Walter Bresette
Encyclopedia
Walter Bresette was a prominent Ojibwe activist, politician, and author most notable for work on environmental issues and Ojibwe treaty rights
in Northern Wisconsin
and the Lake Superior
region. He founded or co-founded several organizations including Witness for Nonviolence, the Midwest Treaty Network, and the Wisconsin Green Party
.
and a member of the Loon clan
. He served in the United States Army
and was stationed in Japan
. Later, he returned to Red Cliff
and operated a trading-goods store.
. Although, Red Cliff was not as active as some of the other bands in pushing for treaty rights, Bresette emerged as one of the most eloquent and outspoken defenders of the cause. To help document the violent acts of the anti-spearing protesters and inaction of local law enforcement, and to protect the spearfishers themselves, Bresette organized the group Witness for Nonviolence to bring sympathetic "witnesses" to record what happened at the boat landings on video. During this period, Bresette operated a mall store in Duluth, Minnesota
that was targeted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
who raided the store and seized several migratory bird feathers. Bresette claimed the right to possess and sell these items due to treaty rights. In a decision that helped clarify the rights of Ojibwes to possess feathers, a United States District Court judge returned the feathers. It was widely speculated the seizures were politically motivated, but they ultimately served to advance Bresette's cause. Bresette would later document this period of unrest in Walleye Warriors: An Effective Alliance Against Racism and for the Earth, a book co-written with Rick Whaley.
over resources on ceded territory. He co-founded Anishinabe Niijii to oppose mining claiming it brought environmental destruction that threatened several key watersheds including that of Lake Superior. The group unsuccessfully attempted to block operations at a sulfide mine near Ladysmith, Wisconsin
. During these protests, Bresette is remembered for striking mining equipment with the war club of the famous Sauk chief Black Hawk
, a gift given to Bresette for his work. The group, however, was successful in stopping the proposed Lynne mine in Oneida County
. The primary target of protest during this period was the proposed Crandon mine
in Forest County
. The zinc sulfide
deposits there were targeted for extraction by Exxon
and other companies, but Bresette and others pointed out the potential danger to the Wolf River watershed and the Mole Lake Ojibwe reservation
. At the height of the Crandon controversy, Bresette's attentions were brought to another mining proposal. The White Pine mine in Michigan
was a mostly defunct copper
mine that was to have sulfuric acid
poured into its shafts to leach out remaining copper without United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) oversight. Citing concerns over degradation to nearby Lake Superior
, Bresette resigned an EPA position he held at the time and became a spokesperson for the group Anishinabe Ogitchida as they staged a protest stopping the tanker cars from carrying the sulfuric acid across the Bad River Ojibwe reservation in Ashland County, Wisconsin. The Bad River Train Blockade
brought media scrutiny on the EPA and the eventual end to any attempts to revive the mine. Bresette lived long enough to see a mining moratorium passed in Wisconsin postponing the Crandon project indefinitely, but died before the purchase of the mine by two nearby tribes in 2003.
of Herbster, Wisconsin
, he started the Lake Superior Greens in the 1980s. The Lake Superior Greens being one of the earliest green parties in the United States successfully ran Koehn for Bayfield County board of supervisors in 1986. This was the first instance of a Green Party
candidate winning any elected office in the United States. Bresette and Koehn were also key founding members of the Wisconsin Green Party
which held its first convention in 1988. During the 1990s, Bresette pushed for the Seventh Generation Amendment, also known as the Common Property Amendment
, to the United States Constitution
. To promote the amendment, Bresette helped organize several protestors to walk completely around Lake Superior. He was active in promoting environmental, treaty rights and human rights issues until his 1999 death of a heart attack in Duluth, Minnesota
.
Treaty rights
Treaty rights are certain rights that were reserved by Indian tribes when they signed treaties with the United States government. By signing treaties, tribes traded vast amounts of their land and resources in exchange for reserved areas of land and things like protection , health care, education,...
in Northern Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and the Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
region. He founded or co-founded several organizations including Witness for Nonviolence, the Midwest Treaty Network, and the Wisconsin Green Party
Wisconsin Green Party
The Wisconsin Green Party is an active member of the Green Party of the United States. In 2006, the party helped place antiwar initiatives on the ballots in 32 towns . WIGP member Ben Manski is a former co-chair of the Green National Committee.The WIGP emerged in the late 1980s when several...
.
