Greetings to our neighbors near and far in this great State of Michigan. We live on reservations, in towns, cities, and rural communities and we are surrounded by the greatest lakes in the world. I live down the road from where I was born at my parent's home on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Reservation. I tell people that I do not need to visit exotic places because I have all of the beauty in the world in my backyard and I am fortunate to be able to drive past our beautiful Lake Superior every day. We all recognize the essential role that the Great Lakes and Michigan's inland lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater have played in the past, present, and future destiny of both the State of Michigan and Tribal Nations within the State.

On July 17, 2004, our Tribal Council passed Resolution KB-1301-2004. In that resolution the Council found that the proposed mining for nickel, copper and other minerals in the headwaters of the Yellow Dog River and Salmon Trout River in the Upper Peninsula deeply offends the traditional and cultural values of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community; that although the Tribe recognizes the temporary gains that may be produced by the proposed activities, those gains are far outweighed by the potential for permanent and severe damage to the environment in and around the Tribe's territory along with the human health risks associated from sulfuric acid contamination for generation and generations to come.

The Ojibwa (Nature's) people have long lived and made their homes in the upper Great Lakes region. As settlers came to the Lake Superior region in search of timber and minerals, the U.S. government bought land from the Ojibwa through treaties. These treaties are defined as the "supreme law of the land" in the U.S. constitution. In our 1842 Treaty, our leaders retained the right to hunt, fish, and gather on these lands that were sold to ensure future Ojibwa generations' survival. If metallic sulfide mining is allowed to proceed, not only our territorial sovereignty but also our survival as a people will be jeopardized.

According to our teachings: To honor all of creation is to have respect. Water is a gift of life and is sacred. The current global state of water already is in great danger. Water has been able to sustain itself through Earth's natural processes of purification but our world of technology and gain for profits is not paying attention to the endangered state of our water today. Cleanup is not natural so please allow our water to continue to purify itself, as it knows how to do best and has been doing since creation. I pray to our God of all creation to give us vision and determination to be responsible for all that we are given.