L’ANSE – Keweenaw Bay Indian Community commercial fishermen will be getting some help developing tribal fishing standards and studying the possibility of a fish marketing co-op, thanks to a $30,000 grant from the First Nation’s Development Institute.

The Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Housing & Community Development Corp. will administer the grant, a sign that work goes on at a nonprofit that has been tied up in a legal battle with the KBIC since CDC Executive Director Eddy Edwards essentially divorced it from tribal control a year ago.

It’s also a test of whether the CDC and tribe can work together to benefit tribal members – still the CDC’s main mission – while their differences are settled. According to Edwards, the Keweenaw Bay Fishers’ Association the CDC plans to form is meant to work closely with the tribal Natural Resources Department in developing a new fisheries plan to manage resources.

So far, so good, said Edwards. He recently got a call from Tribal President Warren “Chris” Swartz, he said, and they seemed to be generally on the same page regarding the Fishers’ Association.

“That’s a thing of progress,” Edwards said. “Hopefully we can work together on some good things and can break down some barriers and try to create some trust.”

Along with their work on the management plan, the Fishers’ Association will also develop a web site to promote healthy diets heavy on local foods, supporting fishermen and other local food providers, he said. The plan also includes preliminary work toward a possible co-op to help fishermen market their catch.

“The purpose is to promote healthy foods and the local economies that deal with healthy foods,” said Edwards.

Creating the Fishers’ Association might be a challenge, Edwards said, but he’s confident it’s worth the effort.

“Fishermen, a lot of them are strongly independent, so forming an association won’t be easy,” he said, “but I spoke with many of them before I applied. Many are in favor of the idea.”

Edwards said this isn’t the first time the CDC has invested in tribal fisherman.

“We want to see them succeed,” he said.

Not everything has gone so smoothly for the CDC or the tribe since the CDC’s secession. Look for more information on the situation in upcoming issues of the Daily Mining Gazette.