Ukraine's little pocket of support in the Keweenaw

By Jennifer Donovan*

Led by Yoopers for Ukraine co-founder Nadija Packauskas, participants in the most recent Walk for Ukraine in Houghton, Mich., on May 14, display flags and signs near the Portage Lift Bridge. (Photo courtesy Yoopers for Ukraine)

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Local resident and activist Nadija Packauskas hasn’t stopped since.

The day they heard that Russia had invaded Ukraine, Vytautas Packauskas and his daughter, Nadija, were devastated. The elder Packauskas, 91 at the time, is Lithuanian, a close Eastern European neighbor of Ukraine. He had survived World War II, escaping the Russians on foot. He was then rounded up by the Gestapo, put in concentration and slave labor camps, and finally liberated by the United States. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1950.

"Like every other person who survived World War II, when he saw all the tanks lined up and realized that 80 years later we could even be witnessing such a thing, he was horrified. He was crying," Nadija recalls. "'Let’s do something,' he said."

A protest march was planned in Chicago for the following Sunday. "Let’s put pain to power," she told her father. So they went to the march.

While in Washington, DC, for a Ukraine Summit in April 2024, Vytautas and Nadija meet with Denis E., who lost his leg in Luhansk as a Ukraine defender. (File photo courtesy Nadija Packauskas)

"We’re doing this because Lithuania has been and is next on the chopping block," Nadija explains. "And Ukrainians and Lithuanians, at one time, we were one country from the Baltic to the Black Sea, so we were brothers and sisters -- and we've always been supportive of each other's democracy."

At that march, Nadija met a Fulbright scholar from Russia, who invited her to meet two other Fulbright scholars from Ukraine, Adelina and Nazaar, who were demonstrating at Michigan Tech. Nadija developed a plan of action with them, and together they co-founded Yoopers for Ukraine.**

Since 2022, the group has marched on the Portage Lift Bridge  every week, on Wednesdays or Sundays, drawing supportive crowds, as well as a few catcalls and threats from those who object to their activism. 

Art and Ukraine

But that’s not all they’ve done. During a Keweenaw Faiths United Art for Peace project in 2023, Nadija led a program where children learned what it feels like to live in a country that’s at war. She gave them paper, crayons and markers to draw what peace meant to them. The Copper Country Commmunity Arts Center in Hancock exhibited the children’s artwork, along with the art from several other projects Keweenaw Faiths United had sponsored that summer.

Artist Miriam Pickens (at head of table), a member of Keweenaw Faiths United, helps local children create Art for Peace at the Chutes and Ladders park in Houghton on Sept. 1, 2023. Children ages 3-18 participated in the project. (File photo © and courtesy Nadija Packauskas)

Yoopers for Ukraine sponsored a Pysanky workshop, where the public could craft Ukrainian Easter eggs. They also put on a borscht workshop. Nadija has also presented programs on different situations happening in Ukraine.

At Copper Harbor's 2023 Art in the Park, Nadija is pictured with a display of Pysanky (Ukrainian Easter Eggs), sent from Ukraine. Sales of these help support an orphanage in Ukraine. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

At their Ukrainian Cultural Center at 314 Shelden Avenue in Houghton, Yoopers for Ukraine hold public unveilings of Ukrainian artwork and talk about the artists. 

On October 1, 2024, Nadija honored Ukraine Defenders with an event in the Cultural Center that included lighting a candle and reading names of Ukrainian Defenders. 

Nadija Packauskas welcomes visitors in the art-filled Ukrainian Culture Center in Houghton on Oct. 1, 2024, Ukrainian Defenders Day.  (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

During the Oct. 1 event, Nadija opened new art sent by Ukrainian artists to the Center and displayed it to visitors. She also thanked the artists personally through livestream, thanks to Miriam Pickens, an active member of Yoopers for Ukraine, who was able to contact the artists via her cell phone.

During the event for Ukraine Defenders Day, Oct. 1, 2024, Nadija displays art by Ukrainian artist Irena Boichek and thanks her personally via livestream in the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Houghton, Mich. Miriam Pickens of Yoopers for Ukraine makes the livestream connection with her phone. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Dawn Nulf of Chassell was also present at the Oct. 1 event and prepared special bread for the occasion.

During the Oct. 1, 2024, Ukraine Defenders Day event in the Ukrainian Culture Center in Houghton, Nadija Packauskas expresses appreciation for the special bread with a sunflower decoration baked for the occasion by Dawn Nulf of Chassell, seated in the background. Nadija's Dad, Vytautas, is at right. Miriam Pickens, not pictured, records the event on livestream with her phone. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Nadia has plans for more Ukrainian cultural activities at the Center in Houghton, including a plan to bring a Ukrainian cellist and pianist to play there.

"Our goal is to have weekly movie premieres from Ukraine and art programs there to study Ukrainian culture," she says.

