See our right-hand column for announcements and news briefs. Scroll down the right-hand column to access the Archives -- links to articles posted in the main column since 2007. See details about our site, including a way to comment, in the yellow text above the Archives.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Scarlet Masquerade to offer dance lessons, dinner, dance Apr. 14 at Brownstone Hall

2012 Scarlet Masquerade poster courtesy Keweenaw Social Dance.

ATLANTIC MINE -- The 2012 Scarlet Masquerade will be held at the Brownstone Hall in Atlantic Mine on Saturday, April 14. It's being hosted by the Michigan Tech University Social Dance Club and being supported by Keweenaw Social Dance.

Dance lessons will be offered by the Minnesota Ballroom Dance Club from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. A catered dinner will follow from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Backroom Boys will play live music for dancing from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Tickets are $6 a single or $10 a couple and include the dinner. For more information email keweenawsd@gmail.com.

Club Indigo to feature Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" Apr. 13

By Joe Kirkish

CALUMET -- WILD STRAWBERRIES is tonight's Club Indigo movie, made by Swedish film maker Ingmar Bergman -- undoubtedly one of the finest in the world. Bergman's films are noted for their perceptive characterizations set in exotic times, filmed with dramatic lighting and carefully produced examinations of actions and reactions among fascinating characters.

In this film, we find an aging doctor who feels his life is all but over and relatively useless. He begins his day by awakening from a nightmare in which he is convinced of this, then packs to travel to his old university where he's to be awarded for his life's
achievements. In this "road" movie, one exceptional thing happens after another -- meeting old acquaintances and relatives, picking up a variety of hitchhikers, and, most intriguing of all, paying a dream visit to his childhood wooded family home where his happiest moments are picking wild strawberries with a cousin he loves (but is too shy to admit it). When he reaches his destination, family issues are laid to rest, the ceremony is a grand success, and that night he dreams once again -- at the wooded home, picking strawberries with the girl he loved.

Bergman fleshes out this simple road story with a study so penetrating the film is shown almost all the time at psychiatric events; for us outsiders, it's chock full of incidents we'll never forget.

The movie is at 7:15 p.m. for $5 admission at the Calumet Theatre. If you can't get into the 6 p.m. buffet, there's the Michigan House and Carmelita's just a block away;
call them ahead to reserve a place so you won't have to wait.

But by all means, see the movie on the big screen -- for an unforgettable experience.

Editor's Note: Joe Kirkish, organizer of Club Indigo, is a photographer, film critic and retired Michigan Tech Humanities professor.

Answer to Main Street Calumet Market April Riddle Contest

CALUMET -- There were no winners of April’s Main Street Calumet Market Riddle Contest, but a tip of the hat to all the kids and their parents who came to last Saturday’s market and gave it a try. Keep an eye on local media sources, including Keweenaw Now and mainstreetcalumet.org, for May’s riddle.

The Main Street Calumet Market is held every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the first Friday of each month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 200 Fifth Street in downtown Calumet, Michigan (corner of Fifth and Portland Streets). The market features local products, crafts and seasonal produce. The riddle and its solution follows:

In marble walls as white as milk,
Lined with a skin as soft as silk;
Within a fountain crystal clear,
A golden apple doth appear.
No doors there are to this stronghold.
Yet things break in and steal the gold.

Solution: The same as for the much better known riddle Humpty Dumpty -- an egg.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Letter to Forest Service on Wildcat Falls

Hemlock forest near Wildcat Falls, Ottawa National Forest. (Photo © and courtesy standfortheland.com)

Chuck Myers, Regional Forester
Eastern Region, USFS
626 East Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53202

Dear Mr. Myers,

I am a resident of the U.P., currently living in Marquette, Michigan. A long time ago, or so it seems to me, I grew up in White Pine, in the western Upper Peninsula. My extended range was roughly enclosed by Ironwood to the west, Lake Gogebic on the south, Copper Harbor to the north, and Marquette by an occasional visit to the east.

When I was 24, I married and moved away, living in various cities around the Midwest including Minneapolis, Madison, Chicago and Milwaukee. When I got divorced, all I wanted was to move back home...to the U.P.

