Native Americans and the Environment--Past, present and Future
Special Feature

by Stephanie Good

Whaley, Rick and Walter Bresette. Walleye Warriors: An Effective Alliance Against Racism and for the Earth. Philadelphia: New Society Publishers, 1994.

This is the empowering account of how the Chippewa in Wisconsin and Minnesota fought alongside local residents and activists against the racism that was interfering with their treaty rights to harvest walleye. New goals for cultural diversity and environmental justice in Wisconsin were set--and are being reinforced today.

LaDuke, Winona. All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life. Cambridge, Mass.: South End Press, 1999.

Acclaimed environmental activist, 1997 Ms. magazine Woman of the Year, and former vice-presidential nominee (she shared the Green Party ticket with Ralph Nader in 1996 and 2000), Winona LaDuke provides a thoughtful analysis of the Native American's resistance to environmental and cultural degradation in her non-fiction debut.

Grinde, Donald A. and Bruce E. Johansen. Ecocide of Native America: Environmental Destruction of Indian Lands and Peoples. Santa Fe: Clear Light Publishers, 1999.

Testimonies from Native Americans throughout the U.S. about how their lands are being polluted and destroyed are interspersed with the environmental perspectives of these first "ecologists."  Howard Zinn calls this book both "eloquent" and "powerful."

Wilkinson, Charles. Messages from Frank's Landing: A Story of Salmon, Treaties, and the Indian Way. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000.

Frank's Landing, a six-acre tract along the Nisqually River in Washington, was the focal point for the Fish Wars between state game wardens and Nisqually tribesmen trying to uphold their treaty rights. Billy Frank, Jr.--tribal leader and spokesperson--is celebrated by many for his testimony that led to the 1974 affirmation of those rights. Both he and his significant home are celebrated in this beautifully compiled book.

Nesper, Larry. The Walleye War: The Struggle for Ojibwe Spearfishing Treaty Rights. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002.

Anthropologist Larry Nesper followed the spearfishing conflict surrounding treaty rights of Ojibwe on the Lac de Flambeau reservation during the 1980s. His account of the history and cultural significance of the disagreement on both sides is very enlightening.

Davis, Thomas. Sustaining the Forest, the People, and the Spirit. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2000.

The Menominee Forest is a primary natural resource owned by the Menominee of Wisconsin. It is roughly 230,000 acres and is not only the tallest forest in the Great Lakes region but also the most productive in terms of lumber per hectare. In this book Davis uses the Menominee as a case study for how other communities can create a culture suited for sustainable environmental development.

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Bizhibayaash, Circle of Flight: Tribal Wetland and Waterfowl Enhancement Initiative, January 2004. Minneapolis: the Bureau, 2004.

Thirty-two Circle of Flight initiatives occurring on 26 reservations in the Great Lakes area are currently being funded to preserve the wetland habitats of waterfowl. This report contains a summary of the programs as well as tribal success stories and funding requests for 2005.

Churchill, Ward. Struggle for the Land: Native North American Resistance to Genocide, Ecocide and Colonization. San Francisco: City Lights, 2002.

Winner of the Gustavus Myers Award for Literature on Human Rights, this is a report about how Native Americans living on some of the most resource-rich lands in the world are one of the least affluent groups in the U.S. The exploitation of Native lands is not only ecocidal, Churchill argues, but genocidal.

Honor the Earth Powwow: Songs of the Great Lakes Indians. Audio CD. Salem, Mass.: Ryko, 1991.

This CD was recorded in July 1990 at a Wisconsin gathering of Ojibway, Winnebago (Ho-Chunk), and Menominee to honor the earth. The liner notes feature descriptions of the songs, musicians, and activities that accompanied the celebration. The music is a combination of traditional music passed down for generations and new material composed for the occasion.

Marshall, Joseph. On Behalf of the Wolf and the First Peoples. Santa Fe: Red Crane Books, 1995.

In his introduction, Roger Welsch accurately portrays this book as "a gift" from Joseph Marshall, a Lakota, to all of us--Native and non-Native Americans alike--who are interested in the culture and philosophy of the first people to inhabit this land.

Barnhill, David Landis, ed. At Home on the Earth: Becoming Native to Our Place: A Multicultural Anthology. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.

Starting with the views of the human-nature relationship by those native to this land and working its way through a variety of cultures and backgrounds, this comprehensive anthology of essays is one to cherish. Features writers N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Marie Silko, Wendell Berry, Alice Walker, Richard Rodriguez and more!

Johnston, Basil. The Manitous: The Spiritual World of the Ojibway. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001.

According to Ojibwe scholar, Basil Johnston, Manitous are spiritual beings who have aided the Ojibwe since the world was created. This collection of Manitou tales includes a sampling of these spirits from those involved in creation to those that preyed upon humans who harmed the natural world. Told with the engaging style adapted from the oral traditions of the Ojibwe, this book is both an interesting and informative read.

Keesing, Felix M. The Menomini Indians of Wisconsin: A Study of Three Centuries of Cultural Contact and Change. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1987.

This work, originally published in 1939, remains one of the most respected introductions to the history and culture (or "ethnohistory" as the book is characterized) of the Menominee Indians of the Green Bay area in Wisconsin.

Loew, Patty. Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2001.

With a focus on oral traditions and primary sources, this collection explores Wisconsin history from a Native American perspective. Includes tribal histories and photographs of the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Oneida, Menominee, Mohican, Ho-Chunk, and Brothertown Indians.

Gill, Jerry H. Native American Worldviews: An Introduction. Amherst, N.Y.: Humanity Books, 2002.

This work combines anthropology, philosophy and religious studies to introduce the broad contours of Native American belief systems and their relationship to concepts like health, wisdom, and the environment.

Great Lakes Intertribal Council

This site is an excellent reference place for information about Indian nations in Wisconsin.  The Council itself is designed to assist the member tribes in a delivery system of services and programs to back up and supplement the tribes' own service capacity. Also has a link to touring Native Wisconsin.