Yoopers for Ukraine recently sponsored a concert of Ukrainian folk music at the Orpheum Theater in Hancock.

This poster announces the April 10, 2025, Ukrainian folk music concert held at the Orpheum Theater. (Poster courtesy Yoopers for Ukraine)

Yoopers for Ukraine in Washington, DC

But their efforts don’t stop at the borders of Houghton and Hancock. Nadija is team leader for Michigan of the American Coalition for Ukraine, a coalition of American and Ukrainian supporters across the United States. They hold fall and spring summits in Washington, DC, where they speak to their legislators and promote legislation supportive of Ukraine.
Nadija and a team from Michigan has gone to six summits so far.

In February, Nadija, her Dad and her team attended three events the same week in D.C.: Ukraine Week, National Prayer Week and its much-publicized National Prayer Breakfast and the Religious Freedom Forum. They were invited by the European Union because of all the work they’ve done on behalf of peace in Ukraine. They participated in a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Ukraine Week included a meeting of various church and business leaders concerned about the situation in Ukraine. 

Here Nadija introduces two young Ukrainian girls from Zaporizhzhia, who were exhibiting art at that meeting.

During Ukraine Week in February, 2025, in Washington, DC, Nadija Packauskas introduces two Ukrainian sisters, Karolina and Sabrina, of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, who explain art made from shrapnel by school children on display at the Ukraine Week event. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Besides attending many meetings during Ukraine Week, Nadija met with other members of organizations for Ukraine, including Catherine Peterson, a resident of the Washington, DC, area, who is Outreach and Engagement Co-ordinator of the American Coalition for Ukraine.

During Ukraine Week in Washington, DC, Catherine Peterson of the American Coalition for Ukraine speaks about talking to US legislators about support for Ukraine. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Nadija also spoke with Keweenaw Now about the prayer breakfasts during the event and a protest that occurred after one of them.

During Ukraine Week in February 2025, in Washington, DC, Nadija Packauskas of Yoopers for Ukraine speaks about the opportunities to meet with church and business groups for Ukraine as well as Ukrainians and their European supporters. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Most recently, Nadija and her Dad attended the Spring Summit for Ukraine this past April in DC. As she mentions in the above video, the purpose of the summits is to communicate with legislators on supporting Ukraine.

"We bring every congressman and senator the same message -- the four pillars of peace -- and we're looking for peace with security guarantees," says Nadija. "We're looking for children to be returned to us, the stolen children. The known number is 19,500 but we know there's many, many more that have been stolen from Ukraine and kidnapped into Russia."

They’re seeking co-sponsorship of legislation that supports Ukraine. Two bills have been introduced -- one seeking return of the children and the other asking for stricter sanctions on Russia if they break the ceasefire. Neither has been acted on yet.

During this April 2025 Ukraine Action Summit, organized by the American Coalition for Ukraine, Nadija and Vytautas visited Michigan's First District Congressman Jack Bergman in his office. With them was Pavlo Nazarenko, a wounded Ukrainian soldier who is a member of Revived Soldiers Ukraine, a 501(c)(3) U.S. charity that has been providing medical and humanitarian help to Ukraine for many years. They deliver medical equipment and supplies, arrange humanitarian aid, and provide medical treatment to injured Ukrainians.

Nadija, her Dad and other members of the American Coalition for Ukraine Michigan delegation, along with Ukrainian soldier Pavlo Nazarenko, meet with Michigan First District US Congressman Jack Bergman (center, holding Ukrainian flag signed by Ukrainian children) in his office in Washington, DC, during the April 2025 Ukraine Action Summit. (Photo courtesy Yoopers for Ukraine)

The Revived Soldiers Ukraine team was part of the delegations from Florida and Pennsylvania at the Ukraine Action Summit 2025.

Nadija said Pavlo Nazarenko shared with Congressman Bergman his journey of recovery after losing a limb and vision. 

Revived Soldiers Ukraine stated the following about their delegation to the Summit:

"The purpose of our meetings was to convey a crucial message to American lawmakers: the war in Ukraine is not just about geopolitics but about the human lives irrevocably changed or lost due to Russian aggression. We shared the stories of our wounded soldiers, who may have lost limbs but have not lost hope for victory. The testimonies of Ukraine’s defenders are not pleas for pity but calls to action! We cannot allow the aggressor to retain its gains, and we will not accept 'peace' without justice."

During the recent Summit, Nadija and Vytautas also met with other legislators.

Nadija and her Dad are pictured here with Congresswoman Rachida Tlaib. Born and raised in Detroit, Rachida represents Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, which includes the cities of Detroit, Dearborn, Southfield and many surrounding communities. In 2008 Rachida became the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan legislature. (Photo courtesy Yoopers for Ukraine)

Participants in the April 2025 Ukraine Action Summit pause for a photo near the US Capitol building. (Photo courtesy Yoopers for Ukraine)

The U.S. is already holding Russian assets totaling $5 billion to pay for the damages Russia has caused Ukraine, but they weren’t earmarked properly, so they aren’t being distributed. And until the U.S. distributes the Russian funds it’s holding, Europe won’t release theirs.

