The Rights of Nature
When people stop by our farm on their way to Wildcat Mountain State Par or the Kickapoo Valley Reserve,
they are often in awe of the beauty. Many visitors come because they have heard that we still have dark skies. They seek to escape the light pollution that robs them of the glorious star show Nature has given.
For those coming from flatter terrains, or cement cities, the Driftless offers a respite for the eyes and for the soul. With winding creeks flowing into the Kickapoo River, the land is ancient and if you take the time to admire it, you can feel that. People come to be refreshed and to bathe in Nature. It is our good fortune that the hills have kept a lot of the area from being heavily developed. At a time when money is king, there is a need for vigilance and many have taken to preserving this magnificent land. The Kickapoo Valley Reserve is a testament to local people coming together to share and to preserve our bountiful beauty. Wildcat Mountain State Park just celebrated its seventy – five years in existence. The original land was a gift to posterity. Trout enthusiasts have long sought to protect our waters, and the Dark Sky initiative is working to ensure that we will go on seeing the glorious skies - which include the Milky Way and the occasional Aurora Borealis.
This respect for the land has been in large part guided by the Ho-Chunk people, who despite tremendous hardships due to settler invasion and government removal held onto traditional ways and understandings. The recognition of our interconnectedness with Nature and one another is woven into their culture. And we are all made better for it.
Now a newer endeavor has begun to take shape. An indigenous movement to create legalized protection of Nature has emerged throughout the world. It is known as the Rights of Nature.
The effort is to recognize Nature as a living entity that deserves our respect and our protection – legally, through our court systems. And while some have felt that Nature does not require our legal support, that it is sacred in and of itself, the reality remains that greed and beliefs of dominion have created catastrophic imbalances that are harming all of us.
Led by an unscrupulous ambition for money and an insatiable devouring of energy, we – the people of the world - are finding ourselves reeling from natural and man-made disasters.
Voices of marginalized and front line people are going unnoticed as profiteers of oil and other extractions continue to tear up the earth and reduce ecosystems to wastelands. Waterways are polluted at an alarming rate. Crop failures are leading countless people into hunger and starvation, while many turn a blind eye to the ignorance that has brought us to this moment.
With these near daily reminders of how far societies have drifted from the sacredness of Nature, the movement to create legal protections for Nature is gaining traction. There are drops of sanity emerging throughout the earth, beautiful jewels of wisdom and action and many are forming here in the Driftless and in the Midwest.
In 2018, the Ho Chunk Nation became the first tribal nation in the United States to recognize the Rights of Nature in its constitution. This effort to grant formal rights to non-human entities was spearheaded by Ho-chunk activist Bill Greendeer, who passed away in 2020. For a detailed explanation of how the amendment came to be, and where it now stands you can read more here.
The Chippewa of Minnesota and the White Earth band of Ojibwe came together and after numerous community discussions and reviews of Rights of Nature laws being passed throughout the world, they created protection for their wild rice, Manoomin. The resolution cites the importance of Manoomin to their cultural heritage, history and as a legacy to future generations.
And while there are numerous wins throughout the world as people take stands to defend Nature, there is another initiative, which is bringing new voices and energy to the Rights of Nature here in Wisconsin.
The alliances of WISDOM, a statewide network of faith-based organizations; the Menominee nonprofit, Menikanaehkem; and the Wisconsin organization Rights of Nature are advancing new ideas and laws whose time has come.
On September 21, 2023, the Milwaukee County Board Committee agreed that natural areas and systems should be viewed as having a right to exist. The Committee on Community, Environment and Economic Development recommended the resolution, making it policy to support the “Rights of Nature”. This makes the Milwaukee Board the first in the state to endorse the movement.
Today we are given the choice that settlers refused hundreds of years ago. Today we can protect Nature from the ignorance of greed and the ideas that we are separate and superior. Please take a moment and sign this petition from Rights of Nature Wisconsin, Wisdom, and Menikanaehkem.
Sign here: https://secure.everyaction.com/DQmEhEf3pE2eFAMwsuwQIw2
