Today brought together many people for the immersion week of our project. Anita Gonzalez (theatre director and professor), John Diehl (photographer), Jonathan Diehl (writer), Zach Kolodziej (U of M alum), and Malcolm Tulip (director and theatre professor) made up the Ann Arbor contingent of our group, and were joined by Jillian Walker, a New York playwright the day before. At LSSU they met with theatre students Tamantha, Michaela, and Michael, and Theatre Professor Spencer Christensen and English Prof. Mary McMyne to discuss collaboration. Rebecca Parrish came with a draft of 50 Cents a Pound, a play chronicling the Fish Wars, and the fight for native fishing rights in the Soo. Rebecca explained how she had compiled the play from stories told to her by the fishermen of Bay Mills who had struggled to maintain their livelihood against racist intimidation and broken treaties. After reading the play, we came away with a deeper understanding of the challenges of fishing, the harsh reality of both the unbridled weather and the rampant intimidation they received from sports fishermen. Decades after Big Abe LeBlanc of Bay Mills knowingly risked arrest in 1971 to defend his treaty rights, the legal battle for the recognition of Ojibwe fishing rights still continues, as tribes must have their rights renew every five years.
Leaving LSSU, we traveled to the Dancing Crane for a quick coffee break before heading to Bay Mills Community College, hoping to meet more tribal members who would want to speak about the fight for fishing rights. We met with Kathy LeBlanc, Cultural Services Director, who spoke to the connection between struggles for fishing rights and the plights facing the water across the Earth. Next we sat with Wade Teeple, former fisherman and tribal chairman, in his office at Bay Mills. He spoke about the harassment the native fisherman received not only from “sporties” but from police and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) who would interrupt their work for petty violations, sometimes arresting and fining them or causing them to lose a day’s work.
The day ended with a great dinner at Indo-China Garden reflecting on a day packed with new information and new directions to follow. We’ll see what comes together in the next few weeks – right now the paths are wide open!
Rebecca Parrish (center left) talks to students and professors at LSSU before reading through 50 Cents a Pound.
LSSU students Tamantha (top) and Michael (bottom) share their reactions to reading the play.
Anita (left), Michael (middle), Michaela (right) and others walk through campus at Bay Mills Community College.
Schools Out!