"There's no accountability for it," Nadija says. "It's $5 billion, and it took us three years to be able to push this act through, get it approved, and now it's a terrible thing to waste."

According to Nadija, Yoopers for Ukraine tries to keep their work nonpolitical.

"This is a bipartisan issue. It has been from the very beginning. At the very beginning of the invasion, we had bipartisan support. Republicans were right on board and Democrats were right on board, because Ukraine has been our ally for years."

 Weekly actions for Ukraine

Nadija holds a sunrise service for Ukraine early on Sunday mornings, usually on the Centennial Park boat dock in Chassell -- or wherever she happens to be at that time. Supporters are welcome to join her.

Nadija holds her sunrise service for Ukraine in Centennial Park, Chassell, on Sunday, April 27. (Photo courtesy Yoopers for Ukraine)

The weekly marches in Houghton and Hancock have moved to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays for the summer, although they’re also thinking about conducting one a month on Sunday. Nadija invites everyone concerned about peace in Ukraine to attend.

On May 14, 2025, participants in the Wednesday Walk for Ukraine walk across the Portage Lift Bridge in Houghton, Michigan. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Nadija's husband, Ted, who often leads the march across the bridge, had this comment on the latest news from Ukraine: "Ukraine and Russia have been using the most modern techniques and weapons in new and innovative ways; and Russia, North Korea, China and Iran have had a front seat and participation while the United States has just been a spectator."

John Loosemore of Hancock, right, a veteran, and his children -- Jethro (with sign), Jacob (with flag) and Kaitlyn -- have participated in the Ukraine walks almost every week since they began. Here they are beginning the Walk for Ukraine on May 14, 2025. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

During the May 14, 2025, Walk for Ukraine in Houghton, Mich., Nadija speaks about the need for a just peace in Ukraine. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Since May 14 was the day before Vyshyvanka Day in Ukraine, Nadija wore an embroidered Vyshyvanka shirt for the occasion, which is a national day of strong resistance to the Russian occupation. It is also a day to promote Ukrainian culture and unity. 

"We as Yoopers for Ukraine, we'll do everything we can to support Ukraine in securing all of its occupied territories," Nadija added, "because occupied territories mean rape, genocide and murder for the Ukrainian people. Every city of Ukraine deserves liberty."

Everything Yoopers for Ukraine has done has come from the Packauskas’ personal savings.

"And every dollar that we get as a donation we send directly to Ukraine," she says. "We have people write checks to the individual organizations there or send the money directly, so that it doesn't even pass through our hands."***

Editor's Notes: 

* Guest author Jennifer Donovan is a freelance writer based in Houghton. She has decades of experience as a journalist, magazine writer and university communications specialist, most recently as director of news and information at Michigan Tech University.

** To learn more about Yoopers for Ukraine, visit their Facebook page.

*** If  you wish to donate to humanitarian aid for Ukraine, see Ukraine Trust Chain or Razom for Ukraine.

UPDATED: Local residents support labor rights with May Day march for International Workers' Day

By Michele Bourdieu

Participants in the May 1, 2025, march for International Workers' Day, sponsored by Keweenaw Socialists, walk from Bridgeview Park to the Portage Lift Bridge (pictured in background), displaying their signs and flags. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

HOUGHTON -- Inspired by May Day speeches on the history and merits of organized labor as well as warnings about the present Administration's autocratic threats to unions and workers, a dedicated group of protesters marched peacefully on the Portage Lift Bridge presenting their signs and flags to oncoming traffic last Thursday evening, May 1.

Keweenaw Socialists sponsored the march, supported by the presence of members of Keweenaw Indivisible and members of other Copper Country groups that defend democracy.

Griffin, of Keweenaw Socialists, welcomed participants in Bridgeview Park with a speech that began with the history of International Workers' Day, May 1, including references to workers' struggles in the Copper Country during the mining days of the early 20th century, when Big Annie Clemenc led marches here.

Griffin, of Keweenaw Socialists -- sponsors of the May 1, 2025, march for International Workers' Day in Houghton --kicks off the event at Bridgeview Park with a speech, beginning with the history of May Day and the labor movement. (Videos by Keweenaw Now)

Griffin continued his speech with comments on the Trump Administration's attitude toward the rest of the world and his tariffs.

Griffin tells participants why Trump's attitude that workers in the rest of the world are our enemies -- to justify his tariffs and anti-immigrant policies -- is wrong.

Finally, Griffin reminds his audience of the Trump Administration's illegal and inhumane abduction and deportation of migrants as well as his revocation of student visas.

Griffin gives examples of Trump's arrests, abductions and deportations that warn of a pattern that could mean danger to American citizens as well.

