Native American Press/Ojibwe News

Red Lake: Twin Cities candidate forum draws crowd

By Clara NiiSka - May 3, 2002
More than two hundred urban Red Lakers expressed their concerns about what’s happening ‘at home’ and crowded into a meeting room at the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center on Saturday, April 27th. A majority of the 47 certified candidates running for nine open seats on the eleven-member tribal council acknowledged the importance of absentee voters – a majority of the Red Lake electorate – and made the five hour trip to the Cities to hand out literature and give campaign speeches to the crowd.

MUID chair Tony LookingElk, grandson of Red Lakers Joe C. and Genevieve (Downwind) Graves, emceed the forum, and with the help of a timekeeper did his best to keep the candidates’ speeches short and the meeting moving along. The political concerns of urban Red Lakers exceeded forum planners’ expectations, however, and after five hours the forum ended because allotted time for use of the meeting room, extended for an hour to 7:00 p.m., expired. Many of the questions that the crowd might have asked the candidates for tribal office went unasked and unanswered.

After an invocation by Frank Dickenson, political presentations began with the candidates for the four year term for Little Rock district rep, followed by candidates for a two-year term for the Little Rock seat left long-vacant by the death of Lawrence Bedeau. Then, counter-clockwise around the Big Lake, candidates for rep positions in Red Lake, Redby, and Ponemah made their presentations.

All three of the tribal council officers’ seats are up for election this year, and after a short break the speeches resumed: treasurer, secretary, and finally, the five candidates for tribal chairman made their presentations.

This writer stopped by the Press/ON office on her way to the forum and was delayed by a long telephone conversation with a source concerned about retaliation – “I could lose my job” – for talking to the press. “You know Red Lake,” the source said. “Yes,” this writer acknowledged. Whether or not the to-be-elected tribal council manages to change longstanding problems at Red Lake remains to be seen, and what the phrase, “you know Red Lake,” might mean in four years is an unanswered question.

The candidates for the four year seat for Little Rock rep had already given their presentations when this writer arrived at the Women’s Resource Center. The tables in the foyer were filled with campaign literature, and a standing room only crowd spilled out of the meeting room into the halls.

Little Rock district
According to Sonoma at the Red Lake Urban Office, the candidates for the Little Rock rep’s four year term who came to the Minneapolis candidates’ forum were Billy Greene, Bob Barrett, Jan Kelly, and Darwin Sumner.

Little Rock two year rep candidates Herman Lussier and Chris Jourdain showed up to court urban voters. Lussier spoke directly to concerns of urban voters, including “effective services” for Twin Cities residents. His urging “separation of powers, from the tribal council and courts” brought a round of applause from the crowd.

Chris Jourdain spent much of his allotted time addressing Red Lake’s gaming problems. “The casinos are already built,” he said, and the question we need to ask now is, “how can we make them succeed.” He, along with a number of other candidates, also said that it was “urgent” that Red Lakers “get out of a dependency mode.”

Red Lake district – four year term
Incumbent Delores Lasley was the first of the candidates for the Red Lake four-year rep term to address the crowd. She was among those who urged that “urban Indians need representation on the council.” Lasley also urged a referendum to change Red Lake enrollment requirements. She is a ‘mixed blood’ whose husband Jim is (according to enrollment records) Creek Indian, and – with her children on the rolls with the minimum blood quantum and unenrolled grandchildren – she has personal insight into the issue.

Ed Perkins expressed particular concern about “crime and alcoholism.”

Mamie Rossbach stressed “fairness and equal opportunity for all,” urged addressing the problems of drug addiction and alcoholism, and said that “finding healing for our people” was among her priorities. She also urged that “people with high income jobs” should not have “multiple jobs” – multiple agency directorships and other relatively high-paying ‘employment’ has been something of a ‘tradition’ for some Red Lake tribal council members. Rossbach said that people on the tribal council “need to live a life that is a strong example to the rest of the people,” and she urged governmental reform to a “more fair” and broadly-based form of government.

