Wisconsin Assembly, Respect The Anishinaabe Peoples….

Crest of the Anishinaabe  Peoples

UPDATE: March 14, 2012

They have not voted on AB 502 and it could be late tonight or even tomorrow. So keep your dialing fingers and emails going until we know for sure they’ve voted. If you want to know who is supporting this terrible bill here is a list of the usual suspects who’ve reported lobbying for the bill.

Groups Reported Lobbying For Wolf Hunt Bill

Safari Club International, Wisconsin Chapters
United Sportsmen of Wisconsin, Inc.
Wi~Force (Wisconsin Firearm Owners, Ranges, Clubs & Educators, Inc.)
Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association
Wisconsin Bowhunters Association
Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association
Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation
Wisconsin Independent Businesses Inc
Wisconsin Pork Association
Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association

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Group Reported Lobbying Against the Wolf Hunt Bill

Stockbridge-Munsee Community

Kind of lonely on the against side??

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The New York Times picked up the story on the proposed brutal Wisconsin wolf hunt, that is one short step from becoming reality if the Wisconsin Assembly passes AB502.  The vote is expected to come later this evening.

Remember what the Wisconsin legislature wants to do to wolves, fresh off the Endangered Species List.  Hunt them with dogs (a pack of  up to six dogs can be used to track and trail a wolf), hunt them at night, club them to death in traps, shoot across roads, use almost any type of weapon including muzzle loaders, handguns, shotguns, bow and arrows, crossbows, traps and snares, predator calls, baiting and extending the hunt into wolf breeding season.

BUT the tribes in Wisconsin don’t want a public wolf hunt and made it known through the testimony of Jim Zorn, executive administrator of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. He represents 11 tribes known as the Anishinaabe. The wolf is brother to them.

From the NYTimes

“In the Anishinaabe creation story we are taught that Ma’iingan (wolf) is a brother to Original man.” He continued, “The health and survival of the Anishinaabe people is tied to that of Ma’iingan.” For that reason the tribes are opposed to a public hunt.

Mr. Zorn said in his testimony that for the Ojibwe, “wolf recovery does not hinge primarily upon some minimum number of animals comprising the current wolf population.” Rather, he said, the goal is “the healthiest and most abundant future for our brother and ourselves.”

Mr. Rose put it this way: “We see the wolf as a predictor of our future. And what happens to wolf happens to Anishinaabe.” And, he said, “whether other people see it or not, the same will happen to them.”

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TESTIMONY of JAMES E. ZORN
EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATOR
GREAT LAKES INDIAN FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION

Please read the important testimony of Jim Zorn, Executive Administrator Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, speaking out against S411, the Senate companion bill to Assembly Bill 502, which passed the Senate on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 by a vote of 24-9 , without debate.

http://www.glifwc.org/upload/SB_411_written_testimony_fnl.pdf

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The tribes are against this assault on the wolf, they call Ma’iingan.

WISCONSIN
Bad River Band
Lac Courte Oreilles Band
Lac du Flambeau Band
Red Cliff Band
St. Croix Chippewa
Sokaogon Chippewa

MINNESOTA
Mille Lacs Band
Fond du Lac Band

MICHIGAN
Bay Mills Community
Keweenaw Bay Community
Lac Vieux Desert Band

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Wisconsin Assembly listen to the Anishinaabe, respect their traditions. Put a stop to this brutal bill that would trample on the beliefs of Native Americans and decimate the wolf (Ma’iingan).

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Before Wolves May Be Hunted, Science, Faith and Politics Clash

By JAMES GORMAN

Published: March 12, 2012

Once again, science, religion and politics have become entwined in a thorny public policy debate. This time, however, the discussion is not about abortion, birth control or health insurance mandates.

It’s about wolves.

Specifically, a bill in the Wisconsin Legislature to authorize a hunting season on wolves. The State Senate has approved it, and the Assembly is set to consider the bill on Tuesday.

Hunters approve of the season, and Republicans are all for it, as are some Democrats. Wildlife biologists have a number of criticisms and suggestions about the bill involving how, when and how many wolves should be killed.

But the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Game Commission, which represents 11 tribes of the Ojibwe (also known as the Chippewa, or Anishinaabe) in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, opposes the hunt on the basis of religious principle and tradition.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/science/science-faith-and-politics-clash-over-wolves-in-wisconsin.html?_r=1

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March 13, 2012

Wisconsin Legislators Must Weigh Wolf Hunt Against Native American Traditions –

http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/newshound/2012/03/wisconsin-legislators-must-weigh-wolf-hunting-season-against-native-american

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Please continue to call, fax and email Wisconsin Representatives. Tell them to vote no on this very bad bill and respect Native American rights.

Contact Wisconsin State Assembly Representatives

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/contact/legislatorslist.aspx?house=assembly

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In honor of the Anishinaabe Peoples, thank you (Miigwech) for speaking out for the wolf!!

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Photo: Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Wisconsin Wolves, Animal Cruelty

Tags: Anishinaabe Peoples, Native Americans rights, Wisconsin Assembly, defeat AB 502