I’m Rachel Tilseth, author or Wolves of Douglas County Wisconsin. I invite you to join me this Monday on the Access Hour, where I’ll be hosting an in-depth conversation about the Ma’iingan Relationship Plan, and Native People’s perspective about the recent wolf hunt, with guests Marvin DeFoe & Peter David. On this Monday, March 8th at 7pm on the Access Hour right here on WORT.” www.wortfm.org
I’ve become disillusioned with the words “wolf management” because those words represent death to the beings I’ve come to respect and appreciate; as witnessed by the recent barbarism in the DNR’s wolf hunt. The Ma’iingan Relationship Plan gives me hope, and I want to learn more about this plan.
I’m looking forward to learning more about the plan from Marvin Defoe a contributing author of the Ma’iingan Relationship Plan and member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and Peter David a wildlife biologist with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and
Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC).
A Brief Explanation of the plan
The plan was aproved by Red Cliff Tribal Council November 2, 2015. Ma’iinganag are a culturally important species to the Ojibwe people of northern Wisconsin and more specifically the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Red Cliff Wolf Survey, 2012). The plan is intended to define the status of the wolf from the perspective of the Red Cliff reservation and its peoples.
The Ojibwe people (and more specifically the Red Cliff Tribe) hold a deep relationship with Ma’iinganag (wolves) that spans back to the origin story of the Anishinaabeg people. According to the Ojibwe creation story, Original Man was the last species placed on Earth. However, Original Man was placed on Earth alone and not in pairs. When Original Man asked the Creator why he was alone, the Creator sent him a brother, the ma’iingan. Original Man and ma’iingan walked the Earth together becoming very close to each other along their journey. Eventually, the Creator told Original Man and ma’iingan that they would travel separate paths, though their lives would be forever linked and what shall happened to one would also happen to the other.
Due to the cultural significance of ma’iingan to the Ojibwe, the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa view ma’iingan as a tribally important species and officially declared wolves a protected species within the exterior boundary of the Red Cliff reservation,” the protection plan states. “Hunting or trapping of wolves is prohibited.”
I invite you to join me this Monday on the Access Hour, where I’ll be hosting an in-depth conversation about the Ma’iingan Relationship Plan, and Native People’s perspective about the recent wolf hunt, with guests Marvin DeFoe & Peter David. On this Monday, March 8th at 7pm on the Access Hour right here on WORT.” www.wortfm.org
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