Kill a Wolf, Kill a Culture
Rights of the Ojibwe People Violated in Michigan Wolf Hunt
The issue of holding a wolf hunt in Michigan continues to cause heated debate among some Michigan residents, yet many residents do not recognize or understand the grave consequences that this decision holds. The question of a wolf hunt is not simply a matter of voting rights, hunting rights, or the age old fight between preservationist and sportsmen. Deeming Michigan’s gray wolf a game animal violates the basic human rights and religious freedom of our Native neighbors.
The Ojibwe people of our State value the wolf in the same way that Christians in this country value Jesus—as a brother on whom their fate depends. The Ojibwe call the wolf Ma’iingan, which means brother. Ma’iingan plays an important role in the Ojibwe creation story; the wolf was created as a companion for the first man and the two grew very close to one another.
In the Ojibwe Native American culture wolves and humans are kin whose fates are directly intertwined. (photo by canstockphoto.com)
The Ojibwe creation story, as documented by Edward Benton-Benai in The Mishomis Book, tells of how the Creator told man and Ma’iingan that they must go their separate ways but will share the same fate—what happens to one will happen to the other. These words rang true when European settlers landed on the continent and began to campaign against, hunt down, and kill Native American people and North American wolves for centuries. The United States government placed bounties on both man and Ma’iingan’s head that led to the near extinction of each brother.
The degree of destruction wrought on both the Native American people and the wolf is shocking. Native Americans were rounded up and forced onto small pieces of unwanted land that amounts to less than 2.3 percent of their original homeland today. Wolves, who also used to roam all 48 continental states, were eliminated from every state except for small populations in northern Minnesota and on Isle Royal by 1960, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Sentiments of Manifest Destiny and false representations of both Native Americans and wolves as ravenous and dangerous beasts led Americans to regard each with hatred and intolerance that has lasted through the centuries. So many innocent souls were destroyed in the struggle for power by a nation that has yet to condemn, concede, or put an end to these attitudes today.
Wolves were eliminated from every state except for small populations in northern Minnesota and on Isle Royal by 1960, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (images by canstockphoto.com)
In a country where one can build a mosque, worship in a temple, marry four wives, live as if it were still the 18th century, or believe in nothing at all—the law requires that all Americans respect and preserve each of these beliefs. Yet the Native American people, whose beliefs often conflict with our own selfish ambition, are repeatedly denied the rights of religious freedom or even the civility of respect.
Acts have been made to protect the culture and religion of our nation’s Native population but these acts are ineffective due to the remaining prejudice and ignorance of Americans towards Native Americans. Such attitudes are being demonstrated here in Michigan, where the treatment of a sacred animal that is directly linked to the fate of a people has become the matter of dirty political debate.
In Michigan, politicians and citizens who champion the wolf hunt are denying the simple rights of humanity to the Ojibwe people in much the same way that Southerners used to hold African Americans as slaves–on the basis that they do not deserve the fundamental rights of humanity because they are less than people. It is time for bigoted attitudes and chauvinistic worldviews in this country and in this state to finally be condemned. It is time that Americans, the ambassadors of decorum and equality, recognize and treat all humans with tolerance and dignity.
It is ironic that a country which so fervently protects the eagle, our national symbol of freedom, does nothing to preserve a figure so sacred to its people. The wolf is much more than a mere symbol to the Ojibwe, and those who seek to exploit the wolf seek also to murder a brother, a friend, and the peace of a people who have suffered far more than we can understand. We should be grateful that wolves survived the slaughter of their species, albeit a mere six were estimated to be surviving in Michigan by 1973, and we should now work to protect the culture of the Ojibwe people by respectfully preserving the animal in whom part of the Ojibwe identity is found.
Close ties between wolves and humans are also part of ancient Roman culture from the story of Romulus and Remus who were raised by a she wolf as depicted in this statue in Rome. (photo Wikipedia.com)
There is no justifiable reason to declare the wolf a game animal and desecrate the sacred relationship between the Ojibwe and Ma’iingan. There have been no fatal wolf attacks in Michigan or the entire continental United States ever recorded throughout history. The wolf poses no threat to humans and wolf numbers are capable of being monitored humanely by those employed by the government to do so. The desire for a wolf hunt in Michigan despite protests from local Ojibwe tribes is a shameful remnant of our ancestors’ exploitative attitudes towards Native Americans and demonstrates the remaining disregard of Michigan citizens towards their fellow human beings.
Citizens have already demonstrated that they have the power to influence this debate with petitions and propaganda that further their own cause–now it is time to stop the petty fighting and focus on the real, living people affected by this momentous decision. Now is the time for every one of us to speak up and put an end to the oppression of men, women, and children in our state by making an effort to respect and preserve the culture and religion of the Ojibwe people.
Whether or not the wolf hunt appears on the 2014 ballot, we have both the power and the duty to refuse to oppress others any longer by fostering awareness, understanding, and acceptance of the sacred relationship between the Ojibwe and Ma’iingan. Please do not take the matter of a wolf hunt in Michigan lightly or get lost in the irrelevant reasoning of others because in deciding the fate of the wolf you will decide to bring either pain or peace to a long suffering people. You will decide the moral standing of the state of Michigan. You will decide whether or not to grant a people their humanity. You will decide if America truly stands for injustice or freedom.
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