Tom Goldtooth: A Voice For The Four Directions

Tom Goldtooth has traveled to the four directions fighting exploitation of native lands. Goldtooth is the internationally well respected voice of the indigenous peoples, as executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network.

During a June thunderstorm in Northeastern Wisconsin, Tom Goldtooth from the Indigenous Environmental Network met with Indian and white environmental activists on Mole Lake Sokaogon Chippewa Reservation.

Goldtooth is Dine (Di-nay) and Dakota.  Goldtooth supports indigenous people around the globe resisting exploitation. Sandy Lyon of Anishinaabe Niijii recorded this interview; Nick Vander Puy from the Superior Broadcast Network produced the story.

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a photo collection of protection of the water and community at Mole Lake

		Photos by Sandy Lyon

 

Tom Goldtooth has traveled to the four directions fighting exploitation of native lands.  He stands with the western Shoshone people in Nevada trying to stop the nuclear waste depository at Yucca Mountain.

 “You hear their stories and their stories aren’t different than the one’s here of the people’s identification with the land.  I talk to elders from Yucca Mountain and they tell me when they were little kids they used to go into those areas and pick medicines also to put up prayers.  And they feels sad really bad that no one understands what they are trying to say. And when I came over here I heard the same story from the elders who are saddened by the mining corporations coming here, promising big things, promising the people a better tomorrow which never really comes.”

Goldtooth’s mother lives in Arizona.  Peabody Western Coal Company has had an immense impact on her community.

 “My mother is Navaho. So part of my life is in the southwest and definitely from that experience I know the impacts of uranium mining, coal mining, gas, oil extraction, dams, when they damned up the whole Colorado River.”

 The impacts are the  same for the Maori people in New Zealand, the aboriginal people in Australia, or the Adavasi, the first tribal peoples in India, or the Koi-san people of South Africa, or the Mah-puchi of South America or the many thousands of tribes in South America.

 “We all a similar belief that this earth, this planet is our mother, our true mother.  And that there is a spiritual relationship to this earth.  2) Most indigenous people have been colonized, so we carry the symptoms of colonization.”

 For instance, Navaho and Hopi tribal councils are dependent upon Peabody Western Coal for lease payments.

 According to Goldtooth native people need to resist colonization through a return to traditional teachings.

“So it’s been really difficult to address issues that impact our community.  Because we need to dig down deep somewhere and bring back traditional  teachings that our elders left us. We have to value what we’ve come to call traditional knowledge.”

This includes creation stories, ceremonies, and information about plant medicines.

 When he was a young man Gooldtooth was reluctant to share this information with white people. But now he recognizes the importance of coalition building with all races of people.  The fight against metallic sulphide mining at Mole Lake brought together many diverse people.

 “We have to build coalitions with non-native people. And that’s been proven here in this area, when you start to educate our grassroots and when we become familiar with the issues, and the history and practices of these corporations then we understand what our responsibilities are.”

 “As we look at the successes of pushing back the mineral extracting industry we have to sleep with one eye open, eh? Because they want to come back. They are just pests.  And I can’t figure them out.”

 Goldtooth observes  in North American we are in the early stages of a giant struggle over water.

“The privatization of water is epidemic.  We see bottled water all over.  Look at Nestles Corporation they’re pretty active in Michigan. They’re trying to open some bottling plants they’re trying to open up in Wisconsin. These corporations have no interest and no respect from where that water comes from.”

 After the thunderstorm and the June rain, the weather changes again in northern Wisconsin.

“So it’s good to be here.  There’s been a little bit of rain, there’s been some wind. And these sacred elements here.  I mean that happened in 1994.  But along with this the sun is shining the sun is going down on this Saturday.  It just feels so great….like Enahmaka, our mother earth is replenished, this is her time to replenish herself with the moisture and the cleansing that comes from the thunderbeings and the rain, it’s so beautiful, I don’t see it as a setback when she comes at these gathering, the wind, the rain, and our thunder, those are our relatives, eh?”

 I’m Nick Vander Puy for the Superior Broadcast Network

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