Now, you might realize that it isn’t uncommon for many of us to call the U.P. "home," rather than our houses, neighborhoods or towns. It is the unspoiled character of the place, the undeveloped areas around lakes and streams, the dark and mossy forests that unite people across the region, from Marquette west into northern Wisconsin, with a shared feeling of "home."

They are the people who signed the online petition to "save" Wildcat Falls and the old-growth forest (1,000 signatures in only three weeks) -- they, and their friends and family and acquaintances who know what will be lost if this land is traded away. As an expatriated Yooper, I would have signed it. I am home now.

A month or so ago, word of this proposed land exchange came to me from the western U.P. A friend in Iron River had joined the team, fighting it. My dad, living in a small town just south of Houghton, got on board. I found out that a favorite pal in Marenisco was involved.

The author of this letter, Catherine Parker of Marquette, hikes to Wildcat Falls with her Dad, Jack Parker of Twin Lakes. (Photo © and courtesy Steve Garske)

Three weeks ago, my Iron River friend and I went to see the Falls for the first time. They were our destination and they were beautiful, but there was so much more to the place than that. We moved slowly, stopping to appreciate gnarled old trees hugging moss-covered boulders, 12-inch quartz nuggets nestled in dry leaves, huge cedars leaning overhead, massive walls of rock, hemlock groves, and deer droppings seemingly everywhere.

We peered into holes and saw water. It trickled from the outcroppings, ran from the ground, pooled in the beaver pond and poured over the falls.

"I wish I could live here!" I said to my friend. But places like this are meant to be shared, and that is why I’m writing to you today.

Somewhere around 100 people gathered near the Falls on April 1, summoned by a few but united by a common desire to preserve the falls and forests and outcroppings as a public space, available to all of us, forever.

If we lose this land, there will be an outpouring of anguish that will be heard across these territories and beyond. Please take these parcels off the negotiating table.

Consolidating land near the Porkies is certainly desirable, but the price the Forest Service is planning to pay is far too dear.

Thank you for listening.

Sincerely,

Catherine Parker*

*Editor's Note: This letter is reprinted with permission. See also "Hike to Wildcat Falls draws large crowd."

Hike to Wildcat Falls draws large crowd

On April 1, a large crowd gathers near Watersmeet, Mich., for a hike to Wildcat Falls, located in a parcel the U.S. Forest Service has said it would trade to a private owner. A decision on appeals against the land exchange is expected this month. Speaking to the crowd (background) are organizers Joe Hovel (green sweatshirt and beard) and Rod Sharka (gray sweatshirt), both of Partners in Forestry, Conover, Wis. Click on photos for larger versions. (Photos © and courtesy Steve Garske unless otherwise indicated.)

WATERSMEET, MICH. -- On Sunday, April 1, approximately 100 people gathered on County Line Lake Road a few miles northwest of Watersmeet, Mich., for a hike to Wildcat Falls -- to mourn the sacrificial loss of these special Forest Service parcels containing the unique natural features of potential old growth hemlock/cedar forests, amazing rock outcrops, high quality Scott and Howe Creek, as well as Wildcat Falls.

On the way to Wildcat Falls, hikers make their way through the forest, enjoying its unique natural features perhaps for the last time.

The crowd contained not only local residents, but numerous individuals who traveled from as far away as Houghton/Hancock, Marquette, Iron River, and Ironwood, Mich., as well as Rhinelander, Wis. This hike was sponsored by Partners in Forestry Coop (a local woodland owners organization dedicated to sustainable forestry practices), the Northwoods Alliance (a local non-profit that promotes land conservation issues), and the Northwoods Native Plant Society (a native botany club consisting of professional and amateur botanists).

No April Fool! That's octogenarian mining expert and Keweenaw Now guest writer Jack Parker of Twin Lakes, center, with friends, from left, Marion True (retired Ottawa National Forest forester), Joe Hovel, Rod Sharka and Richard Sloat -- pausing during the hike.

