Native American Press/Ojibwe News

Reflections on a year of change in 2002

December 20, 2002
This is Press/ON’s final edition of the year 2002. During these last days of the year, it’s always interesting to take a few minutes to reflect back and consider whether we in the Native community are better off at the end of this year than we were at the beginning. It’s definitely a mixed bag.

Recent events including the election and the death of a champion of many Indian causes, Senator Wellstone along with his wife Sheila and daughter Marsha, have had a tragic impact on the Indian community that will last long beyond New Year’s day 2003.

Wellstone’s voice on significant Indian issues will be missed by many, and I think that quite a few Indian people view the results of this year’s elections as the harbinger of real difficulties. Along with the state deficit, and state and federal changes in spending priorities that became apparent during 2002 have clearly had an effect on Indian programs and communities. The ‘easy money’ that has fueled the growth of an Indian middle class who get paid managerial-level salaries for administering federal and state ‘poverty programs’ is quickly vanishing. On most of Minnesota’s reservations, casino revenue has been used for casino expansion and ‘program’ funding rather than for development of an economic base independent from gambling, and without the substantial subsidy of extensive federal and state program funding we are beginning to see the folly of government-owned ‘economic development.’

There has been an extremely limited effort to develop free economies on reservations. We need to focus our attention on Indian-owned private economic development, along with any other diversification which would broaden our present narrow economic base, which is mostly dependent on government funding, a government-supported gambling monopoly, and resource extraction. We need to do far more to encourage non-governmental economic development, as well as continuing to push for reforms of tribal courts, work for a separation of powers in tribal governments, and restructure tribal constitutions. It’s been proven that the existing system that we were stuck with through the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act is an unworkable form of government, virtually guaranteeing corruption, oppression, and over-centralization of power.

The transcript of the Leech Lake RBC meeting printed in this issue of Press/ON provides a poignant example of the problems inherent in the I.R.A. government structure when acting chairman Rich Robinson told secretary/treasurer Archie LaRose, who was seeking due process regarding a likely unconstitutional recall petition, “Ah, Archie, I don’t know who you challenge it to.”

Particularly some of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe’s RBCs have vigorously exploited the loophole of “executive briefings,” where they do whatever they want because there are no requirements that they have to provide public notice, hold open meetings, keep a record of the proceedings, hold a semblance of democratic voting, or follow any kind of parliamentary procedure. Such tyrannical chaos does not create a climate for any kind of business development except, perhaps, a good ol’ boys inner-circle competition as to who can get their hands on the most money.

The belt-tightening economic changes on most reservations will likely persist, and hopefully we will begin to meet the challenges of this shift in reservation economies not only by coming together as communities to reassess our priorities, but also by demanding more accountability from those who manage our money and other resources.

A nearly-complete change of government at Red Lake and change of direction was voted in by the people this year, and now we see a unified council working together (and with the light of public involvement) to deal constructively with the problems facing the tribe, and working creatively to create new opportunities.

We’ve also seen some changes in tribal government at Fond du Lac and at White Earth, and of course, the ongoing changes at Leech Lake.

Despite the current chaos at Leech Lake, there is strong community support for change. It seems that chaos is a necessary precursor to change.

People on most Minnesota reservations are demanding change, but at least so far, they are doing it peacefully.

The voices of the people are speaking to the problems confronting Indians not only on the Ojibwe reservations, but also in the Sioux communities. It seems that in the Sioux communities the biggest controversies right now center around enrollment disputes and distributing the wealth currently controlled by just a few people, more equitably.

Indian people are also speaking publicly about problems created by the tribal-state court forum, and about the problems of tribal courts generally. Their courage in speaking out has been heart-warming and encouraging, and it also seems that the voices of Indian people raised in concert are beginning to have an effect. At least at Red Lake, the hiring of a new tribal court administrator and chief judge gives us hope that the longstanding problems at the Red Lake tribal court are finally going to be addressed.

During 2002, we at Press/ON have continued our lawsuits for the casino audits, and we’re still in court with the Armstrong case. We continue to address the issues as best we can, and to do as much as we can to encourage people in the Indian community to stand up, speak out, and refuse to be complicit in their own oppression any longer.

In 2002, Press/ON has attained a new level of credibility, not only in the Ojibwe community but also increasingly statewide.

In 2003, we will be going into our fifteenth year as a newspaper. We’ve published over seven hundred issues, and we look forward to continuing our mission of being a voice of the people and bringing Press/ON to our readers every week.

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