Lesson 2: Great Lakes at Stake
Handout 3

Situation Cards



#1: My name is Oh-was-te-nong. I live by the shore of the lake we call Mich-i-gan. My people are very happy. We can hunt on its shores. I can catch enough fish for my entire village in just a few hours. The water is so clean that I can see almost to the bottom. My people and I pray to The Great Spirit and there is always enough fish to eat because we are always thankful and respectful. We use every bit of the fish-even the bones which are used as needles.


#2: My name is George Williams. My family lives and hunts on the shore of Lake Michigan. We fish in its waters. We throw away the parts of the fish we don't eat because it is of no use. We catch a lot of fish. Sometimes we can't even eat what we catch, so we throw it away - it doesn't matter because the fish are so plentiful. We throw our garbage in the stream that flows into the lake so we don't have to bury it. The lake is pretty dirty anyway!


#3: My name is Alice Walker. I live on the shore of Lake Michigan with my family. We love to swim and sail on the lake. We used to fish every weekend and have a big fish fry on the beach. We had to stop because the Michigan Department of Natural Resources says that the fish are not safe to eat anymore. I wish that we had taken better care of the lake so that everyone could enjoy eating the fish again. Mr. Walker, from the Dept. of Natural Resources, says that we can restore the lake, but it will take a long time. My family and I have decided to help by making sure that we don't use any pesticides on our lawn so that it doesn't get into the lake when it rains. We hope that everyone joins in the fight to clean up all of our lakes and rivers!