The Ottawa Forest Service has agreed to trade these parcels (that it claims are too isolated and difficult to manage), to a private land speculator/developer in exchange for a parcel of land south of the Porkies that this same individual has recently logged off and badly abused. This same individual has openly stated his intention of logging off these parcels and subdividing them for residential development.

View of Wildcat Falls from the top. (Photo © and courtesy standfortheland.com)*

Six individual appeals against this land exchange are currently being reviewed by USDA-Forest Service, Eastern Region Appeal Deciding Officer Chuck Myers of Milwaukee, Wis. A final decision is expected by mid-April.

Rod Sharka, one of the organizers, pointed out that the US Forest Service has promoted a plan in recent years called the "Open Space Conservation Strategy," which points out that "the loss of open space impacts the sustainability of natural systems and the overall quality of life for Americans."

In this plan, the first stated goal is "Protecting the most ecologically and socially important lands."

Hikers enjoy the rushing water of Wildcat Falls, hoping it's not for the last time.

Sharka stated, "I’d like to know -- How is the trading of these parcels to someone who admittedly intends to log off these woods and subdivide these parcels for development, in exchange for land he has already cut over and abused, adhering to the conservation principles stated in this plan? Perhaps these parcels are small relative to the million acre Ottawa, but they are unique and should be treated as such. It’s NOT just Wildcat Falls. It’s NOT just the old growth hemlock/cedar. It’s NOT just the impressive rock outcrops. NO, it’s the combination of all of these unique features in one, concentrated area that makes these parcels so special."

Click here to read more about the land exchange and see more photos on the Partners in Forestry Web site.
*See more photos on standfortheland.com.

KUUF Book Club to hold discussions Apr 16, May 21

HOUGHTON -- The Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (KUUF) Book Group will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 16, to discuss Aldo Leopold's Sand County Almanac. The discussion will be held in the Fellowship office, located in the 2nd floor annex at Trinity Episcopal Church, 203 Montezuma St, Houghton.

The Book Group meets the third Monday of every month at 7 p.m. in the Fellowship Office. KUUF Book Group discussions are open to the public.

On Monday, May 21, the group will discuss What is Sustainable, by Richard Reese.

Click here to order this book from Amazon.com. This book is also available on Kindle.

Keweenaw Now recently posted an article on What is Sustainable. See "Richard Reese's "What Is Sustainable": reviews and reactions."

Headwaters News: Army Corps objects to Kennecott haul road

By Gabriel Caplett
Posted on Headwaters News Apr. 11, 2012

MARQUETTE -- Once again, the Army Corps of Engineers has objected to Kennecott’s planned ore hauling road, in Marquette County. The road project, formerly called "Woodland Road," but now going by "County Road 595" and applied for by the county road commission, "is deficient in several areas," according to a letter dated March 29, sent from the Corps’ Detroit office to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The letter makes clear that the "the primary beneficiary of the route as proposed would be Kennecott." According to the Corps, 595 "is the most direct route from the Eagle Mine to Kennecott’s ore processing facility," in Humboldt Township, so the road plan should be clear it would be built largely to service Kennecott’s mining operations.

In the letter, the Corps lists a number of other potential hauling routes that would be preferable to constructing 595, including rail options, something not considered in the application. Rehabilitating abandoned railways, the Corps writes, "in combination with selected road improvements and active railroad lines, may provide a potentially viable alternative for transportation of ore and timber, as well as improve road access from US-41 to the northern portion of Marquette County."

At a meeting Tuesday, county commissioner Mike Quayle supported having Kennecott haul ore using a rail system, instead of constructing 595. ...

Click here to read the rest of this article on Headwaters News.

Click here for the March 29, 2012, Army Corps letter to the EPA.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

AISES to host conference, powwow at Michigan Tech Apr. 13, 14

HOUGHTON -- Michigan Tech's chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) will host the 2012 AISES Region V Conference, Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14.

Region V encompasses the states of Iowa, Illinois, Upper Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario.

