Hello Dennis and Minneapolis Folks,
What Dennis has stated about the mills is false and can not be found in any documented accounts including,
1) Sacramento Bee reporter Tom Knudson 2 part series about the Boreal Forest being impacted by industry. He also wrote a more recent story about this issue and did not the mills. The Sacramento Bee is a McClatchy owned (Star Tribune parent company). Why would a journalist leave out such important information that would have put his own company in a more favorable light?
2) Star Tribune management never mentioned "mills" during discussions with myself or during written correspondence with others.
3) United Nations Human Rights liaison Rudolfo Stavenhagen never mentioned "mills", in his report to the United Nations after visiting the Grassy Narrows and other Cree and Objibwe Nations this past spring. He did speak of the horrific living conditions, that he was truly surprised to find in a country like Canada.
Dennis did send me privately documentation about the Grand Portage Ojibewe mills to back up his claim. They are a completely different tribe/Nation/reservation, and do not provide any economic support or help to the Grassy Narrows. Lesson for today, not all Native people are the same. The Grassy Narrows have extremely high unemployment rates, and suffer from very serious health problems caused by the paper mills and the timber industry.
I urge anyone who doubts these conditions to travel to their Nation/reservation and see for themselves.
Ken Bradley Corcoran
Dennis Plante wrote:
Ken: Grassy Narrows Anishinabe Nation currently operate two wood rendering mills on their tribal lands, that in-turn provide numerous jobs for tribal members living on reservation land. Most of the lumber used in these plants is cut on tribal land. It stands to reason that they'd very much like to cut-out any competition for raw product that they possibly could. By eliminating the harvesting of lumber from nearby "traditional-use" lands by non-tribal members, the tribe effectively increases the value of the product THEY harvest. Dennis Plante Jordan
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