Encampment continues
Oganized to protest Copperwood Mine
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IRONWOOD -- Members of multiple tribal nations began a sit-in encampment last weekend called the Animikiiwadiswan (Thunderbird Nest) Encampment on Ottawa National Forest land. The location is adjacent to the proposed Copperwood Mine project site in Gogebic County, approximately 3 miles south of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park South Boundary Road.
Charlotte Loonsfoot, a member of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, co-executive manager of indigenous activist organization Mukwa Miikana and vice president of local environmental activist group Protect the Porkies, organized the encampment. Protect the Porkies was formed in 2023 by Tom Grotewohl in protest of the proposed Copperwood Mine, largely due to the potential environmental ramifications of having a mine located so near the state park and Lake Superior.
As of Saturday, Loonsfoot said that approximately 15 people had joined the encampment, both native and non-native. Two days after Protect the Porkies posted about the encampment on Facebook, “no overnight camping” signs went up around the site of the encampment. However, Loonsfoot says the sheriff stopped by and let them know they were in compliance with the law as long as camping remained more than 100 feet from the road.
“(We’re here) just to bring awareness, and information if anyone wants to know about (the proposed mine) and to communicate with the spirit here,” said Loonsfoot.
Loonsfoot said she plans to be at the encampment until late October, though a notice has since gone up on the Protect the Porkies website saying that the encampment will be winding down until Friday. On Saturday, a campfire and groups of tents and hammocks were gathered within view of the property boundary of the proposed mine site.
“There’s spirit here … this place is very spiritual,” said Loonsfoot. “That’s one of the reasons why I came. I wanted to feel it out and see what’s going on. Just be here, with everything, and to hand information to tourists … let people know what’s going on, because I know a lot of people don’t know.
“Our main source of income for our area is tourism. We want to keep that a thing, and if the mine goes in, there goes our tourism. This is the most beautiful place ever, anywhere.”
The official notice from Protect the Porkies about the encampment states, “An inexperienced Canadian company wants to build their first-ever mine right next to the Porcupine Mountains, Lake Superior and the North Country Trail. They would store 40+ million tons of toxic mine tailings in a waste basin visible from the State Park, which, if it ruptures, would flood the Lake with contamination.
“Michigan state representative Dave Prestin says the infrastructure and power grid expansion required for the mine would serve as the foundation for data centers and other heavy industries after the mine closes. Copperwood is not just a dangerous mining project — it's the beginning of a broader transformation to turn our most pristine land and water into an industrial corridor.
“The U.S. government is considering lending them $250 million to advance the project, and Michigan may provide more. But even without full funding, they are already destroying forest, streams and wetlands.”
KBIC released a statement during the Copperwood project's infancy in 2011, citing concerns about its mining methods, tailings disposal facility and impact on Lake Superior.
"Heavy metals must be prevented from entering nearby waterways and Lake Superior, especially considering the human health effects of the disclosed constituents that would leach from the [disposal facility]," the 2011 statement reads. "Health risks associated with heavy metals released into the environment will disproportionately affect Ojibwa peoples with subsistence traditions and higher rates of consumption of fish and other species. Ojibwa and other peoples may utilize the area’s resources and harbors now and into the future."
Susan Bietila, a Milwaukee-based artist and activist who was at the encampment Saturday, said
“I’ve worked with the anti-mining and anti-pipeline movements now for over 35 years, because I think, of all the things that are going on that you could be involved with, protecting the Great Lakes and the rivers from these crazy get-rich-quick schemes is number one for me.”
“Once these mines come in with the promise of jobs, which is a lie, they create hell on earth … I’m a retired public health nurse, and one of the first things you give to women who are pregnant is a warning about eating fish from the local water.
“The idea that you couldn’t eat the fish that come out of these beautiful lakes just seemed completely crazy to me … you can’t remediate this stuff … the water is so much more precious than anything that they could mine or ship in pipelines.”
As of Monday, neither Highland Copper nor its regional partners had made any statements regarding the encampment. In a recent Mining Technology article, Highland Copper said it was targeting a Q1 2027 publication of a feasibility study for the project.
According to regional communications partner Moment Strategies, Highland Copper intends to move forward with a recent letter of intent from the US Export-Import Bank by creating a binding debt facility.
“We’re in the beginning of the Eighth Fire right now,” said Loonsfoot, referencing the Anishinaabe Seven Fires Prophecy. “It’s where we change things. This is where we stand up and fight.”
“I'm holding Animikiiwadiswan to pray for and protect this sacred area from those who would destroy it,” said Loonsfoot.
More information about the Animikiiwadiswan Encampment is available at https://protecttheporkies.com/camp.