Next, participants at the May Day march heard from Rich Canevez -- Keweenaw Indivisible organizer, Michigan Tech  assistant professor of Communication, Culture, and Media in the Humanities Department, and son of Filipino immigrants.

Rich Canevez of the Keweenaw Indivisible leadership team, speaks to participants in the May 1, 2025, march for International Workers' Day.

Heather Mroz, also a member of the Keweenaw Indivisible leadership team, said the speech by Rich was one part of Keweenaw Indivisible's support for the event and solidarity with sponsor Keweenaw Socialists.

"While the Keweenaw Socialists hosted the event, Keweenaw Indivisible supported it in solidarity by helping with logistics, sharing resources, and showing up to uplift the message of worker power -- collective action that resists exploitation," Mroz told Keweenaw Now.

Following the speeches, Griffin led participants in singing the union song, "Solidarity Forever.""

Following the speeches in Bridgeview Park, participants sing the chorus to "Solidarity Forever," led by Griffin of the Keweenaw Socialists, sponsors of the march.

Next, the marchers headed up to Shelden Avenue and the Portage Lift Bridge.

Following speeches in Bridgeview Park, participants in the May 1, 2025, march for International Workers' Day display signs and flags as they march to the Portage Lift Bridge in Houghton.

Marchers stood on the bridge displaying their signs to oncoming traffic. One of these was Cynthia Drake of Ripley.

Cynthia Drake of Ripley displays a sign she also carried in the 2017 Women's March in Washington, D.C. Her daughters helped her create the sign, which Cynthia said she believes still applies. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

"My feeling is we need to keep coming together and not dividing further," Drake told Keweenaw Now. "I feel the more divided we are we are going to keep falling and we'll never be a country again. The only way is if we come together." 

As her sign says, "Together we rise, divided we fall."

Drake said she is more concerned with looking ahead and visioning what we want rather than protesting. Her vision is one of community or a collective.

"I would like to see us see each other in our full humanity and respect each person in their full humanity and continue to draw on our strength of diversity so that we can create a country where all gifts and all talents can be utilized toward the greater good for all of us," Drake noted. "We're never doing anything alone. We're always doing things on the backs of our ancestors or on the skill sets of those in our neighborhood or the hands that raise the food for us."

Marchers held tightly to their signs and flags in a cold wind on the bridge.

Participants in the May 1, 2025, march for International Workers' Day return to Houghton on the Lift Bridge.

Cathy Campbell Olszewski, a member of Keweenaw Indivisible and AWAVE (Advocates for those Without A Voice Everywhere), proudly displays her sign for rights along with others gathered on the corner of Shelden Avenue following their march across the Portage Lift Bridge. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Local resident Cathy Campbell Olszewski, who is active in several Copper Country groups defending democracy, agreed to speak with Keweenaw Now about her reason for marching.

Following the march across the Portage Lift Bridge, Cathy Campbell Olszewski tells Keweenaw Now why she participated in this march for International Workers' Day.

After crossing the bridge, Barb Turuc, secretary of the Houghton County Democratic Party, displays a sign to oncoming traffic in Houghton. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Barb Turuc, Houghton County Democratic Party secretary, also told Keweenaw Now why she participated in this march for labor.

"It is important to support labor especially when it is under such fierce attack," Turuc said. "We will not quietly watch our rights, fair pay, safe work places, and a living wage taken away." 

Valorie Troesch of Torch Lake Township displays a sign that implies a great deal about the actions of the Trump (and Musk) Administration during the past three months. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

"Labor rights -- unions, anti-discrimination and civil rights -- have been eroding in this country over the past 40 plus years," said Valorie Troesch of Torch Lake Township. "The most destructive attacks have come from Ronald Reagan and now Donald Trump, Project 2025, and DOGE. So it's necessary for people to publicly express support for the working class and labor. That's why I am here today."

Ruth Gill of Hancock did not wish to comment but displayed a sign that supported bringing back legal US resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was abducted unjustly and sent to El Salvador.

Ruth Gill conveys a message of support with this sign for freeing Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was illegally deported according to a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. (Photo by Keweenaw Now) 

Another local resident, who participated in the march but wished to remain anonymous, said, "It was an uplifting rally and march, connecting with others and building friendships. When songs of solidarity were sung, I had a difficult time holding back emotion because the songs had powerful messages in the lyrics. I’m glad I attended."

 

UPDATES:

 

Keweenaw Socialists will hold their next general meeting from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 12, at Portage Lake District Library, 58 Huron Street, Houghton, MI 49931. For more info visit their Web site. 

Keweenaw Indivisible will hold their next meeting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, at the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist (KUUF) building, 604 Bridge Street, Houghton, MI 49931. The meeting is for members. If you wish to become a member you can do so at the door. For more info visit Keweenaw Indivisible on Facebook.

