Saint Paul, MN – Today, the US Senate revoked a 20-year mineral withdrawal protecting 225,378 acres of public lands in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness watershed from toxic mining on 50-49 vote. The move was led by Minnesota Republican Pete Stauber and paves the way to permanent pollution from a proposed sulfide-ore copper-nickel mine that Chilean mining giant Antofagasta has long sought to develop directly upstream of the Boundary Waters through its subsidiary, Twin Metals.
Members of the Native American Caucus in the Minnesota Legislature – Senator Mary Kunesh (DFL-New Brighton), Representative Heather Keeler (DFL-Moorhead), Representative Liish Kozlowski (DFL-Duluth), and Representative Shelley Buck (DFL-Maplewood) – released the following statement:
“Today is a dark day for our people and homelands – this battle is far from over. For thousands of years, our ancestors navigated these interconnected lakes and rivers. Today, millions come to paddle, fish, hunt, hike, dogsled, and pray. This is one of the most visited wilderness areas in the country. And it belongs to the public — not to foreign mining corporations.
“The entire 1854 Ceded Territory area are Ojibwe-Dakota homelands. The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT) Bands were signatories to the 1854 Treaty of LaPointe, which encompasses the BWCAW, and retain the right to enter millions of acres in the Arrowhead Region of Minnesota to exercise our treaty-reserved rights to hunt, fish, and gather.
“Authoritarian Republicans doubled down with an unprecedented procedural mechanism to undo hard-won protections and open the headwaters of this sacred place to greedy copper-sulfide mining corporations. This measure is a direct assault on Tribal sovereignty and abuses our natural relatives by paving the way for a proposed sulfide-ore copper-nickel mine—an industry notorious for exploitation and permanent toxic pollution. By prioritizing foreign entities over the health of Minnesotans, this administration is engaging in blatant environmental racism and stripping away the resources our youth and future generations depend on.
“The science is clear: this watershed is vast, pristine, and interconnected. Sulfide mining threatens both fish and humans with mercury, endangers manoomin and psin— the good berry — wild rice — and risks drinking water for generations. Furthermore, it threatens our economy and jobs, outdoor stewardship, public health, and will have wide-reaching impacts on cultural, spiritual, and subsistence practices for future generations to come. Pollution doesn’t stay put—it flows, and it bioaccumulates. It is not a question of if it will pollute irreversibly; it is a question of when.
“Now more than ever, the Minnesota Legislature has a critical role to play in preserving this extraordinary land, air, and water for years to come. Additional leases will come up for renewal in the coming years, and the State of Minnesota-- particularly the MPCA and DNR --has the clear legal authority to stop this dangerous mining project – we must have the courage to use it.
“Stand with clean water. Stand with workers. Stand with democracy. Stand with Sovereignty. Stand with Minnesotans. If we protect the water, it will protect us. We remain committed to doing everything in our collective power to protect the Boundary Waters, a sacred place, and we will never stop defending our natural relatives.”
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