Arrowhead Indivisible

I am a disabled war veteran who served as a ship navigator and Explosives Ordnance Disposal diver in the United States Navy.

I participated in multiple conflicts around the world. When I retired, I was in need of help as I suffered from PTSD and physical injuries. I sought help from the Veterans Administration. Despite being understaffed, the counselors I worked with were helpful, and caring. I was eventually accepted into a new program to help veterans suffering from PTSD called the Veterans Resiliency Program. I was allowed 20 visits with a contracted EMDR therapist. This has been a healing process and I am grateful. I fear this and other programs will be cut, and the VA will not be able to properly help our veterans, who certainly paid their dues, and many may suffer as a result. Our veterans deserve better.

My name is Nathan Muus. I grew up on Seagull Lake, Cook County as a kid to young man, where My father was a Lutheran camp director. (And Minneapolis) concurrently. I have a lifetime visiting relatives in the county, going fishing, hiking and exploring our wonderful area.

Professionally I have been a longtime vocational counselor, museum exhibit curator, craftsman, cultural activist and musician.

I am back living full time here again, attending to elder family. I am deeply concerned about the direction our country has taken in recent times. I believe we are going way off base.

Very specifically, I am deeply concerned with the proposed nickel mining very next to the Boundary Waters, my childhood home. I am against the possibility / probablility, that side leaks of this mining would affect our groundwater in the immediate area. The safety of our water, fish, wildlife and people is certain. Not to mention nearby wild rice harvesting, and other natural resources.

I believe we must make it known we totally oppose this, as well as unplanned harvesting of trees and habitat that disturbs the Superior National Forest.

The loss of Forest Service persons monitoring the forest for fires and disturbances is also disturbing.

We must stand up as a community and not allow these trends to continue.

Rehire staff and restore funding for Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), created by congressional legislation.

I reside in Grand Portage for the majestic beauty, quality of life and the peacefulness of nature and all its denizens.

Suffice to say that I am very happy and safe where I live. Therefore I was overwhelmingly alarmed by DOGE unceremoniously eliminating the staff at IMLS. The staff is needed to continue the exemplary work of this independent agency as well as administer the grants of the current fiscal year. It appears the current grants are eliminated with the cuts to staff. IMLS is an agency we need for our quality of life. I read constantly, so the dearth of library services will greatly affect my daily well being. I visit museums frequently because I am a professional artist. I need to be informed about the current trends in the art world. Visiting libraries and museums has shown me how these institutions bring education, happiness and enjoyment to the public as well as to families with young children.

Our first big snow, back in December, brought magical snow globe energy to Grand Portage. Big flakes fell through the day and night. In the morning, the trees were covered in a thick coating of snow, making the world monochromatic. I admired the scene from my yoga mat, where I was drinking coffee. No judgement, please! I like to say that coffee on my mat is one of my favorite forms of yoga. It was during this yoga session that something caught my eye. I turned towards the kitchen window that holds my bird feeder. Just beyond the feeder, on a spruce with snow covered branches, was a dashing red bird. I couldn’t believe my eyes and yelled to nobody, “A CARDINAL!”

I spent the day watching him work up his courage to visit the feeder on the window, which he eventually did. How did a Cardinal find my little bird feeder on the kitchen window, on our house, on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Superior, in the most northeastern tip of Minnesota? In my arrogant human way I felt special, chosen. I also felt responsible and made it my duty to keep the feeder stocked with black oil sunflower seeds to sustain this fellow through the long winter.

The day after I first spotted the cardinal, I was in Grand Marais at The Hub, for a winter market. While there, I met an artist who paints birds perched on teacups- using a collection of china from her grandmother. I was excited to talk birds, the cardinal’s visit in particular, with another bird enthusiast. In an out of character moment I asked for her number so I could send her a bird pic. Later that day, I couldn’t resist sending another picture when the cardinal came to visit. I also invited her over to witness this momentous occasion.

My new friend did come over. We sat in the living room, getting to know each other in that awkward way of new friendships while we waited and watched out the window, hoping the cardinal would make his appearance. Eventually, he did! In a flurry of excitement, my new friend grabbed her camera and started taking pictures through the window. She wanted to get an image of him perched at the perfect angle to use as a model for her teacup paintings. We named him Robert Redbird.

During the winter months, Robert hung around with a Blue Jay family. Any time I heard the Jays outside, sure enough, Robert would be there too. As winter turned to spring, the Jays paired off and now Robert comes on his own, usually at dawn and dusk. I think about him all the time. I am equal parts worried and joyful about his presence. What does this mean for the climate? What does this mean for Robert? I’m admittedly thrilled to witness this momentous occasion in time. A resident cardinal in Grand Portage! One thing in particular is weighing heavy on my mind, will he sing his spring song with no one to respond?

About a week ago, I went out in the morning to fill the bird feeder. The sun was already coming up over the trees, casting a hint of warmth on an early spring day. That is when I heard it! A sound I knew well from my previous life in Minneapolis. It was the unmistakable spring song of a male Cardinal. I scanned the trees, and perched at the very top branch of a Spruce was Robert Redbird, singing his heart out, across Portage Bay. What I heard was a song of hope.

Yesterday I was in Thunder Bay for a tournament. Feelings about coming to America were mixed. Most prevalent was, "No way. Not now." One person reported having all four of her tires slashed in Duluth, she thought because she had Ontario plates. My own brother and sister-in-law, who live in Alberta, have cancelled a long-planned trip to visit us this summer because neither they nor any of their Canadian friends or family want to step foot in this country or spend a dime here. This affects the tourism that is vital to our community and it affects me personally. I am embarrassed to be associated with a country that is so unwelcoming and treats our friends and neighbors so shabbily.