Sarah Green to Michigan Tech Board of Trustees: Oppose illegal attacks on universities

[Editor's Note: As part of her efforts to connect at as many local meetings as she can, Sarah Green -- Michigan Technological University professor emerita, former chair of chemistry and founder of CRAG (Citizens Rally for Accountable Government) -- has spoken  twice, in February and in April of this year, during the public comment period at the Board of Trustees meeting for Michigan Technological University. Here is her April 25, 2025, speech to that Board of Trustees.]

By Sarah Green
April 25, 2025, Statement to the Michigan Technological University Board of Trustees
Published here with permission.

I am Sarah Green, professor emerita and former chair of chemistry. Although I am still involved in several research grants here, today I speak as a concerned and outraged citizen.

Graduation is always an exciting time as newly minted alumni are launched into the world. However, this year they are heading into a profoundly uncertain future.

Graduates who aspired to careers of public service have been discarded as expendable, being fired from agencies that protect our health, improve our environment, design our infrastructure, manage our financial system, and conduct fundamental research.

Future graduates are having opportunities yanked from under them as visas are revoked with no explanation or research grants are canceled.

But this threat is far greater than the loss of a few jobs or grants.

Our democratic institutions are under attack. Historians, political scientists, economists, journalists, and leaders from across the political spectrum are raising the alarm that we are seeing a rapid authoritarian take-over of our system of government.

This is an emergency. I feel like I’m watching coyote suspended in the air after running off the cliff.

We are seeing ruthless and unprincipled attacks on research institutions, the press, and universities, in short any place that encourages critical thinking.

The easy response to this chaos for board members like yourselves is to make a few concessions, then a few more. But that’s a dangerous slope; with each capitulation the bullies return to demand more.

The only way to stop bullies and mobsters is to band together and fight back.

As of this morning, 443 university presidents have signed a letter "speak[ing] with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education."*

President Koubek’s name was not on this letter.**

I urge the university to be fully transparent about government pressures, including the number of revoked visas, impacted grants and other impacts. 

I urge you to join and support efforts to oppose the illegal attacks on universities.

I’ll finish with a few words from journalist Adrienne LaFrance who interviewed numerous people who have lived under dictators and autocrats:

"Today, right now -- and I mean right this second -- you have the most power you’ll ever have in the current fight against authoritarianism in America. Authoritarian leaders topple democracy faster than you can imagine. If you wait to speak out against them, you have already lost." (Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic, 2025)

Inset photo: Sarah Green. (Photo courtesy Michigan Tech University and Sarah Green) 

Notes:

* The statement in the letter was developed in collaboration with university and college presidents and other educational leaders across the country, after national meetings convened by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

** For the record, Michigan Technological University President Koubek’s name still does not appear on the AACU letter, which today shows 565 sigatures.

Editor's addendum: If you wish to join Sarah Green's CRAG (Citizens Rally for Accountable Government) email group, go to https://app.keila.io/forms/nfrm_qkVPbe38

NO KINGS march in Houghton: Local citizens defend democratic values on April 19 Day of Action

By Michele Bourdieu

On Shelden Avenue and the Portage Lift Bridge in Houghton, Mich., participants in the April 19 NO KINGS march display signs and flags of protest against Trump administration policies and executive orders. (Photo © and courtesy Joanne Thomas)

HOUGHTON -- More than 200 protesters marched up Shelden Avenue and onto the Portage Lift Bridge on Saturday, April 19, 2025, in solidarity with this National Day of Action in hundreds of cities in all 50 states and internationally. The nonviolent protests were initiated by the group 50501 (50 protests, 50 states, one day), opposing the Trump administration's policies and recent executive orders. The Houghton County Democratic Party (HCDP) and the grassroots group AWAVE (Advocates for those Without A Voice Everywhere) co-organized the local protest in Houghton.

On the Houghton side of the bridge, William Keith, HCDP chair, welcomed participants gathered for the march.

William Keith, chair of the Houghton County Democratic Party (HCDP), welcomes participants in what some called the "No Kings" protest march on Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Houghton, Mich., near the Portage Lift Bridge. HCDP was a co-organizer of the march. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

 

About 200 people then marched up Shelden Avenue to line the bridge with their signs and flags. Some carried historic flags to commemorate April 19 as the 250th anniversary of the battles at Lexington and Concord -- the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.

Participants in the April 19, 2025, No Kings protest in Houghton head up Shelden Avenue to the Portage Lift Bridge and display their signs and flags to oncoming traffic. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

 

The variety of messages on homemade signs was evidence of a number of issues on the minds of concerned citizens.

Participants in the April 19, 2025, No Kings protest in Houghton display their signs as they walk up to the Portage Lift Bridge. About 200 people lined the bridge in a non-violent protest against the Trump Administration's undemocratic and illegal policies. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

 

Keweenaw Now interviewed some of the participants about their reasons for joining the protest. Here are the responses of four of them: Miriam Pickens of Hancock, Joan Chadde of Traprock Valley, Brianna Sleeman of Houghton and Dan Mares of L'Anse.

