Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 8.1 Photograph of Grandmother and Water Keeper, Nokomis Josephine
Mandamin, along a small creek that flows into Gichigami (Lake Superior).
Josephine is petitioning to Mother Earth for the water, and giving thanks for
her beauty and kindness.
Source: Photograph taken by Brent Wesley, used with permission from Grandmother Josephine
Mandamin who holds the copyright.
Walking Gichigami
It is apt, then, that Josephine started her journey on the shores of her home, the
shores of Gichigami . For those that know the Great Lakes, Lake Superior is seen
as the last “untouched lake” and is the most pristine. Its shores are still wild while
the other Great Lakes' shores are not. However, this enviable status no longer
holds water. Even the great Lake Superior is not immune from toxins. It is, in
fact, what Mel Visser - chemical engineer turned environmental activist - calls a
lake that is “Cold, Clear, and Deadly”. In his book, Visser describes how synthetic
pollutants such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs), and toxaphene are wreaking havoc on the biosystems of cold
 
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search