Native American Press/Ojibwe News

Only eleven days ‘til MCT elections

April 5, 2002
With election day only eleven days away for the hundred and eight candidates of the six Minnesota Chippewa Tribe reservations, the political climate seems to be strangely subdued. It’s almost worrisome that an estimated 26,000 eligible voters can be that quiet. Although we have recently seen more activity and obviously more letters to the editor, I haven’t felt that there is a whole lot of controversy or the usual enthusiasm which accompanies Indian politics. I don’t know if people are content with the status quo or if they don’t feel that they can change it and have succumbed to apathy.

The only two reservations where there seems to be much aggressive politics and vigorous community activity are Leech Lake and White Earth. Of the thirty seats on the five-member RBCs on each MCT reservation, seventeen are up for election. The six secretary-treasurers of the RBCs are all up for election, and the secretary-treasurers constitute half of the tribal executive committee. What happens on election day could make a substantial change in the government of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and have a powerful impact on MCT reservations, but we haven’t seen all that much campaigning, particularly in the Twin Cities where the majority of the tribal voters reside.

I think the fact that all of the bands, including Red Lake, have a one-year reservation residency requirement to run for office means that a lot of our most qualified and educated members are automatically excluded from holding office. Because of reservation politics and the abysmal lack of basic civil rights in reservation legal systems, and the lack of economic opportunities in almost-feudal systems dominated by entrenched power cliques, all too many highly talented young people leave the reservations. The residency requirement ensures that they will not come back to try to change the system or challenge the ‘good ol’ boys’ who dominate reservation communities.

Most states have a residency requirement of only thirty days. People have tried to justify the one-year reservation residency requirement by claiming that Indian culture is ‘different’ on the reservations, but it’s gotten so that almost the only thing ‘different’ is the almost-undetectable difference between one casino and the next. People should have the right to choose the candidate they think is the most qualified, regardless of where they live. Thirty days residency would be more reasonable and more appropriate, especially since the kind of experience that would enable RBC members to cope with the problems plaguing reservations comes more readily off-reservation, including business management experience.

Let’s face it, all too many RBC and tribal council members have never seen the outside of a federal program. The huge indebtedness which the largest tribes – Red Lake, White Earth, and Leech Lake – find themselves in, makes it even more essential that tribal members with good educations and real-world business experience get involved in tribal politics, managing our businesses and addressing the social problems, before it’s too late.

We see far too many non-Indians and non-tribal members working in key positions on the reservations. Why? We are not developing the human resources of our own members – it’s far too easy for old guard elites to hire some non-member who is not a political threat to the people in power and incumbents in office. This seems particularly true in the area of business affairs: the people running the tribal businesses, managing tribal financial affairs are almost all non-members.

But then, a lot of tribal members who live off the reservation don’t want to come back because of the social problems which continue to exist – and in all too many cases are getting worse – on the reservations.

Let’s hope that the voters in the rapidly upcoming tribal elections see this, and support candidates who will not only give us civil rights and accountability, but also will reduce the residency requirement and will redistrict the reservations to make our votes equal.