do you know where you are?

This was one of the questions that led our inaugural Talon Mine Tour last Friday.

We love using guiding questions to prompt everyone in the group to reflect on their own viewpoints.

This is a good way to spark unexpected connections & to practice being in a community space where there are differences in opinion or experience.

On Friday — after welcoming everyone to see themselves as tour guides, we talked about how we know this place, and why that matters.

Here’s some of what was shared:

- Tamarack, population 94
- Aitkin County
- Anishinaabe Akiing — the land to which Anishinaabe / Ojibwe people belong
- 1855 treaty territory
- Tax-forfeited public lands where the MN DNR has been marketing mineral rights severed from the surface
- Glacial Lake Aitkin, which reappears each spring during mud season
- Cabin Country
-the Mississippi & Kettle-St. Croix watersheds
- Home

Do you know where you are? What connects you to this place?

Leanna Goose, who is an Anishinaabe mother and organizer from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, joined the tour and shared why she fights so hard to protect this place, and what she hopes others take away from conversations like this one.

Is there a place, or an activity, that is very special or even sacred to you?

If so, can you imagine what you’d do if that place was suddenly gone… or if you were not allowed to be there? If something about it changed so much you couldn’t recognize it?

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We’ll continue to share reflections from our tours on this blog, as well as invitations and other educational content.

This coming Saturday, we’ll be popping up in Tamarack with our mobile “mine view” from 3-6PM.

We’ll be sharing about future tours & recruiting new guides to join our company. Stop by if you’re in the area!

Look for this thing, you can’t miss it if you’re pulling into town! —>

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