Fishing is a way of life for the Sokaogon (Mole Lake) Band of Lake Superior Chippewa but a new pollutant is causing many to change how they practice their tradition.
Tina and Rick Van Zile now consult a color-coded map to avoid fishing in places with high levels of mercury. "I wouldn't even dream of going to these red ones," Tina Van Zile told The Washington Post.
Steve Tuckwab said he tells tribal elders to exercise caution before eating fish. "I tell them maybe they shouldn't eat that fish because they don't know what lake it's from and how safe it is," he said.
Mercury enters the environment through emissions from coal-fired power plants and other industrial activity. If consumed at high levels, it can cause neurological damage in children and fetuses and can lead to health problems in adults.
Get the Story:
Mercury Warnings a New Part of Tribe's Tradition
(The Washington Post 6/12)
pwpwd
Relevant Links:
Sokaogon
Chippewa Community - http://www.sokaogonchippewa.com
Related Stories:
Wisconsin tribes complete purchase of mine
site (05/31)
Tribe still raising
money for its share of mine buyout (05/05)
EPA seeks to reduce mercury from power
plants (03/16)
EPA to issue new rule on mercury emissions
(3/15)
EPA proposes rule to curb
power-plant emissions (3/11)
Wis. tribes buying out mine interest for $16.5M
(10/29)
Wis. tribes said to be near
deal over proposed mine (10/27)
Wis. tribes offered chance to buy
burial site (06/30)
Mine
near reservation still up for grabs (10/16)
Company bows to tribal pressure on
mine (09/18)
Wis.
officials scrap talks over mine buyout (09/16)
State in talks over mine near
reservation (9/6)
Ojibwe
tribe discusses mine proposal (9/3)
Mine near Wis. reservation
questioned (8/30)
Tribes mull toxic fish study
findings (8/1)
Toxic fish
threaten tribal subsistence (7/31)
Tribes
propose buyout of mine site (6/21)
Wis. tribe's powers left intact
(6/4)
Tribal authority
challenge denied (6/3)
U.S. backs tribal environmental
rights (5/15)
Mine near Wis.
reservation upheld (1/30)
Wis. tribe has hopes after cyanide
ban (11/7)
State fighting
tribal water ruling (11/6)
Wis. might appeal Ojibwe decision
(9/25)
Challenge to tribal
authority rejected (9/24)
Court rejects challenge to tribal
authority (4/17)
EPA Budget: No
new tribal grants (4/13)
Pueblo
battles arsenic in water standard (4/16)
EPA attorney pleads guilty (06/28)
Environment
Tribal fishing tradition tainted by new pollutants
Monday, June 12, 2006
Stay Connected
Contact Us
indianz@indianz.com202 630 8439 (THEZ)
Search
Top Stories
Trending in News
1 Tribes rush to respond to new coronavirus emergency created by Trump administration
2 'At this rate the entire tribe will be extinct': Zuni Pueblo sees COVID-19 cases double as first death is confirmed
3 Arne Vainio: 'A great sickness has been visited upon us as human beings'
4 Arne Vainio: Zoongide'iwin is the Ojibwe word for courage
5 Cayuga Nation's division leads to a 'human rights catastrophe'
2 'At this rate the entire tribe will be extinct': Zuni Pueblo sees COVID-19 cases double as first death is confirmed
3 Arne Vainio: 'A great sickness has been visited upon us as human beings'
4 Arne Vainio: Zoongide'iwin is the Ojibwe word for courage
5 Cayuga Nation's division leads to a 'human rights catastrophe'
More Stories
Appeals court blocks critical trust fund reports Methamphetamine at crisis level in Indian Country
News Archive
2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000