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U-M divers retrieve 8,900-year-old piece of wood from Lake Huron
Annarbor.com (12/12)
University of Michigan researchers announced they have found a 5 1/2 foot long, pole-shaped piece of wood that is 8,900 years old in Lake Huron.
Superior researchers studying invasives, ballast water
Ashland Current (2/9)
Determining how clean a ship's ballast water must be to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species is the goal of the latest research partnership between the Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Lake Superior Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
RIVERKEEPERS: Tending the waterways
Niagara Gazette (2/6)
The goal of the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is two-fold: protecting the water quantity and the quality, as well as connecting people to the waterfront.
Internationally renowned ‘Ocean Doctor’ to speak in Grand Rapids
MLive.com (2/3)
Known as the “Ocean Doctor,” David Guggenheim will speak in Grand Rapids, Mich., about the many similarities between the threats to the oceans and to our Great Lakes.
SUNY Fredonia to lead Great Lakes pollution study
Wall Street Journal (2/3)
Plastic pollution in the Great Lakes will be the focus of a study this summer. Led by the State University of New York at Fredonia, researchers will try to quantify the amount of plastic polluting the fresh water Great Lakes.
SSC students taking part in marine science bowl
Arenac County Independent (1/31)
Teams of Michigan high school students will be heading to Ann Arbor this weekend to take part in the annual Great Lakes Bowl, a quiz event that focuses on questions about marine and freshwater systems and biology.
What's going on in your neighborhood this month? Meet other people and learn together at recreational and educational events! Our new dynamic calendar is updated daily with current educational events.
8 | Tribes and First Nations today
The lasting influence of Native American tribes and First Nations is evident by looking at any present-day map of North America. You'll see thousands of cities, rivers and lakes that bear the names of the continent's original settlers. The Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin's Menomonee Falls, and the city of Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada, are just a few.Today, dispersed on reservations throughout the region, the surviving descendants of the Great Lakes tribes keep the values and traditions of Native American culture alive. Through pow wows, art fairs and other cultural events, tribes are connecting with their ancestry and exposing present generations to their traditional dance, music and belief system.
Related map: Native American U.S. State Populations (1990 Census)
Many tribes are undertaking ambitious natural resource programs to protect and restore their environment. On fishery issues, tribes and First Nations cooperate closely with researchers, and federal and state/provincial resource managers. For example, through an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in northern Michigan operates a fish health isolation facility, which is playing a key role in efforts to restore the lake trout fishery in the Great Lakes. In exchange, the USFWS provides yearling trout from the hatchery to Keweenaw Bay and the community's reservation waters.
Fishing remains a great source of income for many tribes, especially those who make their home in the western half of the Great Lakes basin. Native Peoples' rights to the fish and other natural resources in the region have been protected by various federal treaties and state/provincial agreements. Tribal fishing rights are maintained and managed through groups such as the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commisson, based in Odanah, Wis., and the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority, based in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
Casino gambling opportunities are also growing among tribes in the Great Lakes region. In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized Native Peoples' rights to run gaming operations when it ruled that states had no authority to regulate gaming on Indian land if such gaming is permitted outside the reservation for any other purpose. Congress established the legal basis for this right when it passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1988. The IGRA appears to be working to the benefit of Native Peoples in several states, most notably Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The revenues generated are helping tribes and surrounding communities become economically self-sufficient, and enhance their education and health care systems.
Photos: Tribal fisherman and fishing through the ice on Lake Superior, both courtesy Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission; gaming, courtesy Kewadin Casinos, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
