Belated MLK event takes on topical relevance

The annual celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day hosted by First Presbyterian Church, rescheduled from last week because of an ice storm, took on added significance Tuesday with its focus on protecting the environment.

Guest speakers from the Menominee Tribe linked the civil rights struggle of the King era to Native American efforts to stop the Back 40 Mine proposed for the mouth of the Menominee River and the Dakota Access pipeline that would cross the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota.

First Presbyterian’s 14th annual Martin Luther King event took place on the same day that President Donald Trump issued an executive order giving a green-light to the Dakota pipeline, as well as the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

In both cases, environmentalists fear leaks in the pipeline could harm water supplies along the route.

“We had no idea how relevant tonight’s topic would be when we planned it,” said the Rev. Susan Phillips, pastor of First Presbyterian Church.

Phillips joined the Standing Rock tribe in North Dakota for a time last year, to show support for their cause.

She spoke Tuesday of the “peaceful, unarmed and prayerful protests” of the tribe that led to confrontations with authorities that became violent.

“People were injured, and in November, people were tear-gassed as they tried crossing the Missouri River, and people were wounded,” she said. “All for the sake of protecting the water.”

Kenneth “Bum Bum” Fish, a former Menominee legislator, said the underlying issue is civil and human rights.

“Indian people throughout history have constantly been fighting off the United States government and their encroachment on the land and natural resources,” he said.

“We here in Shawano wouldn’t want to see the Wolf River contaminated with oil, with other contaminants,” Fish said, recalling successful protests against the proposed Crandon mine in the 1990s.

Though the proposed projects have promised jobs, Fish said, “short-term economics does not have a place in the long-time effect to our environment.”

Fish questioned whether Wisconsin, once best known as a dairy state, was poised to become a fracking and mining state.

Fish also went to Standing Rock, and he said he was shocked by the media blackouts.

“When there was people being hurt on a daily basis, people being arrested on a daily basis, dogs being sicced on Indian people that are unarmed, it made my heart very, very sad to see this,” he said.

Fish said he was encouraged by the solidarity of so many Native American tribes and non-indigenous people who showed support.

“They came together to fight for the water,” he said. “Water is sacred. Water is life.”

Menominee singer and songwriter Wade Fernandez closed the celebration with protest songs against the Dakota Access pipeline and the Back 40 project.

Between songs, he encouraged resistance but discouraged acting negatively.

“We can’t get so caught up in the negative that we become angry and do something that will hurt the future,” he said. “It doesn’t do any good if we’re all sitting in jail and somebody’s out there poisoning everything.”

Phillips said after the event that the coincidence of it taking place on the day of Trump’s executive order would have made no difference.

“There would still be work to be done,” she said. “Whether it’s mines or pipelines or places we dump our trash or communities that get bulldozed to make room for stadiums. Usually when we’re trying to find a place to do those big projects or those risky projects, they end up in poor people’s communities, disproportionally people of color.”

Phillips also said she was not concerned that the views might seem more political than spiritual.

“My read of the entirety of scripture is a community of faith trying to figure out how to live faithfully in the shadow of empire,” she said. “Whether that’s Assyrian, Babylonian, Greek, Roman. How do we live faithfully in the midst of empire?”

She said trying to figure out how to preserve God’s creation is the work of faith.

“In the Presbyterian tradition, we believe faithful people can disagree and still love each other,” she said.

“I’m inspired by the way in which different communities of people are recognizing the significance of one another’s movements and figuring out ways to collaborate,” Phillips said.

“We recognize that we are all relatives, that we belong to each other, that we can’t escape one another, that we are neighbors,” she said. “As citizens of this country we have a responsibility to talk to one another, to work with each other and figure out ways that deepen our connections, provide more opportunities for everyone to be the best people they can be, and I would hope that’s everyone’s goal.”