Spirit Lake and Crow Creek Tribal Historic Preservation Officers object to Afton Wastewater Treatment project

In email messages transmitted to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on September 1, 2016, by Tamara St.  John, the widely respected Tribal Historian for the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, Erich Longie, the THPO for the Spirit Lake Tribe and Bonnie McGee, the THPO for the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe voiced their opposition to the Afton wastewater treatment project, on the basis of its adverse effect on the Rattlesnake Effigy Mound in Afton, Minnesota.Bonnie McGee wrote:

The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe is opposed  [to the determination] of no effect made by the MPCA at the Rattesnake mound as it is a part of our cultural heritage of the Oceti Sakowin. Thank You, Bonnie McGhee, THPO Director, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe

Erich Longie wrote:

Our ancestors roamed Minnesota thousands of years before they were forced to migrate to Spirit Lake. We still view those lands as our homeland. We would like to see the graves of our ancestors there, undisturbed. In regards to Rattle Snake Mound, we have the same concerns as the other tribes have, which is, construction of any kind will have an adverse effect on what is obviously a cultural site. Please add my concerns about Rattle Snake Mound to the lists of concerns from other tribes. Pidamaya! Erich Longie, Ed.D. Spirit Lake THPO

A representative of the Ho-Chunk Nation calls for a halt to all construction efforts on the Afton wastewater treatment project

Letter from Robert V. TwoBears, Ho-Chunk Nation District 5 Representative, Black River Falls, WI, August 31, 2016, to MPCA

On December 31, 2015, I caused a letter to be sent on behalf of the Rattlesnake Effigy Mound in St. Croix Valley, Afton Minnesota. The City of Afton applied for a permit with the MPCA for construction on a wastewater treatment plant on the location of the Rattlesnake Effigy Mound.

The National Historic Preservation Act (“NHPA”) provides legislative mandates for environmental review and consultation requirements, and demands that planners of a federally supported project take into account its effect on any area eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. 16 U.S.C. S. § 470f; 16 U.S.C.S. § 470a (a). The NHPA provides that planners shall consult with any Indian tribe that attaches religious and cultural importance to an eligible affected area. 16 U.S.C.S. § 470a (d)(6)(B). Consulting tribes are entitled to a reasonable opportunity to identify concerns about historic properties, advise on the identification and evaluation of historic properties, including those of traditional religious and cultural importance, articulate views on the undertaking’s effects on them, and participate in resolving those effects. §§ 800.3-800.7.

On May 20th 2016, the MCPA met with Tribal representatives in the Minnesota area for a Tribal Consultation. During this consultation, a concern was expressed regarding mammal bones found on the site of the Rattlesnake Effigy Mound. A follow-up study was promised to determine if the mammal bones were human. As an interested Tribal party, I am writing to request that all construction efforts halt until the promised study has been conducted. Pursuant to 36 C.F.R § 800.4(d)(1), and via this communication, an objection is now being presented in the allotted 30-day time period.

Until evidence has been presented to rebut the existence of human remains on the site of the Rattlesnake Effigy Mound, the project cannot move forward, as doing so would irreparably damage the historical and cultural integrity of the Rattlesnake Effigy Mound under the NHPA and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (“NAGPRA”). Any movement forward without a final study, discounts credible evidence of human remains on-site of the Rattlesnake Effigy Mound, evidence that is known to the MCPA. Please contact me, or Legislative Attorney Gennafer Garvin, at the Ho-Chunk Nation Legislative office for further guidance.

Best regards, Robert V. TwoBears, Ho-Chunk Nation District 5 Representative (715) 299-0649

The Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe concludes that the Afton Wastewater and Treatment Facility will have an adverse effect on the Rattlesnake Effigy Mound including “the possibility of further desecration”

Letter from Teanna Limpy, THPO, Northern Cheyenne Nation, Lame Deer, Montana, to Corey Mathisen, Senior Engineer, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 520 Lafayette Road North, St. Paul, MN, 55155-4194, RE: City of Afton Wastewater & Treatment Facility Afton, Washington County MnHPO Number: 2015-1403