During the April 19, 2025, No Kings protest on the Portage Lift Bridge in Houghton, four participants give Keweenaw Now their reasons for joining the march. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

 

Protesters on the bridge are undaunted by the chilly rain on April 19. (Photo © and courtesy Joanne Thomas)

 

Local performing artist and teacher Donna Armistead braved the damp, cold weather in a historic, 18th-century costume with only a wool shawl for warmth.

 

Donna Armistead, known in the community as a dance teacher and performer, wears an 18th-century costume and carries a Betsy Ross flag from that period of U.S. history. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

 

Armistead spoke with Keweenaw Now about the issues that concern her today.

Local performing artist and teacher Donna Armistead speaks about her "laundry list" of reasons for joining the march -- from the environment to women's rights, voting rights, firing of federal employees and more. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

 

Heather Mroz of Keweenaw Indivisible, the group that organized the April 5 "Hands Off" march in Houghton, commented on the connection between the April 19 march and the time of the American Revolution.*

 

"I  think folks were driven to march here today by the same sense of injustice that drove the Revolutionary War," Mroz told Keweenaw Now. "Then and now, folks are fighting to defend the idea that power is accountable to the people."

 

Heather Mroz of Keweenaw Indivisible chats with other participants in the April 19 No Kings march near the Lift Bridge. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

 

While some signs seen on the bridge bore a strong message of opposition to the Trump administration and its supporters ...

 

 Another sign might be seen as humorous, but meaningful:

 

This quite original sign attracted attention on the bridge. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Laurium resident Pam told Keweenaw Now how she found the idea for her sign.

 

During the April 19, 2025, No Kings march on the Portage Lift Bridge in Houghton, Pam displays the sign she made and tells why she joined the march. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

 

Pat Bacon of Hancock carried two large signs on the bridge.

 

Hancock resident Pat Bacon displays two large colorful signs on the bridge. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

 

Pat Bacon of Hancock expresses her concern for democracy and the need for Congress to take a stand. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Elizabeth Flynn of Hancock Township carried a poster donated by a local artist. It is a portrait of a Maryland resident unjustly deported to El Salvador -- Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Elizabeth Flynn displays a "Free Kilmar" poster during the April 19 protest on the Portage Lift Bridge. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

"Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being held wrongfully in a hellish prison camp in El Salvador despite a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that he must be returned to his American wife and children," Flynn said. "The administration has no right to leave him there, and in doing so, they are creating a Constitutional crisis."

Another sign seen during the march expresses concern for immigrants, who are being treated unjustly and deported illegally by the current administration. (Photo by Keweenaw Now) 

DeeDee Bloom of Trimountain, co-founder of AWAVE (Advocates for those Without A Voice Everywhere), one of the organizers of the April 19 march in Houghton, spoke with Keweenaw Now about the origin of this group.

During the April 19 No Kings protest in Houghton, Dee Dee Bloom explains how the group AWAVE, a co-organizer of the protest, was formed to express the views of people who don't have a voice. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

AWAVE and other groups have recently held meetings at the Fifth and Elm café in Hancock. During the April 19 march, Emily Fiala, co-owner with her husband, Frank Fiala, of Fifth and Elm, told Keweenaw Now her family is glad to open the facility to groups needing a place to meet.

Emily Fiala of Hancock chats with Keweenaw Now on the bridge during the April 19 No Kings march. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Sarah Green -- who founded the email group CRAG (Citizens Rally for Accountable Government) to encourage local citizens to speak out at local government meetings (county, city, township, etc.) -- used a bucket of candy to count the number of participants in the April 19 march and came up with 202 people.

"I tried out my new 'take a candy' counting method, starting with 331 pieces, letting everyone take one, and ending with 129 pieces," Green explained. "I measured by weight, which is more accurate than the number of pieces listed on the bag (and easier). This method for crowd estimation could work anywhere that people pass through a squeeze point."

Waving her Blue Marble earth flag, Sarah Green carries a bucket of candy to count participants at the April 19 No Kings march near the Lift Bridge in Houghton. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)**

The No Kings march in Houghton was one of more than 700 protest events in cities and towns across the U.S. on April 19, 2025.

Editor's Notes:

* If you missed our article on the April 5 "Hands Off" march, organized by Keweenaw Indivisible in Houghton, CLICK HERE.

** According to Wikipedia, "During 1969, peace activist John McConnell proposed his design titled the Earth Flag. The current version of the flag consists of The Blue Marble, a photograph of Earth taken on 7 December 1972 by the crew of the Apollo 17 on its way to the Moon."

Guest article: COP 29 in Azerbaijan and international policy on climate change

By Lexi Tater*

Lexi Tater waves from under the COP 29 entryway in November of 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo © and courtesy Dr. Mark Rouleau.)

