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Today's Featured Biography
Greg Peterson
I'm a news reporter, writer and investigative journalist specializing in street news, plus Indigenous, civil rights and environment reporting.
Most recently am probing illegal conduct by Rio Tinto, Kennecott Minerals and other multinational corporations.
Those are among the companies destroying the Yellow Dogs Plains in northern Marquette County, MI and desecrating sacred Eagle Rock – the site of Anishinaabe/Ojibwa religious and cultural ceremonies for hundreds of years.
Currently volunteer media advisor for numerous American Indian and environment related nonprofits that include the Navajo Lutheran Mission in Rock Point, AZ and its executive director Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard, the nonprofit Cedar Tree Institute (CTI) in Marquette, MI and its many projects founded by Rev. Jon Magnuson, Author Joy Ibsen of Trout Creek, MI, Celtic Christianity Today (CCT) founded by Rev. Dr. George Cairns, the Turtle Island Project founded by pastors Hubbard and Cairns.
In its third summer, the CTI Zaagkii Wings and Seeds Project and its volunteers built a16-foot geodesic dome solar-powered greenhouse that was built in this summer at the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) in an effort to restore native species plants to northern Michigan.
It's located at the tribe's Natural Resources Department north of L'Anse along Lake Superior.
During the summer of 2010, Zaagkii Project teens built and painted 25 beautiful reliquaries that are boxes made from pine and cedar that are used to store seeds for planting and included samples of Native American medicine including sweetgrass, cedar, sage and tobacco.
Also am the producer/videographer/editor for Zaagkii Project interns – from the Northern Michigan University (NMU) Center for Native American studies - who traveled the northern Great Lakes during the summer of 2009 interviewing tribal elders at numerous Anishinaabe/Ojibwa communities.
The United States Forest Service (USFS) sponsored the project that will result in dozens of videos posted on the USFS Ethnobotany website in which tribal elders, culture bearers, historians and others will describe traditional uses of trees and plants like wild rice, birch trees, ash trees and maple sap.
Am the volunteer media advisor for the Navajo Lutheran Mission in Rock Point, AZ – run by Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard – that has a “mission in reverse” model that means encouraging youth Navajo children to embrace their own culture, heritage, spirituality and beliefs.
Co-edited "Unafraid," the second book by Author Joy Ibsen of Trout Creek, MI that was printed in May 2009 based on her father's handwritten sermon notes that she found in shoebox.
In 2009, I edited numerous videos for the nonprofit Celtic Christianity Today website that was founded by my friend Rev. Dr. George Cairns of Chesterton, Indiana.
Began news career 35 years ago as teenager in Augusta, GA after moving south during middle of high school (River Valley High School in Sawyer, MI).
Naturally I missed my Michigan classmates whom I expected to graduate with, but was fortunate to be treated great by my new friends at Westside High School where I graduated in 1977.
I was co-coordinator of the 1986 original James Brown Appreciation Day in Augusta, GA, where the Godfather of Soul was always trashed by local media who didn't report anything positive about the music icon.
Mr. Terence Dicks was the other co-coordinator and most recently served as chair of the Augusta Human Relations Commission and serves on the Georgia Clients Council.
Mr. Brown taught us to "fight the good fight" by battling all forms of racism and evil while not uttering a bad word about those who try to block justice, respect, fairness and kindness to all.
As a child, I lived in the Harbert, Michigan home built by late poet Carl Sandburg, where the legendary author penned some of his greatest works including his Chicago works and Lincoln papers.
The four-story home had a sundeck on the top and a cool walk-in safe in the basement.
The neighborhood (Birchwood) has numerous cottages used for other purposes by Sandburg like the milk house where they milked goats.
My parents remodeled fourth floor of the home that stands atop the Lake Michigan sand dunes/bluffs.
They found items that belonged to Mr. Sandburg concealed in the walls including prescription bottles with his name, reading glasses, and a small, thin metal stamp with his name.
I've worked for dozens of newspapers and radio and TV stations in GA and MI.
I'm volunteer media advisor for several interfaith environmental projects involving Native Americans across Upper Peninsula of MI including the Turtle Island Project, The Zaagkii Project, the Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative, Earth Keeper Initiative and the Manoomin (Wild Rice) Project.
The Zaagkii Wings and Seeds Project restores bee and butterfly habitat to help pollination of plants following death of billions of bees.
