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ttt1324-june12-encore-ttt-cc-sulfidemining13.mp3

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VIDEO: YouTube or TTT VIDEO ARCHIVE

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TruthToTell and CivicMedia/Minnesota traveled to the University of Minnesota at Duluth (UMD) to air/televise the 5^th in our series of LIVE Community Connections forums the night of June 12 in the auditorium of the Labovitz School of Business & Economics (LSBE) –this one on the impacts of copper/nickel mining enterprises on Northeastern Minnesota lives and natural resources just as a supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement on a proposed PolyMet sulfide mine will be released prior permitting by the MN Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Army Corps of Engineers.

Producer/Host Andy Driscoll and Associate Producer/Co-host Michelle Alimoradi, in concert with community and media partners, brought Community Connections to affected residents of neighborhoods/communities, conversations that strike at the heart of the state’s quality of life, as well as its integrity in protecting the longstanding treaties negotiated with Minnesota’s many Indian tribes over the ability to manage the resources of those lands for the benefit of all residents. At risk may well be the planet's entire supply of true wild rice–manoomin–as a sacred crop of Anishinaabe/Ojibwe Natives.

Community Partners signing on to help CMM and TTT produce this televised conversation among panelists and constituents immediately impacted if these new mines are permitted were the Master of Advocacy & Political Leadership (MAPL)Program at UMD; KUMD Radio; WaterLegacy; Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness; and Friends of the Cloquet Valley State Forest with cooperation of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and some labor unions serving the area.  

 GUESTS:

Nancy Schuldt, Water Resource Policy Director for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Paula Maccabee, Policy Director for WaterLegacy

 Aaron Klemz, Policy and Communications Director for the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness

 Tamara Jones, President of the Carlton County Central Labor Body and a Union Rep for the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1189

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*TruthToTell: Community Connections is made possible by a generous grant from the Bush Foundation, which has enabled TruthToTell to partner with KFAI community radio, St. Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN), and selected community partners to present these discussions and dialogues on important issues like education, the environment, health care, politics and elections, transportation, Native concerns, youth issues and more, into the key communities affected by these respective topics for radio, television and online distribution.

CivicMedia-Minnesota is a 501c3 non-profit production company based in St. Paul, Minnesota, created to bring civic and media literacy to the Twin Cities region and Minnesota, informing, educating and empowering residents and students in local, state and regional public affairs and to amplify the voices of concerned  communities on key issues facing them every day. CMM’s main goal is to engage citizens by helping them understand issues of governance and public policy, critique media coverage of critical policy matters, encourage public discourse and help people take collective action to resolve problems and influence public policy. More information and past show archives can be found at www.truthtotell.org.

Robert Desjarlait is Ojibwe-Anishinabe from Red Lake, Minnesota. He is a co-founder of Protect Our Manoomin – a Minnesota Anishinaabe grassroots organization that informs and educates on mining and its effects on manoomin. DesJarlait is involved as a facilitator for White Bison Wellbriety groups in the Twin Cities. He is a journalist and has written for The Circle Newspaper. He is also a member of the University of Minnesota Council of Elders.

First Person Radio's Laura Waterman Wittstock with Andy Driscoll get an update on the wild rice and other highly sensitive environmental issues threatening the survival of wild rice in the Upper Midwest ricing areas in Minnesota. Wild Rice - Mahnoomin - is one of the sacred foods of the Anishinabe. It has been harvested by environmentally protected processes for centuries by the Dakota and Anishinabe peoples.

Robert Desjarlait is Ojibwe-Anishinabe from Red Lake, Minnesota. He is a visual artist, historian, educator and traditional dancer. DesJarlait has created numerous paintings reflecting the culture of the Ojibwe and has been a cultural mentor and advisor on numerous public art projects. His father, Patrick Desjarlait was a nationally known Ojibwe artist, paving a path for Native artist’s work in the 1950s. Robert has published “Traditional Art of the Ojibwe” on Ojibwe symbols and pictographs and has done extensive research and documentation of Anishinabe traditions and symbols.

First Person Radio hosts Laura Waterman Wittstock and Richard LaFortune with Andy Driscoll talk with Robert DesJarlait about the environmental issues threatening the survival of wild rice in the Upper Midwest ricing areas in Minnesota. Wild rice - manoomin - is one of the sacred foods of the Anishinabe. It has been harvested by environmentally protected processes for centuries.