Hello! My name is Lexi Tater. This past November, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. COP stands for the Conference of Parties, which is held through the UNFCCC which is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. COPs change their location annually, and they are held in November each year. The goals of COPs are to bring appointed negotiators from nearly every country around the world to work together in creating policies and negotiations to mitigate anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change -- but also to bring scholars / professionals together to share information regarding climate change.

A good example of a productive COP would be COP 21 held in Paris, France, in 2015. COP 21 resulted in the Paris Agreement, which introduced many proposals for both major greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting and developing countries.** One of these proposals was in Article 8 of the Paris Agreement, which highlighted the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF). The LDF aims to urge major emitting GHG countries to repay developing countries for damages caused to their environment, affecting their health, wellbeing, stability, environments, air and water pollution, etc. There were many protestors at COP 29 arguing for this cause as major emitting countries have not paid their debts that they agreed upon in 2015.

COP attendees show their frustrations with the slow LDF process in protests at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo © and courtesy Lexi Tater.)

I was able to attend many sessions that focused on climate justice and the LDF. Some of these sessions were panels hosted by organizations, some were panels hosted by country representatives, and some were hosted by international companies. Dr. Mark Rouleau, interim chair for Michigan Technological University’s Social Sciences department, was able to accompany me and show me around COP 29. He also taught my Climate and Energy Policy course which allowed me to go to COP 29.

COP 29 was Dr. Rouleau’s third COP experience since he was able to go to COP 27 in Sharm el Sheik as well as COP 28 in Dubai. He commented on the differences. 

"The biggest difference in this short span of time was the size [of the COPs]," Dr. Rouleau said. "Sharm el Sheik was a medium-sized COP -- a little bit overwhelming, but manageable. Dubai was massive and probably had too much going on. Baku was very small, very manageable, and much more approachable."

Since this was my first COP, I was surprised that Dr. Rouleau thought that this was more manageable. I thought there was so much going on at all times!

The Ocean Pavillion hosts a panel at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November of 2024. (Photo © and courtesy Lexi Tater.)

The biggest, and arguably the most important, part of COPs are the negotiations held between countries. I like to explain these large-scale negotiations as "group essays" being worked on by representatives from nearly every country around the world. These negotiations focus on amending and creating agreements for countries to commit to mitigating the use of greenhouse gases or other environmentally unsafe and unsustainable practices.

Appointed negotiators from around the world are pictured above at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo © and courtesy Lexi Tater.)

Azerbaijan borders Russia and the Caspian Sea. The city at large was vibrant and fun. I learned so much about their culture and heritage. I had the wonderful opportunity to tour the old city of Baku, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

This photo was taken in the Old City of Baku, Azerbaijan, overlooking the flame towers. (Photo © and courtesy Lexi Tater.)

Jess Czarnecki, a Ph.D. candidate in the Forest Science program at Michigan Technological University whom I was able to meet in Baku, said she attended COP 29 thanks to the Climate Leaders Academy (CLA), a National Science Foundation program funded in partnership with Vanderbilt University, Michigan Technological University and Boston University. 12 graduate students from across the country who applied to the program were accepted to go to COP 29.

"We also had faculty from Tennessee State University advising students on their climate class projects," Czarnecki said. "We participated in a course on climate policy in the fall of 2024, and then we participated in a research project with Oak Ridge National Lab by comparing carbon credits to data on carbon storage in the southeast United States." 

Climate Leaders Academy fellow Jess Czarnecki gives a presentation at a panel during COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo courtesy Jess Czarnecki.)

"This was my first COP," Czarnecki added. "I was able to present the research with the other CLA students. We learned a lot about policy. To me, the importance of the IPCC’s (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s) journals, which influence policies to be created at COPs, was a key takeaway. I learned that research published in other journals is important, but publishing within the IPCC helps to influence intergovernmental policy change worldwide. One of the things that is crucial within academia is that we need to make research more palatable to a wider audience to make it better understood and accessible."

Overall, this adventure was incredible, and I learned so much. COP is an extremely important event for climate activists and negotiators alike to learn from one another about how to advocate for international policy change. I was able to meet a French negotiator on the plane back home and learned more about the LDF from a French perspective. It was incredible to meet her and others and to connect with them on LinkedIn.

COP is also extremely important as there are opportunities to listen to and better understand what developing countries are currently facing in the face of rapid climate change. I met such incredible people at COP, and I learned more about how I can use my knowledge and voice to advocate for environmental policy change.

* Editor's Note: Guest author Lexi Tater is a graduate student in Sustainable Communities at Michigan Technological University. Lexi will also be pursuing a Ph.D. in Environmental and Energy Policy at Michigan Tech this upcoming fall 2025 semester. We are pleased to publish this article on this Earth Day 2025 to remind our readers of the importance of international cooperation and communication on mitigating climate change.

