures FROM THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE needs to be approved. Great Lakes, including filming FEDERATION “We hope today’s action will underwater footage of the pipe- The National Wildlife be a catalyst for long-overdue lines in 2013 that showed them Federation on July 28 filed a protections that benefit people, suspended over the lakebed, some notice of intent to sue the U.S communities, and wildlife,” said original supports broken away Department of Transportation Mike Shriberg, regional exec- (indicating the presence of cor- for the agency’s failure for more utive director of the National rosion), and some sections of the than 20 years to protect people, Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes suspended pipelines covered in fish, wildlife and communities Regional Center. “The federal large piles of unknown debris—a from oil pipelines in the nation’s government needs to enforce the wakeup call illustrating the urgent inland waters, from the Great law to prevent oil pipeline disas- threat such oil pipelines pose in Photo by Josh Homminga Lakes to the Yellowstone River. ters from fouling our water and waters across the country. INVASION — Josh Homminga and Sara Bedell were fishing on the The legal action carries nation- threatening our communities and Oil Pipeline Safety Law Waishkey River on the evening of July 16 when they caught a strange wide implications: Due to the iconic places.” Ignored looking fish, pictured above, about four inches long. It proved to be a agency’s decades-long oversight The notice of intent to sue is The National Wildlife Eurasian ruffe, as confirmed by ITFAP Director Tom Gorenflo. To identify failures, every U.S. oil pipe- the first legal action in the effort Federation is filing the intent to a ruffe, see the photo with distingushing characteristics below. line that intersects a navigable to protect the Great Lakes from sue notice against the Department water is operating illegally. The two pipelines under the Straits of of Transportation for failing to National Wildlife Federation is Mackinac where Lakes Michigan meet its obligations under the Oil Ruffe caught in Back Bay asking the U.S. Department of and Huron meet—and sheds light Pollution Act. Enacted in 1990 The Eurasian ruffe is an a ruffe was collected just west Transportation to abide by the on the oversight failures by the following the Exxon Valdez oil alien invader that came to Lake of Brimley’s Back Bay on Lake law, issue regulations for oil pipe- Department of Transportation spill disaster, the act prohibits Superior’s Duluth area in the Superior, according to InterTribal lines in water, and require every across the United States. The the transportation of oil through early 1980s, most likely via a Fishery and Assessment Director owner and operator of an oil National Wildlife Federation has pipelines on land or in the water, ship’s ballast water from southern Tom Gorenflo. July 16, Josh pipeline in a navigable water to led the effort to highlight the unless oil pipeline owners or opera Europe. The ruffe quickly became Homminga and Sarah Bedell submit a safety response plan that risk posed by pipelines under the See “NWF Lawsuit,” page 2 established and are now the domi- pulled a ruffe out of the Waishkey nant species in the Duluth Harbor River on Waishkey Bay, Lake and St. Louis River estuary. Superior. Researchers have been fol- Ruffe are very aggressive fish lowing the ruffe expansion that out-compete native fish for eastward. A 2006 survey of food. Anyone who finds a ruffe is the St. Mary’s River system asked to kill it, freeze it, and call yielded no ruffe. But last year, their nearest conservation office. rows of dark spots between spines sharp, spiny fin gill cover with many soft fin sharp spines glassy eye small two very sharp one downturned mouth spines sharp spine Ruffe image From Wikimedia Commons, by Tiit Hunt Submitted by Jenny Sebastian www.saulttribe.com BELOVED WIDOW OF LEO MENDOSKIN AND NOKOMIS TO MANY TRIBAL MEMBERS, Dorothy Mendoskin turned 90 on July 25. She was born in Sault Ste. Marie in 1925 and lived in the area all her life. Family and friends celebrated at the Sugar Island Community Center on July 9, including (back, from left) Rashard Minnis, MaKenzie Sebastian, Dorothy (Sebastian) Mendoskin, Johnny Sebastian, Cheryl Adkins, Madison Sebastian, MaryEllen (Sebastian) Dillon, Troy Sebastian, Jenny Sebastian, (front, from left) Haley Sebastian holding PAID 49735 Malakai Minnis, Emerald, Tiffany Sebastian is holding Izeyah Medrano, Cheyenne Sebastian, Nanhi Medrano Gaylord, MI PRSRT STD PRSRT U.S. Postage Permit No. 30 and Jahnessa Soring. (See story and pictures on page 10; see Nanhi and Haley on Page 12.) Congressional bills would exempt Indian funding from sequestration BY RICK SMITH specific budget policy goals. sponsored the