People & Wolves: a Wisconsin story of coexistence.

The film uses video footage of wolves courtesy of the Voyageurs Wolf Project. Gray Wolves Credit https://www.voyageurswolfproject.org/

The film is in the final stages of post-production. There is a rough cut of the story!

For centuries, the Ojibwe have lived alongside their brother Ma’iingan, who we know in English to be the wolf. A brutal hunt in February 2021 stirs emotion and grief for Ma’iingan as they see what happens to him happen to them. People & wolves: a Wisconsin story of coexistence.

And what a story it is! After spending a year filming interviews with a wildlife biologists, tribal members, and a hunter, the producers are satisfied with the progress. We, the producers, viewed the rough cut of the story that talented film editor Justin Koehler put together.

“I’m literally in tears. It’s so beautiful,” Producer Manish Bhatt said after viewing it.

The next step is a final cut of the film with a trailer. At that point, the producers will enter the film at film festivals across the Midwest, hoping to win awards. We are willing to state that his movie is award-winning and a festival winner!

We have already received interest to air it on television. It’s a film that will open the conversation about coexistence. We can’t wait to take it on the road for that purpose. We need your help. Please click the red box below to make a tax-deductible donation to the film.

For centuries, the Ojibwe have lived alongside their brother Ma’iingan, who we know in English to be the wolf. A brutal hunt in February 2021 stirs emotion and grief for Ma’iingan as they see what happens to him happen to them. People & wolves: a Wisconsin story of coexistence.

The film tells the story of Wisconsin’s gray wolves, the controversies surrounding them, and how people learn to coexist as these native predators are again fulfilling their ecological role after returning to the state about 45 years ago.

The film’s fiscal sponsor is Film North. You can make a tax-deductible donation to the film. Film North’s mission is to empower artists to tell their stories, launch and sustain successful careers, and advance The North as a leader in the national network of independent filmmakers. We achieve our mission by nurturing a vibrant, diverse community of film and media artists, providing education and resources at every stage of their careers, and celebrating their achievements. Click the red button below to make your tax-deductible donation. We appreciate your support!

What led to the brutal February wolf int in Wisconsin?

Gray wolves recolonized parts of Wisconsin in the 1970s after being killed off in the state in the 1950s and grew to a population of over 1000 wolves by 2020. Unfortunately, this conservation success story has become very controversial in the last decade. Federal and state endangered species acts have helped recover wolves in the state. Still, four attempts by the federal government to delist wolves from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), have resulted in court challenges returning wolves to the endangered list. After federal delisting in 2012, the Wisconsin legislature mandated that wolf hunts would be required whenever gray wolves were off the ESA list.

The most recent delisting battle started in January 2021, leading to a court-ordered three-day controversial wolf hunt during the breeding season in February, and it went over the allotted quota, angering many Wisconsinites. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) began work on a new state Wolf Management Plan completed in 1999. The DNR formed a committee of stakeholders, including the tribes.

Ojibwe bands in Red Cliff and Bad River have their own Ma’iingan (Wolf) Relationship Plans. The state must work with the tribes on wolf management, including hunting seasons. Political battles began over how to manage the next hunt in November 2021. The struggle between the DNR, its Natural Resources Board, and pro-wolf advocates ended with several lawsuits and one that yielded an injunction to stop the November 2021 wolf hunt. The Six Ojibwe tribes sued and claimed the wolf hunt violated their treaty rights.

A year after the controversial wolf hunt, a California judge ordered gray wolves in much of the lower 48 states back on the ESA on February 18, 2022. Though gray wolves have numerically recovered in Wisconsin, the future of wolf management remains in limbo in the state.

MEET THE PEOPLE

Edith is a Bad River Tribal member, retired from working as the Bad River Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) for the past 18 years. She is a discussant and presenter on a local, regional, national, and international level on a variety of issues related to Bad River Tribal History, inherent practices (culture), Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), Tribal perspectives of climate change, Tribal Historic Preservation, historical trauma, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). She is also a published co-author of Waking from Paralysis: Revitalizing Conceptions of Climate Knowledge and Justice for More Effective Climate Action; Marion Suiseeya KR, O’Connell MG, Leoso E, et al. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 2022; 700(1):166-182. Also, in the process of being published as co-author for Ganawendan Ginibiminaan: Mobilizing with the Bad River Ojibwe Community for Watersheds-At-Risk; Conaway D, Leoso E. Ecology and Society; 2023.

Marvin DeFoe is a contributing author of the Ma’iingan Relationship Plan and a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. He is an educator, teacher, birch bark canoe builder, and Red Cliff elder. He grew up in the Red Cliff community and is part of the Sturgeon clan. He is named Shingway Banase in Anishinaabe and is passionate about maintaining and revitalizing the Ojibwe language. Marvin is the past Vice Chair of the tribal council and has been the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for four years.