Dear Mr. Mathisen,

We are writing in response to the ‘no adverse effect’ finding, as determined by the MPCA, pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Upon review of the current proposal to construct a Wastewater and Treatment Facility within the APE of the Rattlesnake Effigy Mound; we have concluded that this will have a direct impact on tribal cultural resources, as well as an adverse effect on traditional knowledge and cultural resources that my tribe, as well as other area tribes hold in high regard. As per the 36 CFR 800 regulations and specifically 36 CFR 800.5 (c)(1), our objection to the project is outlined as follows:

Minnesota was once home to the Cheyenne people, and we still hold our ancestral lands in high regard. The Cheyenne ancestral land base extends from Minnesota to the Rocky Mountains, and we have maintained a continued presence there by ensuring that our cultural identity is preserved by protecting the integrity of sites that may have historically been affiliated with our tribe. The rattlesnake effigy mound was determined by the Minnesota State Historical Preservation Office and consulting tribes to be a site that is eligible to the National Register of Historic Places under criterion A, C, and D. Therefore, additional construction of pipelines within the previously determined buffer zone threatens the existing archaeological integrity of the Rattlesnake Effigy mound, in that further construction in this area may result in permanent loss of cultural resources for future generations,

Finally, our concerns echo those of other tribal nations, and additional government-to-government consultation is needed so tribes can provide valuable input that can mitigate potential losses for both sides in the future. It is with my highest recommendation that a mitigation plan be created for avoidance of directional drilling under and within the buffer zone of the Rattlesnake effigy mound. The possibility of further desecration to this sacred area alarms tribes, in that there is an increased potential for loss of significant archaeological and cultural resources that contribute to our traditional cultural and ecological knowledge that has maintained our way of life. Thank you for your time and effort in considering our comments.

Sincerely, Teanna Limpy, THPO

The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate does not concur in the MPCA finding on the desecration of the Afton Rattlesnake Mound

Letter from Dianne Desrosiers, SWO THPO, Agency Village, SD, to Corey Mathisen, Senior Engineer, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Re: Afton Wastewater Collection and Treatment System MnHP0 #: 2015-1403, August 30, 2016

Mr. Mathisen:

We are writing in response the MPCA section 106 findings on the City of Afton Old Village Improvements Project dated August 2, 2016 as per our responsibilities in the Section 106 process according to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended). As per the 36 CFR 800 regulations and specifically 36 CFR 800.5 (c)(1) we are now providing written documentation of objection to the MPCA’s finding of no adverse effects.

The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and the Tribal Historic Preservation Office, on behalf of our cultural preservation board and numerous other concerned tribes and tribal members of the Oceti Sakowin, has made clear and continued effort to address the issues surrounding this project since first notification and particularly since February 19, 2016. At that time, we conveyed critical concerns about the lack of defined area of potential effect (APE) and stated that certainly for us as a Dakota tribe and a part of the Oceti Sakowin, we define the area of potential effect to be the entire area of the mound including the exterior areas of the mound site as a part of the burial site with the potential for disturbance of human remains. I would like to refer to the attached letter by Nigel Parry to Tamara StJohn and the SWO THPO, Sept 1, 2016. This letter relates to the artifacts and human remains at the site and also acknowledges the Minnesota cemetery law. The letter also speaks to our assertion of the mound complex with potential for burials in between the mound areas to be significant.

We would like to reiterate that the entire area as a whole is a part of the cultural teachings including oral history identify more than just the mound itself to be of importance to the Dakota and Oceti Sakowin. I am attaching an email from Crow Creek Sioux Tribe THPO stating their opposition to the determination as well. I will also be requesting that the other tribes who have brought us concerns about the project, attach their comments with ours as a part of the Oceti Sakowin and aboriginal tribes.

The SWO THPO continues to concur with the MnSHPO in the determination of Rattlesnake mound (21WA10) as being eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under criteria A, C, and D and with the reiteration of recommendation that the evaluation of the site be fully documented according to the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for evaluation as well as the requirement for archaeological survey and inventory. SWO THPO also recommends that the field site N5.5 E12 now (21WA0166) be evaluated for NRHP eligibility. It is our determination that both sites as National Register eligible properties, should be afforded protection as such under the National Historic Preservation Act.

The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and the SWO THPO do not agree with your determination of ‘No Adverse Effect”.

