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Anchor: Antonia Gonzales
The Montana Board of Environmental Review is asking federal regulators to invalidate a water quality standard aimed at reducing pollution flowing into Montana from Canadian coal mines.
Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton has more.
In a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the governor-appointed Board of Environmental Review is once again claiming the Lake Koocanusa selenium standard is invalid.
The pollution standard sets rules for how much selenium is acceptable in the lake. The toxin is known to harm fish reproduction.
State environmental board officials earlier this year voted to overturn the current rule, saying it didn’t follow federal standards.
However, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the EPA have kept it in place, having previously approved the pollution standard.
DEQ said the board doesn’t have the power to invalidate the rule and that its claims don’t merit review by the agency or the EPA.
The EPA said in a statement to MTPR it’s reviewing the board’s letter.
Teck Resources’, which owns the Canadian coal mines that are the source of selenium pollution, and Lincoln County commissioners have pushed the environmental review board for over a year to invalidate the standard.
This comes as tribes from Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia push for International Joint Commission involvement under the U.S.-Canada Boundary Waters Treaty to stop pollution from the mines.
The Watersmeet Township School District in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is bringing Ojibwe language and culture into the classroom.
WXPR’s Erin Gottsacker spoke with school leaders about the changes and what they mean for the school’s majority American Indian population.
When Alina Shively was a student in Watersmeet, her Ojibwe heritage was largely ignored in the public schools.
“It was actually kind of unheard of for any of our language or culture to be acknowledged on a daily basis.. Everybody knew we were Native kids and where we lived in town and where we were from, but it was never really embraced.”
But this year, that’s changing.
The school district is working with a consultant for Native American best practices to better include its indigenous students – who represent nearly 80% of the school’s student body.
“Want to make sure that everyone feels welcomed and appreciated at the Watersmeet Township School District.”
That’s George Peterson III, the district’s superintendent.
He says some of the changes the school is implementing are small – like including Ojibwe greetings in daily announcements.
“Every morning, we’ve added to our morning announcements boozhoo, which means hello, and then when she closes, she says miigwech, or thank you.”
Teachers are also making a concerted effort to include Ojibwe language and history in their lessons.
“It’s pretty eye opening for everyone to see what that culture has gone through and the way they were treated. It’s pretty sad really. We want to help them get through that, and the way to do that is we have to teach them about it and move on from there.”
For Alina Shively, who is now the historic preservation officer for the Lac Vieux Desert tribe and a mother of three, these small changes represent a monumental shift from the time her parents attended an American Indian boarding school.
“Education hasn’t been a fun experience in my family history. I can say that is really changing for my kids and all of our kids.”
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