24-hour fasting, prayer near Eagle Rock to precede June 9 MDEQ contested case appeal

View from the top of Eagle Rock, or Migi zii wa sin, a sacred site for the Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) people. Rio Tinto / Kennecott plans to blast through Eagle Rock as an entry for their projected nickel and copper sulfide mine. (Keweenaw Now 2009 file photo)

MARQUETTE -- On June 9, 2011, oral arguments will be made in the appeals of the mining and ground water discharge permits for the Eagle Mine project on Upper Michigan’s Yellow Dog Plains. These suits lay out the numerous ways in which Kennecott has failed to meet the standards of several laws and how MDEQ has failed to require the company to comply with these laws.

In August 2010 Kennecott's fence surrounds Eagle Rock.

Should the permits be deemed lawful, construction will continue and mining operations will begin. A site sacred to the Anishinaabe will be desecrated by blasting and drilling through Eagle Rock, or Migi zii wa sin. This may occur as early as mid-July.

At 6 a.m. on Wednesday, June 8, a Fire will be started in view of Eagle Rock and attended for 24 hours. Fasting and prayer will accompany the Fire’s presence.

Fasting site in view of Eagle Rock.

Please take some time on June 8th and 9th to help in the effort for truth to prevail. The truth must be understood for our environment, most importantly the water.

Meditate, pray and/or fast. With a united effort a consciousness can be raised for the protection of the Earth.

View of the Salmon Trout River. Kennecott's ore body is under this trout stream. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

All are welcome to visit the Fire. 1.3 miles west of the guard shack at the mine site along the Triple A Road is a fork in the road. Veer to the right. Continue 500 feet and turn right again. There may be two signs indicating "no snowmobiles." Drive between the signs and continue about one fourth mile. You are there at the northwest corner of the mine site.

See the May 24, 2011, posting on Stand for the Land: "One Can Make a Difference" (like the bird in the flock).

Take a moment to think of the Water. See "A Thought for the Water."