Indigenous Tribes Set Up Thunderbird Nest Camp to Oppose Copper Mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Indigenous leaders from the Menominee nation and Keweenaw Bay Indian Community established the Thunderbird Nest resistance camp near a proposed copper sulfide mine, protesting a state-funded subsidy.
Anahkwet of the Menominee nation and Charlotte Loonsfoot of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community launched Camp Animikiiwadiswan—also called Thunderbird Nest—on federal forest land near the planned Copperwood Resources copper sulfide mine in the Porcupine Mountains. The camp, which grew from about 20 participants to double that size within a week, serves as an inter-tribal protest against a $50 million state subsidy granted to the mine despite the company’s failure to meet previously set financing conditions.
Critics, including Michigan State Senator Jeff Irwin and former Michigan Strategic Fund board member Cindy Warner, have called the grant potentially illegal, and the grassroots group Protect the Porkies has filed an appeal and seeks further litigation. Camp activities include sacred fires, offerings, and a planned jingle-dress ceremony, drawing Indigenous peoples, urban allies, and regional residents to the remote site.
Opponents cite the mine’s likely toxic waste and the historical environmental damage from past copper mining in the region. The movement also challenges broader state economic-development policies tied to AI data-center incentives.
Why it matters
The protest underscores conflict over state-backed mining that could damage pristine forests and water resources.
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