Cynthia Pryor pleads "not guilty" to trespassing charge

This photo shows a worker and Kennecott equipment near Eagle Rock. They hauled a bulldozer and other equipment to the area so they can start clearing their property for construction of Kennecott-Rio Tinto's Eagle Project sulfide mine near Big Bay. (Photos and captions courtesy Gabriel Caplett)

MARQUETTE -- Cynthia Pryor, a Big Bay resident arrested on Apr. 20 by local law enforcement for "trespassing" on public property, pled "not guilty" during an arraignment Wednesday, Apr. 21, in Marquette County District Court.

Pryor insisted she was not trespassing, as the land is publicly-owned, and that Rio Tinto was bulldozing illegally on public land.

Rio Tinto and law enforcement claim that Pryor actively attempted to stop a bulldozer.

Pryor’s pre-trial court hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on May 6.

Read more in Gabriel Caplett's Headwaters News article.

Read also "Citizen Arrested for 'Trespassing' on Public Land."

The Rev. Jon Magnuson speaks at the Eagle Rock event on Apr. 15, 2010. Magnuson is part of the Earthkeepers group that represents several faith communities around the Upper Peninsula. Magnuson, a close friend of Cynthia Pryor, attempted to speak with her in jail. According to Magnuson, while he wasn’t allowed to visit with Pryor, he was able to pass prayers along to her.

Pryor was also among a group of concerned citizens who gathered on Eagle Rock on Apr. 15, 2010, in a peaceful demonstration against Kennecott-Rio Tinto's potential sulfide mine for nickel and copper on the Yellow Dog Plains near Marquette. The group expressed their support for Keweenaw Bay Indian Community tribal member Jessica Koski, who spoke last week in London, England, at Rio Tinto's Annual General Meeting.

Koski spoke of the potential dangers of the mine, Native Americans' concern for Eagle Rock as a sacred site and Kennecott-Rio Tinto's assertion that they do not need a federal permit from the Environmental Protection Agency for discharging wastewater at the site.

See a video clip of Jessica Koski speaking at the London meeting.

On that same YouTube page are additional, related video clips from Headwaters News.

Read the April 16, 2010 Mining Journal article about the protest on Eagle Rock.

See Headwaters News for updates on this and other mining issues.

Click here to read the Spring 2010 issue of Headwaters Magazine, which includes several articles about mining, land and water in Great Lakes states.