Nichole Keway Biber, tribal citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, demonstrated a traditional symbol of healing and medicine for Indigenous Americans, Ziibaaska’igan– otherwise known as jingle dress– in Grand Rapids Community College’s Secchia Hall.
“I’ve been a jingle dress dancer at this point for 25 years now. This dress is a responsibility. This is a medicine dress, a healing dress,” Biber said. “When invited to be somewhere and dance this dress, you take that invitation. There’s a reason why you’re asked to be there. When you can bring the sound and the intention and the healing purposes, you do so.”
After the Oct. 10 demonstration of Ziibaaska’igan, there was a brief intermission to talk and try some Anishinaabe food. Grand Rapids Community College’s Woodrick Center for Inclusion and Multicultural Affairs worked with Rose’s Food Stand, one of Michigan’s oldest documented Native American food stands and located in Grand Rapids, to serve manoomin (wild rice) along with a classic Anishinaabe soup.
During the intermission, Biber went from table to table with a petition for “Michiganders for Money Out of Politics,” an organization devoted to banning regulated utilities from financially contributing to state officeholders and political party committees.
“It’s such a conflict of interest — it gets some of that money out of our political system so then hopefully the people’s voice could have more influence,” Biber said, “Recently, there’s been another (utility) rate hike after several in just the past couple of years. Any chance that that’s going to be scrutinized more closely… it’ll be more likely to happen if they can’t give so much money to the decision makers.”
When the intermission was over, Biber presented in depth about one issue affecting not just the Anisihinaabe but all of Michigan, Enbridge Line 5.
Enbridge is a Canadian company, and Line 5 is an oil and gas pipeline that is 645 miles long, running through Wisconsin, Michigan, and crossing through the Straits of Mackinac. This pipeline was built in 1953 and was slated to survive 50 years, however it is still running 72 years later.
The pipeline runs through multiple rivers, and poses a threat of leaking due to corrosion, “It’s a really unpredictable, really place of great energy and current … and that’s where they put this pipeline,” Biber said.
Enbridge has proposed a new plan, inspired by college students who had the idea to build a tunnel around Line 5 to slow the corrosion. Despite the students’ findings, which determined that the project was not feasible due to unstable conditions around the pipeline, Enbridge went ahead with this proposal.
From a geological standpoint, the pipeline is surrounded by gravel and porous material which is not ideal for building on. From an indigenous point of view, building the tunnel will disrupt the sacred place for the Anishinaabe. The Straits of Mackinac are home to native wildlife and a final resting place for many Anishinaabe ancestors, “Among the Anishinaabe people, our ancestors are there. Our ancestors are buried there. What they have told the tribes is, ‘You’re just going to have to figure out what to do with your ancestors,’” Biber said.
Biber calls GRCC students to action, encouraging students to use their voices.
“Call the governor and say, ‘I’m a student, my future is dependent on a living earth. There’s such an egregious danger that’s still occurring and this false solution of a tunnel is trying to be handed to us. We need to not only protect but restore the waters. That’s the future I’m looking towards,’” she said. “That kind of pressure and just raising our voice is really important.”
