UPDATE: GLIFWC Responds to Taking of Elk for Ceremony
CLAM LAKE - The Great Lakes Indian and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) issued a statement in regards to the shooting of a Wisconsin elk on Friday.
An official with GLIFWC said a tribal elder from the Lax Courte Oreilles band shot the elk with a rifle Friday morning near Clam Lake.
Commission spokeswoman Sue Erickson said the tribe submitted an application on Thursday for a ceremonial harvest permit from the DNR.
The young male elk is being prepared for a thanksgiving feast and ceremony.
A statement released by the Board of Commissioners Chairman Michael J. Isham Jr. said:
“It has been my sincere honor to issue a ceremonial harvest permit for an intertribal hunting party to harvest one bull elk (omashkooz) in the Wisconsin ceded territory. Ojibwe tribes consider this harvest a matter of spiritual and ceremonial significance in the fulfillment of their cultural obligation to aki (the earth) and all She provides. As the Anishinaabe pay respect and honor their relationship to the omashkooz, they express gratitude to the important connection that elk play in a healthy ecosystem.”
“The tribes are truly grateful to all their partners who have played a role in the reintroduction of this species. The ceremonial harvest is an integral aspect of the continued success of the reintroduction project based upon the principals of Anishinaabe teachings, traditions and customary to tribal law.”
The DNR criticized the tribes’ decision to harvest the elk.
A DNR official said the agency is disappointed that the tribes went ahead with the harvest and calls it a “setback” for the state-tribal relationship.
