<
https://www.startribune.com/superior-national-forest-and-northern-minnesota-tribes-make-historic-agreement/600275081/>
'DULUTH — The Superior National Forest and three northeastern Minnesota
Chippewa tribes have made a first-of-its-kind agreement, one that gives the
tribes a stronger voice in managing national forest and federal trust land that
was ceded to the federal government nearly 170 years ago.
The Fond du Lac and Grand Portage bands of Lake Superior Chippewa and the Bois
Forte Band of Chippewa signed an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service
recently to protect the bands' treaty rights within the Superior National
Forest.
Bois Forte Chair Cathy Chavers called the agreement "historic," with three
bands within the 1854 Treaty boundaries coming together as one to protect
natural resources. Area Chippewa ceded land to the United States in 1854 in
exchange for hunting, fishing and gathering rights in northeastern Minnesota.
"These bands have been on this landscape from time immemorial, connected to the
work of how we sustain these lands," said Tom Hall, supervisor of the Superior
National Forest. "This is really us standing shoulder to shoulder with the
bands, knowing we're going to face issues and making sure we're having the
right conversations early and together."
More than 3 million acres of 1854 Ceded Territory — about half — fall inside
the national forest.
The agreement recognizes the sovereign bands as original stewards of that land
and outlines ways to ensure tribal input is included early in decisions made by
the Forest Service, including those that impact treaty rights. It stipulates
training from both sides, coordination with the bands on management priorities,
and provisions for protection of culturally sensitive areas within the forest.
"It's been 169 years since the signing of the 1854 Treaty. [The treaty] says
shared resources — that is true today," Fond du Lac Band Chair Kevin Dupuis Sr.
said in a news release. "Our tribal leadership has an obligation to the ones
who came before us, and we are here today to make sure that our unborn can
exercise our inherent rights given to use by the Creator."
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the Chippewa National Forest have a similar
agreement.'
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-homicide-education-sierra-leone-solar-china/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
