HANCOCK — On Tuesday, members of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) and Copper Country residents came together for a virtual celebration of Tribal Water Day.

World Water Day is a global and annual event that celebrates water resources, highlights their importance, and raises awareness for water-related issues. This year, the event’s theme was “Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible”.

KBIC’s virtual event featured presentations that explored water from a tribal perspective – examining the roles of culture, science, and technology in the protection and preservation of Nibi, the Ojibwe word for water.

KBIC Tribal Council Member Doreen Blaker began the event by noting the importance of water to all life forms, and the need to preserve and protect water resources.

“We are water. Water is us. Our tribe knows the value of water. Our teachings have taught us to respect this life-giving substance. We cannot live without it,” she said.

“As water resources are getting stretched to their limit, it is crucial that humans work together for its preservation for future generations.”

KBIC’s Natural Resource Department (KBIC-NRD) is responsible for the preservation and protection of tribal water resources. KBIC-NRD works on a variety of water-related issues including water quality testing, treaty resource protections, fishery programs, and wetland, beach, and groundwater monitoring.

Water Resource Specialist Justin Woodruff provided information on the history of KBIC’s water initiatives.

According to Woodruff, KBIC’s L’Anse Reservation encompasses 17 miles of Lake Superior shoreline, 80 miles of streams and rivers, 15,000 acres of lakes, and 3,300 acres of wetlands.

In order to maintain these water resources, KBIC has developed water quality protection and management practices using a Clean Water Act (CWA) program. Water testing through this program began in 2000 and continues to this day, with quarterly testing at 20 sites on KBIC lands.

“The goals of the program are to maintain and administer KBIC’s water quality standards program for the L’Anse Indian Reservation, protect and restore aquatic ecosystems through surface water monitoring programs, inspire stewardship, and do outreach and education,” Woodruff said.

In 2020, KBIC received approval for “Treatment as a State” (TAS) status, making it the first Native American Tribe in Michigan to do so. This legal designation transfers authorities from the federal government to a federally recognized tribe. It enables KBIC to work with the EPA to draft, approve, and implement its own water quality standards.

In the following presentation, Michigan Tech Professor Cory McDonald described the process of developing locally-appropriate water quality criteria for KBIC.

Water Quality Technician Dylan Friisvall discussed monitoring wells and public beaches in order to detect contaminants and protect public health.

“Most commonly in our area, there is Jacobsville Sandstone which lies beneath our feet. Areas with this type of sandstone tend to have higher elevated levels of uranium and radon exposure,” he explained.

“We always check for these when we sample. For anything that is not safe for consumption, there are treatment options that can be installed to help lower or eliminate the harmful contaminants to safer levels.”

Friisvall also detailed KBIC’s beach monitoring program, which launched in 2018 after the Father’s Day flood caused septic and wastewater systems to overflow, resulting in elevated E. coli levels at local beaches.

To ensure that beaches are safe for public use, KBIC now performs weekly water quality monitoring during the summer months and publishes its test results on its Facebook page.

Field Fisheries Technician Patrick LaPointe provided information on the KBIC-NRD fisheries program, which encompasses commercial fishery monitoring and data collection on fish populations and aging for six major species: trout, lake herring, whitefish, brook trout, walleye, and lake sturgeon.

Wildlife Biologist and Wildlife and Habitat Section Lead Erin Johnston described KBIC’s wetland monitoring program.

In 2016, KBIC-NRD began implementing a wetland monitoring strategy and compiling site-specific datasets for things like water quality, sediments and soils, macro-invertebrates, wildlife, and vegetation. They also collected survey data to gauge the community’s perception of wetland value and stewardship.

Now that the dataset has been established, Johnston said that it will be continually updated and used to further develop monitoring and management strategies.

“Wetlands are highly productive ecosystems that provide a number of gifts and services for both human and more than human communities, including pollution filtration, wildlife habitat, nursery habitat for fish, and flood control during storm events or spring snowmelt. Wetlands also provide habitat for culturally significant plant species for the Ojibwe people,” Johnston said.

For the event’s final presentation, Shannon DesRochers of KBIC-NRD, Geraldine Grant of the Superior Watershed Partnership, and Amanda Zeidler of Eagle Mine discussed the Citizen’s Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) – a program that is responsible for monitoring and communicating environmental impacts resulting from the operations of the Eagle Mine, a nickel and copper mine located 40 miles from Marquette.

As the event concluded, attendees were invited to participate in two upcoming Water Walks, which will take place on Jul. 20 and Oct. 8.

“These water walks are open to people of all colors, faiths, and philosophies to come together for life’s most precious gift: Nibi. While we carry Nibi in a copper vessel, we sing, we pray and we give much gratitude for Nibi,” said Kathleen Smith of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.

For more information on any of these topics, attendees were directed to visit KBIC’s website or Facebook page, or contact KBIC staff.