Six tribes end cooperation with US Army Corps over "Energy Emergency" Line 5 tunnel fast-tracking

This map shows the location of the existing Line 5 dual pipelines -- dotted lines to the west (at left) of the Mackinac Bridge (at right, in red) between St. Ignace and Mackinaw City, Michigan. Enbridge hopes to replace the 71-year-old Line 5 with a pipeline inside a tunnel under the lakebed of the Straits. (Keweenaw Now file image courtesy US Army Corps of Engineers) 

From Native American Rights Fund and Earth Justice*:

[On April 16, 2025, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced it will not perform a full review of the Line 5 tunnel projects under the pretext of a made up "energy emergency." The proposed tunnel would pass through the Straits of Mackinac, a sacred place shared by treaty with the Bay Mills Indian Community. USACE shortened and moved review timelines for environmental impacts, endangered species, treaty rights, and cultural resources. These measures cut out Tribal Nations, the public, and state regulators from providing meaningful input -- and they make the review wildly inconsistent with federal law. In March, Bay Mills and other Tribal Nations cited the many gaps and flaws in USACE’s environmental review process prior to ending their consulting partner status in protest.]

DETROIT --  Six Michigan Tribes withdrew from Line 5 federal discussions after learning that the US Army Corps of Engineers will likely fast-track its approval for Enbridge’s massive oil tunnel project, in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order declaring an "energy emergency." In a letter sent to the US Army Corps on March 21, 2025, the Tribes called the Corps’ actions "unacceptable."

"We participated in the process, we followed the rules, we provided the case law, we submitted the evidence, and we trusted that our voices and our treaty rights would be respected. Yet, once again, the federal government has cast us aside and failed us," said Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle. "Instead of protecting our waters, lands, and sacred sites, the government is forcing this dangerous project forward, ignoring the harm it will bring to the Tribal Nations and the people of Michigan. We will not stand by while our sovereignty is disregarded for the sake of foreign profits. Michigan’s leaders must act now to defend our shared waters before it’s too late."

Whitney Gravelle, president of the Bay Mills Indian Community, is pictured here before the Pipe Out Paddle Up Floatilla Against the Line 5 pipeline in Mackinaw City, Michigan, on Saturday, September 3, 2022. (Photo by Sarah Rice for Earthjustice. Reprinted with permission.) 

The Bay Mills Indian Community, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi, and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi had been engaging with the Corps’ review of the Line 5 tunnel project as "cooperating agencies" under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Under the Biden administration, the Corps was preparing a draft Environmental Impact Statement after receiving over 17,000 public comments on the tunnel project. An internal memo circulated in January by Former Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jaime Pinkham directed the agency to assess the risk of oil spills from approving the tunnel project, and to consider other alternatives in its review. Now, the Corps is likely to apply emergency treatment and issue a permit for the tunnel project, without completing reviews of oil spills and other environmental impacts, alternatives, and effects on cultural resources.

"It appears the U.S. Army Corps plans to short-circuit the environmental and historic properties review by announcing they intend to use the guise of an American 'energy emergency' to fast-track the legally required public comment and Tribal consultation processes, greenlighting a Canadian corporation’s project that will desecrate a sacred place and threaten Great Lakes residents’ drinking water," said Senior Staff Attorney David L. Gover with the Native American Rights Fund, which represents the Tribes.

Experts have warned that the tunnel project design, which has never been tried before anywhere else in the world, could lead to an explosion under the Straits. Along with federal approval, Enbridge still needs a permit from Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to begin construction. A public comment period is expected as part of that permitting process.**

"Resuscitating an old pipeline that carries most of its oil and gas back to Canada won’t do a thing for the US energy supply," said Earthjustice Managing Attorney Debbie Chizewer, who is representing Bay Mills. "But it might lead to the next big oil disaster. Only this time, it will happen in the middle of the largest freshwater drinking supply in North America. We can’t allow that to happen."

Read the letter: https://narf.org/nill/documents/20250321-line5-eis-withdrawal-letter.pdf

Impacts to Bay Mills Indian Community: https://narf.org/cases/enbridges-line-5-pipeline/

* About the Native American Rights Fund (NARF):

NARF is a non-profit 501c(3) organization focused on applying existing laws and treaties to guarantee that federal and state governments live up to their legal obligations to Native Americans. Since 1970, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) has provided specialized legal assistance to Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide to assert and defend the most important Native rights. In hundreds of major cases. NARF has achieved significant results in critical areas such as tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, natural resource protection, voting rights, and Indian education. Like us on Facebook and follow us on LinkedIn to learn about the latest fights to promote justice and protect Native American rights.

* About Earthjustice:

Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change.

** Editor's Note: CLICK HERE to take action through Oil and Water Don't Mix to demand that EGLE deny the Line 5 tunnel permit.