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community youth and Marquette teens built butterfly houses, planted/distributed 26,000 native plants to help pollinators.
The Earth Healing Initiative assisted EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
EHI helped organize interfaith participation across eight states for the 100 plus recycling projects (April 2008) involving recycling millions of pounds of electronic waste and proper disposal of millions of pills/pharmaceuticals.
EPA goals were exceeded by 500%. Under an EPA grant, EHI provided free media services for the cities/groups/tribes including videos and press releases.
From April-June 2009, promoted the Earth Keeper Initiative Tree Project that saw members of 150 churches/temples and others plant 12,000 trees across northern Michigan.
The Earth Keeper environment projects include an annual Earth Day Clean Sweep (2005-2007) at 24 free drop-off sites across a 400 mile area of northern Michigan that collected over 370 tons of household hazardous waste.
The 2007 Earth Keeper Pharmaceutical Clean Sweep collected over one ton of drugs plus $500,000 in narcotics in only three hours. Some 2,000 residents participated and many brought in pharmaceuticals for their family, friends and neighbors.
In 2006, 10,000 people dropped off over 320 tons of old/broken computers, cell phones and other electronic waste, all of which was recycled. In 2005, residents turned in 45 tons of household poisons and vehicle batteries.
The Manoomin (Wild Rice) Project teaches teens to respect nature and themselves by having American Indian guides escort them to remote lakes and streams in northern Michigan to plant/care for wild rice.
The teens test water quality to determine the best conditions for the once native grain to survive.
The Turtle Island Project was co-founded in July 2007 by Rev. Lynn Hubbard of Rock Point, AR (Ex. Dir. of the Navajo Lutheran Mission) and Rev. Dr. George Cairns of Chesterton, IN, United Church of Christ minister and research professor for the Chicago Theological Seminary.
TIP promotes respect for culture and heritage of indigenous peoples like American Indians.
TIP is a platform for American Indians to be heard unedited by whites.
Rev. Hubbard says whites don't have the knowledge or right to speak on behalf of Native Americans.
I specialize in civil rights, outdoor, environmental, cops and courts reporting thanks to my late mentor Jay Mann (Jan Tillman Hutchens), an investigative reporter in Augusta, who lived by the books "Illusions" and "Jonathon Livingston Seagull."
Jay was a kind and thoughtful soul who always fought for the underdog.
Augusta was a bit less protected and free when Jay pass away from cancer.
One of his first stories revealed that some of Augusta’s inner city children were not eating breakfast before they went to school due to economic reasons – and his story helped start a breakfast program for these beautiful children.
Love to fish, hunt, camp and skydive.
Join Delta Chi fraternity while attending Augusta College part-time.
I thank Westside High School and its teachers for advancing my career by allowing me to interview local TV/Radio personalities which led to my first job at WGAC – and later WBBQ Mobile News.
Worked as a news reporter, assignment editor and producer at numerous other Augusta radio stations (WBIA, WMTZ, WCKJ) and at two Augusta television stations (WAGT TV-26, WRDW TV-12).
I even had jobs as a switcher - punching buttons to put on commercials and the programs including during the Masters Tournament at both TV stations before the news gigs.
In 1988, I moved back to Michigan but this time the Upper Peninsula and Lake Superior.
In Michigan's Upper Peninsula worked as news reporter, assignment editor, producer at WLUC TV-6 (Marquette), WBKP TV-10 (Calumet, Marquette), and as reporter for the Mining Journal (daily paper) in Marquette, MI
Another major player in my decision to get into news was Junior Achievement at WJBF TV-6 in Augusta where we produced our own TV shows, I played cornet while attending New Troy Middle School and River Valley High School in Michigan.
Our beloved springer spaniel-mix Millie died from a brief fight with cancer in January 2010 after she provided us with 10 years of love and pleasure.
We buried Millie on family property where she loved to run, jump and play – with a small tombstone with her face in mosaic tiles.
Millie will never be forgotten.
By the end of January 2010 we were so lonely – we adopted 6 year-old Cheeno from the Marquette County Humane Society.
Cheeno was abused by a former owner and not socialized with other animals. It only took nine months to bring out his friendly and curious nature and he’s even become friends with our two cats – but still doesn’t like other dogs (sad).
At first he cowered when I (any male) approached, and we all know what that means.
Now Cheeno is happy and vet was happy he gained 20 pounds.
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