Personal life
Bresette, born in 1947, was an enrolled member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior ChippewaRed Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is a band of Ojibwe Indians. The Red Cliff Band is located on the Red Cliff Indian Reservation, on Lake Superior in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. Red Cliff, Wisconsin, is the administrative center...
and a member of the Loon clan
Anishinaabe clan system
The Anishinaabe, like most Algonquian-speaking groups in North America, base their system of kinship on patrilineal clans or totems. The Anishinaabe word for clan was borrowed into English as totem. The clans, based mainly on animals, were instrumental in traditional occupations, inter-tribal...
. He served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and was stationed in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Later, he returned to Red Cliff
Red Cliff, Wisconsin
Red Cliff, also known as Miskwabiikong, is an unincorporated community in the town of Russell, Bayfield County, Wisconsin, United States. Red Cliff is the administrative center of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa...
and operated a trading-goods store.
Spearfishing protests
In the late 1980s, Northern Wisconsin erupted in violence in response to the Ojibwe reassertion of traditional spearfishing rights in what would later be described as the Wisconsin Walleye WarWisconsin Walleye War
Civil unrest erupted in Wisconsin after U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb handed down a ruling on August 21, 1987 that affirmed the treaty right of six Ojibwe or Chippewa tribal governments to regulate their members' hunting and fishing outside of the reservation boundaries, based on the...
. Although, Red Cliff was not as active as some of the other bands in pushing for treaty rights, Bresette emerged as one of the most eloquent and outspoken defenders of the cause. To help document the violent acts of the anti-spearing protesters and inaction of local law enforcement, and to protect the spearfishers themselves, Bresette organized the group Witness for Nonviolence to bring sympathetic "witnesses" to record what happened at the boat landings on video. During this period, Bresette operated a mall store in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
that was targeted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
who raided the store and seized several migratory bird feathers. Bresette claimed the right to possess and sell these items due to treaty rights. In a decision that helped clarify the rights of Ojibwes to possess feathers, a United States District Court judge returned the feathers. It was widely speculated the seizures were politically motivated, but they ultimately served to advance Bresette's cause. Bresette would later document this period of unrest in Walleye Warriors: An Effective Alliance Against Racism and for the Earth, a book co-written with Rick Whaley.
Mining protests
During the 1990s, Bresette's activities focused on opposition to proposed sulfide mines in Northern Wisconsin. In each mining battle, Bresette pressed the case of treaty rights and of Ojibwe sovereigntyTribal sovereignty
Tribal sovereignty in the United States refers to the inherent authority of indigenous tribes to govern themselves within the borders of the United States of America. The federal government recognizes tribal nations as "domestic dependent nations" and has established a number of laws attempting to...
over resources on ceded territory. He co-founded Anishinabe Niijii to oppose mining claiming it brought environmental destruction that threatened several key watersheds including that of Lake Superior. The group unsuccessfully attempted to block operations at a sulfide mine near Ladysmith, Wisconsin
Ladysmith, Wisconsin
Ladysmith is a city in Rusk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,932 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Rusk County. It is the former location of Mount Senario College, which closed in 2002 due to significant debt. For the 2006-2007 school year, part of the former campus...
. During these protests, Bresette is remembered for striking mining equipment with the war club of the famous Sauk chief Black Hawk
Black Hawk (chief)
Black Hawk was a leader and warrior of the Sauk American Indian tribe in what is now the United States. Although he had inherited an important historic medicine bundle, he was not one of the Sauk's hereditary civil chiefs...
, a gift given to Bresette for his work. The group, however, was successful in stopping the proposed Lynne mine in Oneida County
Oneida County, Wisconsin
Oneida County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 36,776. Its county seat is Rhinelander.-Geography:According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,236 square miles , of which 1,124 square miles is land and 111 square...
. The primary target of protest during this period was the proposed Crandon mine
Crandon mine
The proposed Crandon mine in Northeastern Wisconsin, USA near the town of Crandon and the Mole Lake Ojibwe Reservation in Forest County was the site of multi-decade political and regulatory battle between environmentalists, American Indian tribes, sportfishing groups, and the State of Wisconsin and...
in Forest County
Forest County, Wisconsin
Forest County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,304. Its county seat is Crandon.-Indian Reservations:...
. The zinc sulfide
Zinc sulfide
Zinc sulfide is a inorganic compound with the formula ZnS. ZnS is the main form of zinc in nature, where it mainly occurs as the mineral sphalerite...
deposits there were targeted for extraction by Exxon
Exxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....
and other companies, but Bresette and others pointed out the potential danger to the Wolf River watershed and the Mole Lake Ojibwe reservation
Sokaogon Chippewa Community
The Sokaogon Chippewa Community, or the Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, is a band of the Lake Superior Chippewa, many of whom reside on the Mole Lake Indian Reservation, an Indian reservation located at in Mole Lake, Wisconsin, in Forest County near Crandon.The Mole Lake Indian...
