After a controversy lasting nearly ten years and involving multiple court cases, an appeal to the United Nations, and a protest, mining at Eagle Mine in Michigan’s upper peninsula began in September of 2014. Throughout the mine’s development, numerous environmental, legal, and cultural concerns were raised by interested parties, culminating with a case in the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Eagle Mine, an underground nickel and copper mine that uses sulfide mining methods, is on the ceded lands of the federally recognized Native American tribe, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC). The whole area has cultural significance for the KBIC and other Anishinaabe people, and a specific rock outcropping right next to the mine entrance, known as Migi zii wan sin, or ‘Eagle Rock,’ is especially sacred.
Many federal and state laws, including the National Historical Preservation Act (NHPA), the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA), and the trust obligation between the federal government and federally recognized tribal governments exist to protect cultural properties, both in the form of physical locations and traditional knowledge. In this case, they did very little for the interests of the KBIC. As you can see from the images of the mine, the surface and structure of Eagle Rock were preserved. The impact of the mining on the experience of Native people seeking to use Eagle Rock in the ways in which their tradition dictates, however, is undeniable.