Senate legislation, Bills introduced in the U.S. House representatives Don S.1497. Tester is vice chair on the House of Representatives on Young of Alaska and Raul Ruiz Senate Indian Affairs Committee. July 14 and the U.S. Senate on of California sponsored the The House bill, H.R. 3063, June 3 would protect federal pro- House bill, H.R. 3063. Young is bearing the short title Honoring grams for American Indians from chairman of the Subcommittee on Our Trust Responsibilites Act of sequestration. Indian, Insular and Alaska Native 2015 (HOT-R Act), and officially According to a Senate defi- Affairs; Ruiz is a member of that titled To amend the Balanced nition, sequestration is a process panel. The subcommittee is part Budget and Emergency Deficit of automatic, usually across-the- of the Committee on Natural Control Act of 1985 to exempt board spending reductions under Resources and oversees all mat- Alaska Native and American which budgetary resources are ters regarding American Indians. Indian programs from sequestra Win Awenen Nisitotung 531 Ashmun St. MI 49783 Marie, Sault Ste. permanently cancelled to enforce Senator Jon Tester of Montana See “Exemption,” page 14 Page 2 News August 7, 2015 • Win Awenen Nisitotung From “NFW Lawsuit,” page 1 Oil pipeline spills national 23RD GATHERING OF THE EAGLES -tors receive government approv- problem al that they have safety plans The vast network of domestic that are adequate to respond to a oil pipelines cross inland bodies worst-case oil spill. of water with a width of at least HESSEL POW WOW But the U.S. Department of 100 feet (and thus likely navi- Friday, Saturday & Sunday Transportation has never estab- gable) at 5,110 locations in the Aug. 14-16 lished requirements for—and has United States, according to the HELD AT THE HESSEL POW WOW GROUNDS never given approval of—spill Department of Transportation’s NEXT TO KEWADIN HESSEL CASINO response plans for pipelines that Pipeline and Hazardous Materials that travel in, on, or under rivers, Safety Administration. The pipe- lakes, and other inland navigable line safety administration has SPIRITUAL GATHERING & POTLUCK waters, allowing oil pipeline own- identified 20 accidents occurring ers and operators to operate with- at inland water crossings between Friday Evening out approved safety plans. The 1991 and October 2012, not GRAND ENTRY: Department of Transportation’s including the rupture of an oil Saturday 1 p.m. & 7 p.m. failure to issue regulations imple- pipeline under the Yellowstone Sunday 1 p.m. menting the oil spill response River in 2015. That 2015 inci- requirement has led to a state of dent, together with a 2011 spill FEAST MEAL: affairs nationwide in which: elsewhere in the Yellowstone Saturday 5 p.m. — oil pipeline owners and River, spilled more than 100,000 Bring a dish to pass operators are not required to pre- gallons of oil into a river that sup- Tracy Heath pare or submit for approval oil ports endangered and threatened HEAD VETERAN: spill response plans for pipelines species, as well as fishing and SPIRITUAL HELPER: John Causley in, on, or under rivers, lakes, or rafting. ARENA DIRECTOR: Butch Van Ellen other inland navigable waters; Signifcant spills occurred — even if an oil spill response in rivers and waters across the EMCEE: Calvin Burnside plan is voluntarily prepared and country, according to the Pipeline HEAD DANCERS: TBA submitted, the Department of and Hazardous Materials Safety Transportation has no regulations Administration, including: Mukkwa Giizhik HOST DRUM: in effect for reviewing or approv- — California: Fresno County, ALL DRUMS & DANCERS WELCOME! ing the plan, and the owner or Calif. operator therefore has no obliga- — Iowa: Big Sioux River and VENDORS WELCOME! tion to comply with it; and, Missouri River VENDORS MUST BE A MEMBER OF A FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBE. — oil pipeline owners and — Kansas: Hafner Run Creek, VENDING SPACES FREE TO SAULT TRIBE ELDERS. operators are allowed to transport Kan. oil without a plan or, if a volun- — Kentucky: Kentucky River tary plan exists, without follow- — Louisiana: Atchafalya FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: ing it. River, Levee and Red River Lisa Burnside at [email protected] “The law does not allow — Montana: Yellowstone oil to flow through a pipeline River 906-484-2298 or 906-440-7666 running through an inland navi- — Nebraska: Missouri River Lana Causley at [email protected] gable waterway unless the U.S. — Oklahoma: Cotton Creek, Department of Transportation Pawnee Creek and Pole Cat 906-322-3818 first approves an oil spill Creek response plan. The Department of — South Dakota: Big Sioux Transportation’s failure to even River require such plans therefore is a — Texas: Red River and San huge oversight,” said Neil Kagan, Jacinto River senior counsel for the National U.S.