. At the height of the Crandon controversy, Bresette's attentions were brought to another mining proposal. The White Pine mine in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
was a mostly defunct copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
mine that was to have sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
poured into its shafts to leach out remaining copper without United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) oversight. Citing concerns over degradation to nearby Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
, Bresette resigned an EPA position he held at the time and became a spokesperson for the group Anishinabe Ogitchida as they staged a protest stopping the tanker cars from carrying the sulfuric acid across the Bad River Ojibwe reservation in Ashland County, Wisconsin. The Bad River Train Blockade
Bad River Train Blockade
The Bad River train blockade was a 1996 protest on the Bad River Ojibwe Reservation in Ashland County, Wisconsin USA. Ojibwe activists blocked the railroad tracks that would have brought sulfuric acid to a mine in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan bringing national scrutiny on the United States...
brought media scrutiny on the EPA and the eventual end to any attempts to revive the mine. Bresette lived long enough to see a mining moratorium passed in Wisconsin postponing the Crandon project indefinitely, but died before the purchase of the mine by two nearby tribes in 2003.
Other political activities
Bresette was also highly active in politics at the local, state, and national levels. With a close associate, Frank KoehnFrank Koehn
Francis K. Koehn is a prominent activist and politician in Northern Wisconsin. He is most notable for being the first Green Party candidate to be elected to office in the United States when he was elected Bayfield County supervisor on the Lake Superior Greens ticket in 1986...
of Herbster, Wisconsin
Herbster, Wisconsin
Herbster is an unincorporated census-designated place in the Town of Clover in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, United States, located on the south shore of Lake Superior. Herbster is seven miles east of Port Wing and eight miles west of Cornucopia on Wisconsin Highway 13, the main route through the...
, he started the Lake Superior Greens in the 1980s. The Lake Superior Greens being one of the earliest green parties in the United States successfully ran Koehn for Bayfield County board of supervisors in 1986. This was the first instance of a Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
candidate winning any elected office in the United States. Bresette and Koehn were also key founding members of the Wisconsin Green Party
Wisconsin Green Party
The Wisconsin Green Party is an active member of the Green Party of the United States. In 2006, the party helped place antiwar initiatives on the ballots in 32 towns . WIGP member Ben Manski is a former co-chair of the Green National Committee.The WIGP emerged in the late 1980s when several...
which held its first convention in 1988. During the 1990s, Bresette pushed for the Seventh Generation Amendment, also known as the Common Property Amendment
Common Property Amendment
The Common Property Amendment, also known as the Seventh Generation Amendment, is a proposal to amend the United States Constitution to define common property and to ensure such property remains under government control for public use and enjoyment by people of the future.Under the theory behind...
, to the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
. To promote the amendment, Bresette helped organize several protestors to walk completely around Lake Superior. He was active in promoting environmental, treaty rights and human rights issues until his 1999 death of a heart attack in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
.
See also
- Crandon mineCrandon mineThe proposed Crandon mine in Northeastern Wisconsin, USA near the town of Crandon and the Mole Lake Ojibwe Reservation in Forest County was the site of multi-decade political and regulatory battle between environmentalists, American Indian tribes, sportfishing groups, and the State of Wisconsin and...
- Bad River Train BlockadeBad River Train BlockadeThe Bad River train blockade was a 1996 protest on the Bad River Ojibwe Reservation in Ashland County, Wisconsin USA. Ojibwe activists blocked the railroad tracks that would have brought sulfuric acid to a mine in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan bringing national scrutiny on the United States...
- Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior ChippewaRed Cliff Band of Lake Superior ChippewaRed Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is a band of Ojibwe Indians. The Red Cliff Band is located on the Red Cliff Indian Reservation, on Lake Superior in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. Red Cliff, Wisconsin, is the administrative center...
- Frank KoehnFrank KoehnFrancis K. Koehn is a prominent activist and politician in Northern Wisconsin. He is most notable for being the first Green Party candidate to be elected to office in the United States when he was elected Bayfield County supervisor on the Lake Superior Greens ticket in 1986...
- Wisconsin Green PartyWisconsin Green PartyThe Wisconsin Green Party is an active member of the Green Party of the United States. In 2006, the party helped place antiwar initiatives on the ballots in 32 towns . WIGP member Ben Manski is a former co-chair of the Green National Committee.The WIGP emerged in the late 1980s when several...