The conference --"A Traditional Path Into The Future"-- is geared towards making native students aware of the benefits of pursuing education in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math), while maintaining their traditional values. It begins at 9 a.m., Friday, April 13, in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

Featured speakers and performers include Anton Trever, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University; traditional speakers Bethany and Bob Moody; and Joseph FireCrow, winner of the 2010 Native American Music Award.

The conference concludes with a powwow from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday, April 14, in the SDC Wood Gym. The powwow will include a flute presentation at 1 p.m., hoop dance at 2 p.m., two-step contest at 3 p.m. and feast at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Community Arts Center to hold White Elephant Sale Apr. 14

A White Elephant Sale will be held this Saturday, Apr. 14, at the Copper Country Community Arts Center. Click on poster for larger image. (Poster courtesy Copper Country Community Arts Center)

HANCOCK -- The Copper Country Community Arts Center (CCCAC) annual White Elephant Sale fundraiser is happening from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. this Saturday, April 14. The CCCAC will be selling donated art, jewelry, art supplies, and curious objects. The sale will take place in the CCCAC classroom.

The Copper Country Community Arts Center is a non profit arts organization located at 126 Quincy Street in Hancock. Call 482-2333 for more information.

Artist booth applications available for Houghton Spring Art and Music Festival

The Copper Country Community Arts Center in Hancock has artist booth applications available for the 11th annual Houghton Spring Art and Music Festival happening in downtown Houghton on Saturday, June 9. The Festival is co-sponsored by the Copper Country Community Arts Council and the City of Houghton. Stop by to pick up an application or call 482-2333 for more information. The Copper Country Community Arts Center is located at 126 Quincy Street in Hancock.

Michigan Tech Mind Trekkers to take magic, mystery of science to Sheboygan

A little girl can't wait to taste liquid nitrogen ice cream. (Photo courtesy Michigan Technological University)

By Jennifer Donovan, Michigan Tech Director of Public Relations

Posted April 9, 2012, on Michigan Tech News
(Reprinted with permission)

HOUGHTON -- What body parts do a cat and a fish have in common? How can you use liquid nitrogen to make edible ice cream in 60 seconds? What if your eyeglasses adjusted their prescription automatically to your eyes when you put them on, like Dow Corning’s Adspecs do? Or how about walking on water -- or at least on ooblek, a liquid water and cornstarch mixture that supports weight if you move across it fast and drags you down if you don’t.

Jessica Banda, founder of the Michigan Tech Mind Trekkers student organization, helps a youngster try on Adspecs, Dow Corning eyeglasses that adjust automatically to the prescription of the person wearing them. (Photo courtesy Michigan Technological University)

Michigan Technological University’s Mind Trekkers is bringing these intriguing demos and nearly 100 other hands-on science and engineering activities to the Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, Wis., this Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14. Student volunteers and staff from Michigan Tech and local high schools in the Houghton area will present the popular road show that reveals the science and engineering facts behind the magical mysteries.

On Friday, teachers have been invited to bring their classes to the Science and Engineering Festival. There will be two sessions, one from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and another from noon to 2:30 p.m. Up to 800 elementary and middle-school students are expected at each session.

On Saturday, April 14, the same science fun will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to Mind Trekkers is free and open to everyone.

At other booths, visitors will be able to talk with local science, technology, engineering and math professionals and learn about colleges and universities in the area that offer studies in these fields. ...

Click here to read the rest of this article on the Michigan Tech News.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

CCGAP to hold fundraising party Apr. 13

HANCOCK -- The Copper Country Guatemala Accompaniment Project (CCGAP) will be featuring Captain Woody Boogie and the Pirates of Groove at CCGAP's annual fundraising party from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Friday, April 13, at the Michigan Tech Forestry Center.

The public is invited to enjoy music, dancing, and food and to participate in a silent art auction and a drawing for the grand prize of a genuine handwoven Guatemalan wool blanket -- and many other prizes. Tickets are $5 apiece and will be available at the door. Food will be available for a donation.

The CCGAP sponsors accompaniment for Guatemalan human rights workers who are at risk for violence; the group also contributes toward the education of poor indigenous Mayan Guatemalans.

