First Indigenous Coast Guard Unit Inducted in Grand Portage
GRAND PORTAGE, Minn.– A ceremony on Wednesday in Grand Portage celebrated a new beginning for the reservation and surrounding areas.
They’ve been hard at work to bring in additional support for marine safety, patrol, and rescue.
The first ever Indigenous Coast Guard unit was officially inducted in Grand Portage.
After the Grand Marais coast guard unit discontinued back in 2022, it was clear they still needed help.
“When the coast guard left Grand Marais, it was not a matter of, you know, if, but when we were going to have something happen. and pretty soon after, we even had a big tanker starting to sink in our waters a couple years ago,” said Ruth Vogel, Grand Portage Emergency Manager.
And moving forward, the community knew something needed to be done.
“We had nothing. I mean not only do you have the rescues and the people who need help, but you also are losing out on the patrol, just for the fishermen and the boaters who are out on Lake Superior,” explained Pat Eleisan, Cook County Sheriff. “So, once boaters know that there is no patrol and that they’re not going to get boarded, you know, their safety equipment kind of goes downhill. you know, their boating skills go downhill.”
They are coasting towards success with this opportunity.
The vessels themselves were built by Lake Assault in Superior.
And the Grand Portage tribe paired up with a handful of organizations to make it happen.
“It’s something that we’re very proud of. we’ve worked really hard at getting we work with the state of Minnesota, the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, department of public safety, you know, just to make sure that we can keep people safe on Lake Superior,” said Robert Deschampe, Grand Portage Tribal Chairman.
Over 100 miles of lake will now be protected by four vessels stationed between Two Harbors and Grand Portage.
“I thought they were going out for a ride to try out the new boat, so I jumped on the boat, and here they got their first call that morning. so, I ended up going out on the ride. and we were about fourteen miles offshore here, something like that, and seven-to-eight-foot seas, you know, it was really exciting to be on the first rescue,” said Deschampe.
The crew will have their work cut out for them to learn and master operations.
“We’ll do towing. we’ll do search and rescue. if there’s medical health emergencies out on the lake, we’ll respond to them. We’ll have an EMT on board to do that. And then as far as the training goes, you know, it takes some time and effort to get used to operating a vessel like this,” said Seth Moore, Director of Natural Resources, Grand Portage Band, Lake Superior Chippewa.
But now, they’re looking forward to what will be a game changer of a payoff.
“To me, it’s, it feels like a completion of a project that we have the vessels now delivered, but it’s also really day one of this, of this whole operation. so, we are now starting this marine rescue unit in this first ever Indigenous coast guard,” said Moore.
