Native American Press/Ojibwe News

New Red Lake council generates positive vibes

August 16, 2002
It not only looked good, it felt good to see the new council members being sworn in at Red Lake. As they begin their new terms, it appears we have a council that not only can work together, but who will be more in tune with the concerns of membership, and who will be more open and accountable to us.

Our first priority is getting back on a solid financial footing, and the best way to start is to complete the forensic audit and to do it with as wide a scope as is necessary. It’s far better to pay the money ‘up front’ and find out exactly what’s happening, that it would be to have to deal with hidden problems later.

Chairman Brun and the tribal council have a large task in front of them, and they deserve the support of the people as they begin the massive effort that it will take rebuild our economy, and to contend with the chaos that has plagued the council and the band for the past three or four years.

Brun’s inaugural remarks were brief but included the remark, “I’ll do the best job I can.” We all have to work together to do the best job we can in order to ensure our future as a people.

The events of the ‘outside world’ are having and will continue to have significant effects in Indian country. The days of the free-spending ‘war on poverty’ are gone, and on almost every reservation Indian people are faced by federal and state budget cuts, as well as declining gambling revenues and quite possibly competition from non-Indian casinos, whether run by the state or by private enterprise.

Red Lake is like almost every other reservation in that we are also confronted with serious social problems, including still-rising rates of drug abuse, crime, and other violence. We have to figure out ways to deal effectively with these problems, which aren’t going to go away by themselves.

We also have to think seriously about the constitutional reform and address the problems arising from defects built into the I.R.A.-based systems of reservation government.

We were a proud and self-sufficient people once. We need to find ways to become so again.

To the new tribal council: congratulations and good luck!

One for Indian people’s civil rights!
The unanimous vote of Supreme Court Rules Committee to reject the proposed “Full Faith and Credit Rule” ends the long and almost secretive effort to further entrench the power of the tribal establishment, launched by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Gardebring, perpetuated by her successor Justice Robert Schumacher, and supported by tribal attorneys/tribal court judges.

The letters from the Sheriffs’ Association and the County Attorneys’ Association played a role in the Committee’s rejection of the proposed rule, but it is also clear that the widespread opposition from the grassroots, including a number of tribal members who spent their own money to travel to St. Paul and who had the courage to stand up and speak their opposition to the Committee, turned back the effort by a few tribal attorneys to promote their own self-interests at the expense of their Indian clients (which is far too often the case).

When Press/ON attended the first meeting of the Supreme Court Rules Committee, it was clear that without an outspoken Indian presence, the rule would have almost certainly been adopted by the Minnesota judiciary without much further scrutiny. At the most recent Committee meeting on August 14th, the Indians who stood up on behalf of the people included Leech Lake’s new secretary/treasurer Archie LaRose, who has recently been a target of misuse of tribal courts with the TRO signed by Leech Lake tribal judge Margaret “Peggy” Treuer.

It was clear from some of the comments made by the leadership of the Supreme Court Committee that the issue is not dead. However, the concern and involvement of Indian people in “Round 1” makes it all but impossible that the tribal attorneys and their cronies will be able to almost-secretly extend their power through back-room formulation of Minnesota Rules of Court.

At the point, it’s likely that issues arising from the interface between tribal courts and the state judiciary will go to the State Legislature, and all interested parties will have an opportunity to be heard.

Those of us who have experienced the abuse and misuse of the tribal courts firsthand will give compelling witness to the Legislature.

It isn’t over 'til it’s over, but winning ‘Round 1” sure feels good. Sandra, where are you?