"Keep the Gray Wolf
on the Endangered Species list"

The Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), A Native American non-governmental organization based in Bemidji, Minnesota, is trying to ensure that Minnesota tribal members are part of the public debate over wolf management. During the first few public meetings in January of 1998, Native Americans were conspicuously absent. After contacting tribal members the attendance expanded at the Grand Rapids and Park Rapids meetings in northern Minnesota. "We weren't notified about these meetings, many of us don't get the newspaper. We are concerned citizens that are worried for the protection of the wolf. We have a right to take part in these public hearings and take part in any state policy decisions that will affect our brother wolf", said Bob Shimek, a White Earth band member who is organizing efforts to protect the wolf.

Many members of the Chippewa bands throughout the state and the country are members of the wolf clan. Many of these tribal clans exist in the White Earth reservation located southwest of Bemidji, as well as other tribal reservations. "The wolf is part of our heritage and has a cultural and spiritual relationship to our people", said Bill Bush, another White Earth Chippewa and wolf clan member.

"Long ago when the earth was new, and Anishinable (the first man of the Chippewa) was walking the earth naming all of creation, lands and waters, he was alone, and the creator placed the wolf to walk with Anishinable and be his friend and brother. The creator told them what happens to one will happen to the other. This has come to pass. We've had our lands taken, we were hunted for our hair, and pushed to near extinction. We are now seeing the wolf returning and gaining strength in those places he was once destroyed. This teaches us that Anishinabe will also return and gain strength in those places he was once destroyed. Perhaps the wolf will lead the way to a more natural living and teach the new comers to respect Mother Earth", said Ann Dunn, a Chippewa elder and published story teller that resides on the Leech Lake Chippewa reservation.

IEN and other members of the Minnesota tribes have been concerned that some Minnesotans lack a full understanding of the important ecological role that the wolf plays in a balanced, fully functional Eco-system. There is concern that the wolf population may again be reduced to the early 1970's levels. Farmers and hunters are feeling threatened with the rapid growth of the state wolf population from previous endangered levels to recent estimates of 2,000 to 2,200. With this rapid growth, it is likely that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will remove the Minnesota wolf from the endangered species list which gives authority back to the state to manage the wolf population. "These management plans have potential to establish death quotas of the wolf population that could create state funded wolf hunting and trapping programs", said Shimek. "It could create a frontier mentality and frenzy of indiscriminate killing of wolves. Who is going to control this", asked Shimek.

"The survival of the wolf is important for the survival of our Anishinable (Chippewa) culture", says Tom Stillday, spiritual elder of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. "Our tribes and traditional leaders need to be involved with the planning process of any management plans that are developed to protect and preserve this important four-legged relative of our people", said Tom Goldtooth, a national coordinator of IEN. "The habitat of the wolf doesn't recognize state and tribal boundaries. "When you really look at it, we are in their environment. America fears the wolf in the same way they fear our indigenous peoples . The government wants to manage the wolf in the same way they manage the indigenous peoples of this country. We see the writing on the wall that Minnesota state will eventually have authority over the wolf. But where is tribal authority? State authority will not apply to tribal lands unless tribes relinquished their sovereignty on this issue. The tribes and the state mu st work together in this process, and they must allow input from our indigenous elders and spiritual leaders", Goldtooth said.

IEN knows tribes are viable partners in developing good wolf management plans. In Idaho, the USFWS set a precedent by forming a partnership with the Nez Perce tribe in 1995 by entering into a cooperative agreement with them that gave the tribe state-wide recovery and management responsibilities for wolves throughout Idaho. This happened when the state of Idaho declined to participate in wolf recovery efforts. As with the tribes of northern Minnesota, the Nez Perce identify strongly with the wolf. "The tribe now has the opportunity to bring the best science to the table to insure a victory with the wolf", says Jamie Pinkham, in a recent article of International Wolf magazine. "But it is also a cultural victory for the tribe. Restoring the wolf to its rightful place provides an opportunity for the tribe to rekindle its cultural ties to the wolf". In the "victory song of the wolf", Pinkham adds, "the Nez Perce will find positive messages about their own future".

With the eastern woodland bands of Dakota (Sioux) in Minnesota, the ties to the wolf is equally strong and respected. "The Dakota people have great admiration for the wolf. We learned many good things from the wolf and the wolf helped our people in the past to survive. We learned honor, endurance, perseverance, and loyalty from the wolf", said Ray Owen, a spiritual leader for the Prairie Island Dakota Community. "The wolf is the true warrior to our people. The wolf is coming back for a reason, and we must not mess around with these things. The wolf wants to teach us something and we have to be able to learn to see what this is", Owen further said.

EIN is working with the newly formed Minnesota Wolf Alliance to educate the Native and non-Native public of Minnesota on this wolf issue. "We don't want this wolf issue to divide our communities. We must work together to seek an answer on how wolf management in Minnesota can recognize all groups, as well as maintain a rightful place for the wolf", said Jean Brave Heart, a volunteer coordinator of Minnesota Wolf Alliance.