This month at camp has been very interesting. We had 10 people at camp for a week and our friends from Minnesota had to go home and take care of their things. One of them stayed with his dog Yucca, he is a very good watch dog and he listens to Micah very respectfully. Art came to help us for a few weeks and he has to go do a 13 month walk in October. Michelle and Tom also joined us for a couple of weeks and they are really good fisherman, we had fish fry a few times when they were here. They also have beautiful and well-behaved children that spent a couple of days with us to and we couldn’t ask for better people to come out to camp with us.
My 17 yr. old daughter Shauna, my 16 yr. old son Chris, my 6 yr. old son Virgil, my 1 & 1/2 yr. old son Robert have been staying at camp with me. I have only went home 4 days out of the month but get to see them often. Virgil has been staying at camp with us the most. He loves it here, the things he wants to do the most everyday is fish and split wood:) Jerry, Robert’s dad brings my children back and forth from camp as much as he can. He helps us get wood, water, and food every few days. We are going to get married in October.
I received a couple of deer tags from KBIC and we are trying to fill them so we can have some meat at camp. We gathered lots of blueberries for pancakes, blueberry leather, and for snacks. I gathered Cedar for the fire and the fast I went on. We had to get some plantain in case anyone gets stung by a bee or bit by a spider. We got Birch Bark for starting the kitchen fire, making baskets, and for feeding the Sacred Fire. Our friend Rich gathered saplings for the long house and built it last weekend, Miiqwech Rich.
Our friends Amy, Eva, Kristie, Cynthia, E (Eathen), Khalil, Bob, Dan, Katherine, Ellie, Kristina, Dustin, & their children have come out to camp helping us in someway or just visited which we all enjoyed very much, and we are so thankful for their time to come out with their busy schedules.
We brought everything from storage in Big Bay out here to clear up their space, the only thing we don’t have is the recorder and the flip camera which we could use because there are some people shooting off their guns on the road to the Yellow Dog River close by the camp and some 4 – wheeler group dropped off some old food and meat close by the camp to attract the Coyotes and other wildlife, but they don’t bother us at all they are fine with us being there. Some people even knocked down our signs by the road. We are on Private Property and we have means to protect ourselves if we need to. This is a peaceful camp with children and we are not bothering anything out here I hope we can all get along and respect each others space.
Every morning and every evening we hear a pair of Sandhill Cranes. Almost every night we hear the Coyotes yipping in the distances. We heard a Bear breaking up a stump not to far from camp and we seen fresh Moose dung on the way to the river. We have Flying Squirrels, Chipmunks, and Red Tail Squirrels. Lots of Dragonflies and a Yellow female Humming Bird, our Yellow Dog Plains humming-bird 
Something came into camp last Saturday night and Yucca chased it out but took a chunk of hair we found the next morning.
Drew Nelson, the man who wrote and sang Ishkodaa(fire) for Eagle Rock came out to camp this weekend and brought many gifts and we gave him and his wife Nicole an Eagle Rock T-shirt and some other things he needs for his journey. We brought part of the Sacred Fire to Baraga so the Elders and others from KBIC can put their Saamaa(Tobacco) in the fire, we will be bringing the fire back on September 4th to join the original fire at camp.
This Sacred Fire is the last one of the four around Eagle Rock and we need to keep this burning for as long as it takes to keep our Sacred Site, our water, and our wildlife safe from the toxins Kennecott and the State of Michigan will create by mining Metallic Sulfide under the Salmon Trout River.
There is a lot of traffic on Triple A, the MJ Van Damme were bringing in dirt from GGI rd. over by the Yellow Dog River on 510 to create 20 ft. screening berms around the inside of the fence. Kennecott hired a tree service company that are cutting the tree’s along the Triple A road and are slowing down traffic with road crews that are asking people if they are going to their camp or just for a ride. What business is it of theirs to know where people are going? After the heavy rain last weekend the road was washed out in many places and large stones were protruding. Cars were having a hard time with this and with the soft wet sand they have been spreading around on these roads. Kennecott changed their design for their water treatment facility and the DNRE approved it without any review, over site, or public comments. They are breaking their lease and laws left and right and no consequences by the State!
Please feel free to come and join us to help put a stop to Kennecott’s continued destruction. WE need help out here so please take some time out of your busy schedule and spend some time with us gathering, hunting, hide tanning, fishing, cooking, cleaning, and tending the Sacred Fire.
We will never quit because this is the way we live, is off the land. Our Sacred Sites are all we have left so we need to protect our resources with the power of prayer and the Sacred Fire brings those prayers to the Creator with tobacco. We have lived off this land and the waters for many generations. We were given the animals, the plants, and the water for all of us to survive and we will not let anything destroy our resources for our generation or the generations to come.
By Charlotte Loonsfoot
Wow – Charlotte you are an amazing person on all levels.
The Creator has blessed you and all the warriors standing with you.
Thank you for continuing to fight all evil corporations who pollute our waters and environment.
You are on a sacred mission – please try to keep up the strength to do what we should all be doing.
Now that you have been there a month, will ask my ICT boss if I can do a story.
Bless you Charlotte and everyone at the camp. Please have everyone look out for and document, if possible, the presence of Jack Pine Warblers, Lynx or Grey Wolves. Also Indiana Bats, and any Eastern prairie fringed orchids and piping plovers. I’ve seen all of these in the area of the camp in years past. They are listed under the provisions of the ESA and if observed the US Fish & Wildlife Service should be notified. They, like the EPA and other Federal agencies have a trust responsibility to the KBIC and everyone of the members to protect natural resources on our ceded territory. There is legal precedence that clearly indicates that this treaty right is an individual right. In fact, in my opinion, if for example a KBIC member was arrested for trespass while exercising a treaty right I believe an argument could be made that the proper jurisdiction is Federal Court. In any event, it is outrageous that the State of Michigan and this foreign mining company moves ahead as if this hard rock mine will magically be different then every other mine in the world. There is absolutely no Federal permit allowing any of these activities, no National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance, no Heath Impact Assessment (HIA) – even though Rio Tinto is part of an international organization that is “committed to the use of HIA.” I don’t know about people that work for Rio Tinto but when I’m committed to something – I do it. They haven’t uttered a peep about preparing an HIA for this project. You may be interested to know that we recently obtained documents by which Rio Tinto officials direct Kennecott Eagle managers to choose Eagle Rock as the location for the construction of the mine portal. They say in these emails “if we shift the focus on what the local Indians consider sacred the environmental advocacy groups, who are unsophisticated in this case, will follow. This will steer attention away from our biggest concern which is water pollution where we have real liability.” Obviously they haven’t “shared” that concern with the regulatory agencies. They go on to say; “Local business leaders and others will not support an effort to oppose our operations when the worst threat involves a sacred rock. At least not in the kind of economy this area of Michigan is experiencing.”
That pretty much sums up their strategy. Charlotte, thank you for your sacrifice. In the end, the truth will be known by all.
Hi Jeff,
Could we share e-mails? mine is loonsfoot292000@hotmail.com I would love to talk to you about some interesting things happening here in the UP. Miiqwech, Charlotte
Mr. Loman, how can I contact you about those emails? This is important and should be published.
It was so good to be in camp with you all. I left a small piece of my heart there with the fire. Thank you for the honor of doing so. Your in our prayers.. and since I’m a loud mouth you can be all of England and Scotland will hear about what is going on.
Give my best to my friend Jerry .. he one of the good ones.
MiiGwetchsa.
drew