On orders from an international mining company on Thursday, May 27, 2010, dozens of heavily armed police raided a month old Ojibwa camp at sacred Eagle Rock in northern Michigan.
Sacred Eagle Rock and the Yellow Dog Plains are State of Michigan public land that Ojibwa have rights to under federal treaties instead the state leased the land to Kennecott Eagle Minerals for its sulfide mine that will produce sulfuric acid byproduct as they mine nickel, copper and other minerals.
Some 30 other similar mines will pop up like mushrooms in the same area if the Eagle Mine Project starts digging under the Salmon Trout River; and underneath Eagle Rock to create a tunnel to the mine.
Kennecott disrespected several Ojibwa traditions including a request to have an elder douse the grandfather fire and removing, arresting on camper in a fasting ritual with her bundle on Eagle Rock.
Better Days at Eagle Rock: KBIC Tribal Council met with the campers at sacred Eagle Rock on May 8, 2010
Keweenaw Indian Community Bay Tribal meets with Eagle Rock Campers during second week of the encampment about 19 days before massive police raid ordered by Kennecott Eagle Minerals to build its nickel and copper sulfide mine. (Photo by Greg Peterson)
Please read story about raid in Indian Country Today (ICT) newspaper:
Raid at Eagle Rock:
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/greatlakes
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/greatlakes/95060709.html
ICT digital edition pages 7 and 8:
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/digitalcopy/95104274.html
http://flipflashpages.uniflip.com/2/16715/60551/pub/
Michigan State Police standing on the remote Triple A Road near the entrance to Eagle Rock. (Photo by Greg Peterson)
Marquette County Sheriff’s Department cars blocking Triple A Road at the Eagle Project nickel and Copper mine entrance about three quarters of a mile east of sacred Eagle Rock.
Also pictured Powell Township fire and ambulance vehicles and personnel, who were on standby in case someone was hurt during the police raid on sacred Eagle Rock.
The media and campers were allowed to walk past the blockade to the former encampment but warned to stay on the road or face arrest. (Photo by Greg Peterson)
Michigan State Police and mine security perched atop Eagle Rock – the officers
were armed with high power rifles. (Photo by Greg Peterson)
Following police raid, Eagle Rock campers stand on the Triple A Road at the former entrance to the sacred Eagle Rock encampment as Michigan State Police stand watch in the background.
In foreground, are two of the four campers present when police moved in plus longtime blogger and camper Gabriel Caplett (on left with video camera ) who has been writing daily updates on the camp for the past month on the StandForTheLand Blog and also has written hundreds of updates about the effort to block by several environment groups and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community since plans for the the mine were announced in 2004.
Pictured with Caplett in the foreground are Kalvin Hartwig (center), a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Band of Chippewa, and nonnative Catherine Parker (right) of Marquette.
Michigan State Police standing on the Triple A Road near the entrance to Eagle Rock after raid on campers and arrest of two members of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community for “trespassing” when they refused to leave the sacred Eagle Rock Ojibwa encampment. (Photo by Greg Peterson)
Kennecott Eagle Minerals employees string the fence across the driveway to the Eagle Rock encampment’s with state police and mine security looking on, (Photo by Greg Peterson)
Michigan State Police and mine security perched atop Eagle Rock – the officers were armed with high power rifles. (Photo by Greg Peterson)
Two of the four campers that were present when police moved in on May 27, 2010. Kalvin Hartwig, a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Band of Chippewa, and non-Native Catherine Parker of Marquette, Michigan stand in front of the former encampment entrance at Eagle Rock that is filled with the mine’s heavy equipment and police. (Photo by Greg Peterson)
The remains of the Eagle Rock Community Garden that was pulled up by Eagle Project mine officials and placed into purple children’s swimming pools at the encampment entrance. (Photo by Greg Peterson)
Mine equipment at entrance to Eagle Rock with Stand For the Land sign and a pole with a lone Eagle Feather on top. (Photo by Greg Peterson)
Powell Township ambulance and fire vehicles and personnel on standby at the entrance to the Eagle Project nickel and copper mine about three quarters of a mile from Sacred Eagle Rock (Photo by Greg Peterson)














































