Post by Okwes on Mar 27, 2007 14:42:12 GMT -5
Tireless LaDuke fights for environmental health
By JODI RAVE of the Missoulian
Environmentalist Winona LaDuke has been taking on human rights and land issues for nearly three decades.
The first such case LaDuke ever researched took place in 1978. She focused her studies on coal development on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in eastern Montana. Fast forward nearly 30 years and LaDuke n a resident of the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota n is still working to support Northern Cheyenne citizens’ quest to live in a healthy environment.
“I’ve had an eye on Northern Cheyenne all these years,” said LaDuke. “I basically live downwind from anything in Montana. There are 47 lakes on my reservation. I certainly don’t need any more mercury in my lakes, which is coming from coal-fired power plants and incinerators. About 300 cars full of coal go by the southern part of my reservation every day. It’s all like Montana and Wyoming coal.”
LaDuke n perhaps best known as the Green Party’s vice presidential candidate on the Ralph Nader ticket in 1996 and 2000 n has been invited to the Indigo Girls concert stage at the University of Montana. The event is scheduled Friday night as part of the Montana Human Rights Network’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. This year’s theme recognizes cultural and environmental preservation as a human right.
The event, titled “Honor the Earth,” is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the University Theatre. It will feature talks and an acoustic set by the Grammy Award-winning Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. Missoula singer Amy Martin also is scheduled to appear. Speakers will discuss Native environmental and energy issues, particularly coal mining and coal bed-methane development on and near the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.
Admission is $45. For $100, people can attend both “Honor the Earth” and a VIP party with the band after the show. Tickets are available at the Adams Center Box Office.
Several proposals have been made to move forward with coal mining on or near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Tribal citizens recently voted to allow coal extraction on their reservation. It’s a form of energy development, which has potential to cause significant damage to surrounding ecosystems and communities, said LaDuke.
A part of the economic incentive package to the tribe included a Dollar Store and a laundromat, said LaDuke.
“Native peoples should not have to trade their ecosystem and culture for a basic economy,” she added. “We need renewable energy. We can either pollute and combust ourselves into oblivion by continuing to rely on fossil fuels, or we can develop a new energy economy that recognizes our joint dependence on the Earth. The state should help fund a renewable development strategy that is culturally based and sustainable.”
Honor the Earth and local citizens are pushing an alternative agenda: one that focuses on renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biofuels.
LaDuke has shared the stage with the Indigo Girls on 75 occasions during the last decade. “I’m happy to come back to Montana to support alternatives,” she said.
Reporter Jodi Rave can be reached at 800-366-7186 or at jodi.rave@lee.net.
By JODI RAVE of the Missoulian
Environmentalist Winona LaDuke has been taking on human rights and land issues for nearly three decades.
The first such case LaDuke ever researched took place in 1978. She focused her studies on coal development on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in eastern Montana. Fast forward nearly 30 years and LaDuke n a resident of the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota n is still working to support Northern Cheyenne citizens’ quest to live in a healthy environment.
“I’ve had an eye on Northern Cheyenne all these years,” said LaDuke. “I basically live downwind from anything in Montana. There are 47 lakes on my reservation. I certainly don’t need any more mercury in my lakes, which is coming from coal-fired power plants and incinerators. About 300 cars full of coal go by the southern part of my reservation every day. It’s all like Montana and Wyoming coal.”
LaDuke n perhaps best known as the Green Party’s vice presidential candidate on the Ralph Nader ticket in 1996 and 2000 n has been invited to the Indigo Girls concert stage at the University of Montana. The event is scheduled Friday night as part of the Montana Human Rights Network’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. This year’s theme recognizes cultural and environmental preservation as a human right.
The event, titled “Honor the Earth,” is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the University Theatre. It will feature talks and an acoustic set by the Grammy Award-winning Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. Missoula singer Amy Martin also is scheduled to appear. Speakers will discuss Native environmental and energy issues, particularly coal mining and coal bed-methane development on and near the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.
Admission is $45. For $100, people can attend both “Honor the Earth” and a VIP party with the band after the show. Tickets are available at the Adams Center Box Office.
Several proposals have been made to move forward with coal mining on or near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Tribal citizens recently voted to allow coal extraction on their reservation. It’s a form of energy development, which has potential to cause significant damage to surrounding ecosystems and communities, said LaDuke.
A part of the economic incentive package to the tribe included a Dollar Store and a laundromat, said LaDuke.
“Native peoples should not have to trade their ecosystem and culture for a basic economy,” she added. “We need renewable energy. We can either pollute and combust ourselves into oblivion by continuing to rely on fossil fuels, or we can develop a new energy economy that recognizes our joint dependence on the Earth. The state should help fund a renewable development strategy that is culturally based and sustainable.”
Honor the Earth and local citizens are pushing an alternative agenda: one that focuses on renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biofuels.
LaDuke has shared the stage with the Indigo Girls on 75 occasions during the last decade. “I’m happy to come back to Montana to support alternatives,” she said.
Reporter Jodi Rave can be reached at 800-366-7186 or at jodi.rave@lee.net.