About the Project
Our creator provided specific instructions for the Neshnabék people, and our spiritual law dictates how we must take care of and look after our Grandmother Earth. Throughout the Tribe’s history, certain species of plants and animals have become culturally significant for a number of factors including, but not limited to, food, clothing, medicine, tools and cultural practices. After the discovery of multiple magwésiyëk threatening Tribal property, the Tribe created the Invasive Species Management Plan (ISMP) to guide magwésiyëk control efforts. The purpose of the ISMP is to improve and protect native plant and animal diversity, improve aesthetic and recreational uses and improve wildlife habitat. The ISMP focuses on practical strategies and actions that will help to reduce the impact of babkan zhe gajë-dayêk on culturally significant resources and the native ecosystem.
Forest resources such as shenamesh (sugar maple trees) and wisgak (black ash trees) are of particular importance to Gun Lake Tribe. Due to the ongoing threat to wisgak, the Environmental Department created the Wisgak (Black Ash) Conservation Plan to guide management efforts alongside of the ISMP.
In accordance to traditional belief, mbish (water) represents the sacred connection we have with all life. Mbish literally means the substance that supports our life or path on Grandmother Earth. It is mbsih that opens the door way of life. The Great Lakes Basin holds a vast history of honoring the resources that were bestowed upon her people. Bmadze yawen I mbish (water is life). Aquatic invasive species (AIS) threaten native life, systems and economies that rely on our fresh mbsih. Managing AIS within the inland lakes and streams is an important part of Gun Lake Tribe’s commitment to managing natural resources and protecting resources culturally significant to the Tribe.
Click here to access the AIS Field Guide
Gun Lake Tribe aims to maintain balanced ecosystems and a reciprocal relationship with Grandmother Earth. The Environmental Department strives to minimize the damage to Tribal resources by magwésiyëk through eradication of known outbreaks and restoration efforts to prevent future magwésiyëk establishment. To accomplish this, the Tribe monitors and controls or eradicates magwésiyëk while restoring native species. Through magwésiyëk prevention and response, the Tribe will protect our traditions, land and natural resources for future generations. Prevention through education and outreach is a large portion of Gun Lake Tribe’s magwésiyëk projects. These actions will help with the management of magwésiyëk before these species become widespread and too costly to treat.
The Environmental Department has partnered with the West Michigan Cooperative Invasive Species Area (CISMA) and the Barry, Calhoun and Kalamazoo CISMA to enhance these efforts throughout the Tribe’s service region.