LSProject: Giganawnedaamin Nibi ("We must take care of the water")

There are valuable minerals in the rock around Lake Superior—copper, nickel, and iron. And people want to get at it. There’s money to be made and demand for the material. But nothing comes with out a price, and for some the environment is far too vulnerable and valuable to justify mining. In Wisconsin an open pit iron mine in the Penokee Hills is on the table. Under current Wisconsin mining law it could never be permitted. But in Madison, legislators are working to rewrite existing law. The proposed mine sits at the headwaters of the Bad River Watershed. The area is home to the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Mike Wiggins is the band’s Chairman. He and his people fear the destruction of their homeland and way of life.