Visit ccgap.org to learn more about this work. Click here for the March 2012 newsletter, including an article by CCGAP accompanier Megan Whelan, stories about two indigenous women recipients of CCGAP scholarships and their educational challenges, and more.

Crane count for Houghton, Keweenaw counties to be Apr. 14

HOUGHTON -- The 2012 crane count for Houghton and Keweenaw counties will be held from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. EDT on Saturday, April 14.

Sandhill Crane family. (Photo © Tom Lynn and courtesy International Crane Foundation. Reprinted with permission.)

The International Crane Foundation has partnered with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and ebird.org this year so reporting your sightings will now be done online. If you are interested in doing the count please contact Phil Quenzi at pquenzi@starband.net or call him at 906-482-7476 for instructions.

You can also check out www.cranecount.org for more information.

Film Series to feature film on Native American religious freedom rights Apr. 11

Jessica Koski, mining technical assistant for the KBIC Natural Resources Department and instructor of Native Studies at Ojibwa Community College, presents Four Corners: A National Sacrifice Area, last month's film in the Mining Impacts on Native Lands Film Series, in the Chippewa Room of the Ojibwa Casino in Baraga. Another film in this series, In the Light of Reverence, will be shown here and at the Ojibwa Senior Citizens' Center on Wednesday, April 11. (Photos by Keweenaw Now)

By Michele Bourdieu

The Mining Impacts on Native Lands Film Series will feature two screenings of In the Light of Reverence, a film about Native American religious freedom rights in relation to mining and other developments throughout the U.S., on Wednesday, April 11, in Baraga. The film will first be shown at 12:30 p.m. at the Ojibwa Senior Citizens' Center. At 5 p.m. a potluck supper will precede the 6 p.m. showing of the film in the Ojibwa Casino Chippewa Room.

Ten years in the making, In the Light of Reverence explores American culture’s relationship to nature in three places considered sacred by native peoples: the Colorado Plateau in the Southwest, Mount Shasta in California, and Devils Tower in Wyoming. Rich in minerals and timber and beloved by recreational users, these "holy lands" exert a spiritual gravity which pulls Native Americans into conflicts with mining companies, New Age practitioners, and rock climbers. Ironically, all sides see themselves as besieged. Their battles tell a new story of culture clashes in an ancient landscape.

In the Light of Reverence juxtaposes reflections of Hopi, Wintu and Lakota elders on the spiritual meaning of place with views of non-Indians who have their own ideas about how best to use the land. The film captures the spiritual yearning and materialistic frenzy of our time.

This film series is hosted by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) Natural Resources Department Mining Outreach and Education Program.

Four Corners film kicks off discussion of potential impacts on local communities

The March film in the series, Four Corners: A National Sacrifice Area, which tells the stories of Native people impacted by strip-mining and uranium mining and milling, was preceded by a potluck and brief presentation by Friends of the Land of Keweenaw (FOLK), who announced their "Mining Education and Empowerment Project" at the event.

FOLK members have formed an action research committee that has begun its investigation of the risks and benefits of new mining. The group announced plans for an outreach and education program to provide information about mining to local citizens. Details of their project are available in their March newsletter, on the FOLK Web site.*

FOLK members have been attending the film series at KBIC and have joined tribal members and other residents participating in the discussions following the films.

This slide in the presentation related to the Four Corners film gives examples of negative economic impacts on mining communities.

Four Corners: A National Sacrifice Area, a film from the 1980s, examines Peabody Coal Company’s massive Black Mesa strip mine and the history of uranium mining on the Colorado Plateau, including the 1979 Church Rock tailings spill on the Navajo Reservation, where high levels of lung cancer and birth defects have resulted from decades of radiation exposure.

Spokespersons for Navajo, Hopi and Mormon cultures were interviewed in the film. They spoke of the sacrifice of human health as well as the sacrifice of their way of life and the pollution of much needed water in the arid Southwest.

Jessica Koski, mining technical assistant for the KBIC Natural Resources Department and instructor of Native Studies at Ojibwa Community College, presented the film and led the discussion afterwards.

