There’s been a justifiably great hue and cry over actions of federal agents in Minnesota during the ICE surge of recent months. Many people have gone missing and others have been murdered. But the Indigenous people of North America have been dealing with missing and murdered relatives ever since Columbus stumbled onto this continent. Murder … Read more
In November, 1862, following a bloody conflict with white settlers and soldiers in southern Minnesota, more than 1600 Dakota women, children, and the elderly were imprisoned in a concentration camp at Fort Snelling. The fort was built at the confluence of the Minnesota River and the Mississippi. The Dakota call this place B’dote, “where two … Read more
A couple of days ago, I returned from spending some time in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). It’s been a while since I had the opportunity to return to that particular Eden on earth. I was there as part of a program offered by Wilderness Inquiry, a well-established organization devoted to making wilderness … Read more
2023 was extraordinary year for me, with so much to be thankful for. From the experimental publication of an original audio book (The Levee) in February to the more traditional publication of my newest stand-alone novel The River We Remember this past fall, it’s been a joyride, start to finish. The Levee billboard in Times … Read more
I posted recently on Facebook about my extraordinary time in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota. One thing I didn’t talk about is the devastating threat this pristine wilderness currently faces: sulfide mining. Unlike iron mining, sulfide-ore copper mining generates waste rock full of sulfates, which, when exposed to air and water, becomes sulphuric acid, … Read more