Rita Weise told the urban crowd that – as a long-time employee of Beltrami County Social Services – she was concerned about the social problems at Red Lake. Her statement, “I’m sick of it, and if you elect me I will do everything I can do change it” was met with a round of applause.

Roman “Ducker” Stately, Jr., whose brother, George Stately, was recently murdered, also expressed concern about reservation social problems. He spoke of the gathering momentum of the Red Lake task force against drugs, and said, “I will not give up until drugs and drug dealers are off of the reservation.”

Red Lake district – two year term
Jim White told urban voters that he is “in favor of” representation for urban Red Lakers on the tribal council. Although his family does not face ‘blood quantum’ problems with the immediacy of Rep. Lasley’s, White said that he is concerned about the more than “300 kid ineligible for enrollment” at Red Lake, was sharply critical of present “pedigree” enrollment requirements, and urged, “a resolution that declares each and every one to be a fullblood.” White was among the candidates who urged, “separation of the tribal council from the tribal courts.” He also pledged that if he is elected to office, “I will resign from my job and be a full time representative.” He urged that all members of the tribal council “should take that step.” White was also among the many candidates who expressed deep concern about problems of “crime and violence” at Red Lake.

Rose Barrett also spoke to the community’s problems of “substance abuse.” She listed a number of her priority issues, including “gaming – top salaries for top management,” and “housing – fair access.” She also urged that the tribal council have “some clear written provisions” for filling vacant positions between elections. She said that she felt strongly that Red Lake “land should not be used for collateral” underwriting loans, and that the Red Lake constitution should be “upheld and honored.” Her statement that, “business decisions that the tribe makes should be brought to the people, not [made] behind closed doors” brought applause from the crowd.

Charmaine Lussier-Sayers expressed concern about violence and drug abuse – her family, like that of Ducker Stately, has recently experienced the devastation of these community problems. She also addressed the financial problems which currently beset Red Lake.

Don “Zinzabaakwad” Cook stressed “economic development,” and sharply criticized the decision to build the casino in Thief River Falls, “it was wrong to put it in a shit-farmer’s field.” But, “it’s there,” he continued. He castigated Red Lakers for going to the casino in Cass Lake instead of patronizing Red Lake tribal businesses. He also urged that tactics to address the drug problem at Red Lake should include spending on money on programs to “help youth,” including taking Red Lake athletes to the Indigenous Games.

Donald May, Jr. also advocated spending more money for “youth activities.” He criticized “hiring practices” in which whites were hired instead of Red Lake members, and said that he favored equal educational funding “regardless of income” for any Red Laker attending college.

Redby district
Joe Johnson spoke from his heart about the “oppression and trauma” affecting “all Red Lake, all reservations, the urban Indian community.” “It’s time that we the Indian people started healing ourselves from this oppression,” he said. He urged that tribal government be restructured, that Red Lakers “look at the form of government and see how it fits us.” He also advocated “separation of powers,” and said, “too much tribal government is about money.”

Truman Schoenborn pledged that if he was elected, he would come to the Twin Cities once a month to meet with Red Lake’s urban constituency. He also acknowledged that housing shortages affect both urban and reservation Indian people.

Ponemah district
Incumbent Clifford Hardy did not make the trip the Twin Cities. With the death of Cheryle Stillday – whose name is being left on the ballot, presumably out of respect – Carolyn Whitefeather is the only other candidate for Ponemah district rep. She explained that she had made the decision to run “against Clifford” ‘on her own,’ without consulting her older brother, the incumbent tribal chairman. “Ponemah has a right to have a choice,” she said.

Tribal officers
Press/ON is in the process of contacting all of the candidates for tribal council officers’ seats, and hopes to publish a summary of their platforms next week. The only candidates for tribal officers’ seats who did not make it to the Twin Cities for the Candidates Forum were two of the four candidates for treasurer, LaNae Barrett-Pemberton and James “Gus” Strong.