Peter David is a retired wildlife biologist with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, where he assists GLIFWC’s member tribes in implementing their off-reservation, treaty-reserved rights. He received his education (bachelor’s and master’s in Wildlife Ecology) from UW-Madison and from the tribal elders and members for whom he has worked for the last 35 years. At the Commission, he has had the opportunity to steward resources as varied as wild rice and wolves.

Patrick Durkin of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is an award-winning outdoor writer, newspaper columnist, and general outdoors reporter. He has been MeatEater’s wildlife research contributor since June 2018 and frequently writes for national archery and hunting magazines. Durkin also provides editing services for books and magazines and was a contributing editor/writer for the Archery Trade Association from September 2001 through January 2021.

Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace.

Dr. Jane Goodall, Equipped with little more than a notebook, binoculars, and her fascination with wildlife, Jane Goodall braved a realm of unknowns to give the world a remarkable window into humankind’s closest living relatives. Through nearly 60 years of groundbreaking work, Dr. Jane Goodall has not only shown us the urgent need to protect chimpanzees from extinction; she has also redefined species conservation to include the needs of local people and the environment. Today she travels the world, speaking about the threats facing chimpanzees and environmental crises, urging each of us to take action on behalf of all living things and the planet we share.

When Jane Goodall entered the forest of Gombe, the world knew very little about chimpanzees, and even less about their unique genetic kinship to humans. She took an unorthodox approach in her field research, immersing herself in their habitat and their lives to experience their complex society as a neighbor rather than a distant observer and coming to understand them not only as a species but also as individuals with emotions and long-term bonds. Dr. Jane Goodall’s discovery in 1960 that chimpanzees make and use tools is considered one of the greatest achievements of twentieth-century scholarship. Her field research at Gombe transformed our understanding of chimpanzees and redefined the relationship between humans and animals in ways that continue to emanate around the world.

People & Wolves producer Michael Waasegiizhig Price interviewing Sandy Gokee

Sandy Gokee, an enrolled member of the Red Cliff Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

MEET THE FILMMAKERS

Rachel Tilseth – Producer & Director
Rachel Tilseth is an art educator, freelance writer, filmmaker, and DNR volunteer Winter Wolf Tracker. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Art Education in 1992, from UW-Stout, graduating with cum laude honors. Rachel’s first teaching job was on Pine Ridge Reservation in Kyle, South Dakota. Rachel believes an art education helps students to become better consumers. Rachel is a fine artist who emphasizes watercolor and oil painting. Rachel brings her knowledge of design principles to her work as a documentary film director.

Since high school, Rachel has been an environmentalist and participated in the first Earth Day in 1971. In the 1990s, she participated in the sulfate mines protests alongside activists John Trudell and Walter Bresette at the Protect The Earth Festival near Hayward, Wisconsin. In 1991 on a howl survey in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Rachel met Wisconsin’s Wolf Recovery Program Head Wolf Biologist. Seven years later, she became involved in Wisconsin’s Wolf Recovery Program. She became a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Volunteer Winter Wolf/Carnivore Tracker in the year 2000 and, as a result, learned about the lives of wild gray wolves. As the film’s producer, Rachel brings her knowledge of Wisconsin’s wolves & the politics surrounding them.

Manish Bhatt – Co-Producer
Manish Bhatt is a conservationist, writer, lawyer, and education leader. He holds a Bachelors of Arts magna cum laude from George Washington University, a Juris Doctor magna cum laude from St. Thomas University School of Law, and a LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Having grown up in a rural New York Catskill Mountains community, Manish is committed to preserving wild spaces and wildlife. As an officer and Judge Advocate in the United States Coast Guard, Manish deployed in support of cleanup efforts following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and led section 7 consultations with federal agency partners under the Endangered Species Act. He also worked closely with the Environmental Protection Agency and State Historic Preservation Officers to ensure compliance with marine environmental laws and regulations. Manish has served as a teacher and Head of School and believes in experiential and outdoor education. As a school leader, he worked closely with fundraising partners and grant providers to ensure student success and curricular development.

Manish is a feature and investigative writer for the Wolves of Douglas County Wisconsin Films. To each article, he brings deep curiosity and commitment to objectivity. As a lifelong learner, Manish seeks data and trend analysis as a part of his reporting, in addition to interviewing experts in wolf biology. Manish has co-hosted, alongside Rachel Tilselth, WORT Radio’s Access Hour to share wolf science and information with the listening audience.

Michael Waasegiizhig Price – Co-Producer
He is appearing in the film. He is the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Specialist at the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission headquartered in Odanah, WI. He is Anishinaabe and an enrolled member of Wikwemikong First Nations, Canada. His role as TEK Specialist involves integrating Anishinaabe language, cultural perspectives, and ceremony into research methods and resource management to make science more culturally relevant. Michael received his Master of Science in Forestry from the University of Montana and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Benedictine College in Atchison, KS. He also received his Certificate of Ojibwe Language Instruction from Bemidji State University.