Sincerely, Dianne Desrosiers SWO THPO

[Note: The enclosures mentioned above will be published later, on their own, at this website.]

Overwhelming Tribal Rejection of MPCA’s “No Adverse Effect” Finding on the Afton Effigy Mounds…All Four Federally Recognized Dakota Nations in Minnesota Unite to Voice their Objections to the Wastewater Treatment Facility

The recently complete comment period for “consulting parties” in relation to the Afton Wastewater project has compiled a record of overwhelming objection to the (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA’s) finding  that there will be “no adverse effect” of the project on the Afton Effigy mound and other mounds in the mound group, a site which consultants have stated is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Not a single tribal group from within and outside Minnesota has agreed with the MPCA. All their comments must be read carefully by anyone seeking to form an opinion about the effect of the wastewater project on this sacred and culturally important place.

All these comments will be transcribed and made available on this website. To start with here is a transcription of the letter submitted by all four federally recognized Dakota communities in Minnesota, located at Prairie Island, Shakopee, Lower Sioux, and Upper Sioux. In an unprecedented and eloquent letter the communities unite in their rejection of the MPCA’s finding.

September 1, 2016. Letter to Corey Mathisen, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 520 Lafayette Road North, St. Paul, MN 55155-1194\(p) 657-2554

RE: Notification of MPCA Findings-Section 106 Review-Afton project-Mni Sota Dakota Nation Response

Dear Mr. Mathisen:

Thank you for initiating consultation with the four Mni Sota Dakota Nations (Prairie Island Indian Community, Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community, Lower Sioux Indian Community, and the Upper Sioux Indian Community) Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (the “THPO”). We appreciate the opportunity to provide comment on your proposed undertaking. Unfortunately, we have had vacancies in  some of our THPO staff and only now are able to forward response. We would like to provide additional response as soon as possible.

In accordance with 36 CFR 800.5(c)(2)(i) the four Mni Sota Dakota Nations disagree with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (the “MPCA”) which was the Lead Federal Agency for completion of the Section 106 Findings (the “Findings”) through a programming agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding Rattlesnake Mound Effigy Group, Site 21 WA 10.

It is heartening to have affirmation in the Findings and the Phase II Archaeological Assessment and Evaluation of the significance and importance of the Rattlesnake Mound Effigy Group. Also it is significant for the various stakeholders and consultants to acknowledge and appreciate that this site has been negatively impacted previously and such impacts should be address. However, to say that the wastewater project will actually help the Rattlesnake Mound Effigy Group does not make sense.

With the site’s significance, rehabilitation and mitigation should be done in the first place even though there have been impacts from previous construction. Even permitting directional drilling under the Rattlesnake Mound Effigy Groups does not appear to protect or respect the site and its significance. Regarding undisturbed and disturbed burial sites exterior to the Rattlesnake Mound Effigy, we are not confident that those have been completely identified to date. No one can assure that the previously impacted areas do not have human remains that may surface with new earthwork. These are just some of the concerns we wish to have addressed prior to any construction.

Further, at a minimum our THPO Officer(s) or their designee(s) should be present if construction moves forward in case human remains are discovered and other cultural patrimony are identified.

We appreciate how the law looks at such matters. However, from cultural and spiritual perspectives any disturbing of the Rattlesnake Mound and surrounding area no matter the size of the buffer zone or that it has been disturbed before is extremely concerning[,] requiring further attention. This area is a sacred site eligible for designation as a National Historic Place [National Register of Historic Places] meeting at least three criteria for such a designation. Further disruption and disturbance would be a clear hindrance to protecting the historic properties of the site.

Therefore we disagree with the Findings and demand additional dialogue and consideration as to the appropriate ways to protect the Rattlesnake Mound Effigy Group and its surrounding area including further consultation and participation in the process.

Please consider the four Mni Sota Dakota Nations as consulting parties to the Afton City Project and continue to update our THPO staff on the project.+

Lower Sioux Indian Community, By Robert Larsen, President

Prairie Island Indian Community, By Shelley Buck, President

Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community, By Charles Vig, Chairman

Upper Sioux Indian Community, By Marisa Anywaush, Vice Chairman for Chair Kevin Jensvold