During her presentation preceding the March film, Jessica Koski points out several ongoing or proposed mining projects on a map of the Upper Peninsula. Click here for a larger version of this map.

Despite the age of the film, people in the audience drew parallels with the new wave of resource extraction in the Western Upper Peninsula -- mining projects as well as new logging for the biomass industry.

"The film was 30 years old but very well done and still very relevant today," said Doug Welker, a FOLK member. "I was also pleased with the amount of concern about likely pollution and worker health issues at the Warden Electric Power Company Plant in L'Anse."

Margaret Comfort of Michigamme and a member of Save the Wild UP and WAVE (Water Action Vital Earth), two groups opposing the Rio Tinto - Kennecott Eagle Mine, said she felt saddened by the film.

"Here we are, THIRTY YEARS LATER," she wrote in an email following the film event. "I don't feel we've made much progress -- much spiritual growth, much enlightenment."

The film showed how Navajo uranium miners were exposed to pollution without any idea of its potential impacts on their health. Many of them died of lung cancer. While that may have been an extreme case of environmental injustice in the 1980s, communities that are promised much needed jobs by mining companies today still need to be better informed -- not only about safety and environmental impacts but also about the economic facts behind the "boom and bust" mining industry.

Scott Rutherford of FOLK pointed out the need for a study on "hidden costs" like those described in the film -- on how much of the value of the minerals extracted will go to the local community and whether the new jobs will disrupt other jobs.

Chuck Brumleve, a geologist working for KBIC, who attended a recent public hearing on the Orvana Copperwood mine project, now in the permitting stage, commented that many people who got up at that meeting and said they were "for the mine and for the economy" didn't have much information on the technical facts about the mine. **

"Nobody looks at the cumulative effects (of mining)," said David Mayo, a KBIC tribal member concerned about treaty rights.

Locked Out film offers background on Rio Tinto and workers

The February film in this series, Locked Out, depicts Rio Tinto’s treatment of workers and communities in the U.S. and around the world.

While the film is centered on Rio Tinto's four-month lockout of unionized workers at their borax plant in Boron, California, the site of the second largest open pit mine in the U.S., the film also shows some examples of Rio Tinto's poor record in respecting human rights (especially on the Papua New Guinean island of Bougainville) and the environment (interviews with UP residents concerned about the Eagle Mine).

Jessica Koski gave an update on UP mining projects preceding the showing of this film.

At the Ojibwa Senior Citizens' Center in Baraga, Jessica Koski shows maps of UP mining projects in her update preceding the film Locked Out, shown last February as part of the Mining Impacts on Native Lands Film Series.***

KBIC member Bruce LaPointe attended the screening of Locked Out and offered his reactions to Keweenaw Now.

"The film indicated to me that Rio Tinto has no respect for their own workers and likely never will," LaPointe said. "Kinda treat them like ants. I once overheard the owner of a pretty successful excavation company working on one of my projects refer to his crew as Ants -- ANTS? I never looked at him in the same light again."

La Pointe noted also that the film showed there is power in numbers. Involving the unions very early and often may be the key, he noted.

"There is power in numbers and it would be wise for us to call on the phone on all others who have had to stand up to this power house to come join in this effort as well as any other localities that have cases pending or are on Rio Tinto's radar screen," La Pointe said. "Our money might be well spent paying to get these folks here and taking care of them while here fighting this battle. As Rio Tinto begins to find this kind of opposition wherever they treat they will back down."

La Pointe added, "To find a business with this much security in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is simple overkill. How ridiculous!"

Fran Whitman of FOLK also commented on film Locked Out.

"It was a powerful and well done film that showed the true colors of Kennecott and how they really regard workers," Whitman said. "Also (it showed) to what lengths and actions the company will go to maintain an extremely positive bottom line. These actions include equipping and subsidizing government's armies and participating in the killing of innocent citizens."

Linda Belote of Houghton observed the movie Locked Out did not say anything --positive or negative -- about environmental impacts of open pit mining on the borax workers.

