11:00 am - 12:15 pm

Speaker:  C. Holly Denning - Protecting the Waters: Indigenous Resistance from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico University Center:  Ballroom (upstairs in Room 275)

Research on New Orleans post-Katrina expanded in 2010 to include ongoing impacts on the Gulf coast since the BP oil disaster. Exploratory research for the UWW campus water initiative and new courses in the Peace and Justice Minor focused on Environmental Justice. Drawing connections along the Mississippi River watershed led to deeper knowledge of environmental threats facing communities in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Northern Wisconsin, especially impacts on pristine water sources and Indigenous Ojibwa communities from mining. North/south struggles against resource extraction--sulfide ore mining in MI and WI and oil drilling and processing in LA --threaten heath and identities of communities living subsistence lifestyles in close relationship with water. Ojibwa communities in the north woods are dependent on wild rice beds and fishing; Indigenous, Cajun, and Vietnamese self-identify as “Fisher Folk.” People from both regions are resisting the onslaught in creative ways.