"The miners did not seem to think it was polluting the air, the water or their lungs," Belote note. "We wondered if this was the case. What the movie did show, and showed very well, was the huge amount of resistance and determination it took on the part of the miners and all the huge network of union supporters required to break the lock out. It really didn't get broken until the longshoremen stopped loading their containers onto ships. This is in part encouraging -- the unions stood together and were able to face down Rio Tinto. There IS power in numbers, but at the same time it was very discouraging. The poor inhabitants of Bougainville did not have such breadth of support and their story was very tragic." ****

Editor's Notes:

* Click here to read about FOLK's "Mining Education and Empowerment Project" in their March newsletter.

** See Steve Garske's March 12, 2012, article about this March 6, 2012, public hearing on the Orvana Copperwood mine.

*** Visit the GLIFWC (Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission) Web site for several maps of mining projects in the Great Lakes basin.

**** Rio Tinto has been accused of genocide for its actions resulting in thousands of deaths on this South Pacific island, where the company had a gold and copper mine in the 1980s. Click here to read about a lawsuit accusing Rio Tinto of crimes against humanity.

Monday, April 09, 2012

Carnegie Museum to host Science and Engineering Evening Apr. 10

HOUGHTON -- The Carnegie Museum in Houghton will host an evening of science and engineering activities for students in grades one through eight and their families from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, April 10.

The program, including hands-on activities such as designing parachutes, is sponsored by the Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education, Michigan Tech and the Carnegie Museum.

The program will also feature award-winning projects from the recent 14th annual Western UP Science Fair. The science fair projects will be on display at the museum from April 10 to May 11.*

Admission is free. Parking is available at the rear of the building, located on the corner of Montezuma and Huron Streets, or across Montezuma in the city parking lot.

* Click here for results and photos from this year's science fair.

Portage Library to host "Listening with the Brain in Mind" Apr. 12

HOUGHTON -- The Portage Lake District Library will host its monthly program in the Natural Health and Wellness series from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 12. Karyn Ruohonen-Rudak will present "Listening with the Brain in Mind."

Participants will learn about listening (sound) therapy and the role it plays in integrating our brain. Ruohonen-Rudak will explain how people who have difficulties with attention and concentration, auditory and sensory processing, and with learning can benefit from listening therapy. She will also discuss how she uses music and movement to work with individuals to integrate their brain and exercise different functions of the auditory system.

Ruohonen-Rudak will also include a discussion about essential oils and the role they can play in health and wellness.

Ruohonen-Rudak has a Masters degree in Education, has been researching and studying listening therapy for five years, and is certified in two listening systems.

The Natural Health and Wellness series is held on the second Thursday of each month. All library programs are free, and everyone is welcome. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

Genealogical Society to meet Apr. 10 at Portage Library

HOUGHTON -- The Houghton-Keweenaw County Genealogical Society will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 10, at the Portage Lake District Library, in Houghton. Members and guests are invited to come and share their experiences (good and bad) with posting their genealogy information on the web.

The meeting is open to the public. Anyone who is interested in learning more about genealogy or becoming a member is encouraged to attend. For further information, call 482-4021 or email HKCGSociety@gmail.com.

Friends of Calumet Public Library to meet Apr. 10

CALUMET -- Friends of the Calumet Public Library will hold their monthly meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10, in the library. The meeting is open to the public.

Get involved! This is an open meeting, and new members and new ideas are welcome. There are many ways to lend a hand at the library: programming ideas, volunteer opportunities, the Red Jacket Readers book club, and more! Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the library -- mark your calendar!

This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Calumet Public Library. For more information, visit the library or call 337-0311 ext 1107.

(In case of bad weather, when school is cancelled, all library programs are cancelled.)

Sunday, April 08, 2012

MSNBC: Civil disobedience as final resort

Videos from Peaceful Uprising
Posted April 7, 2012 on peacefuluprising.org

Chris Hayes of MSNBC covers environmental civil disobedience through the story of activist Tim DeChristopher, who is currently serving a two-year sentence in federal prison for protesting at a federal energy lease auction and buying up leases he never planned to pay for. Click here to watch both video clips on Peaceful Uprising.