Leech Lake Activist calls for tribal members to get involved in tribal
politics
The General Council concept here at Leech Lake created a legislative body
of the people to be the governing authority for the people. This body
would oversee the actions or inactions of our Reservation Business
Committee.
This General Council would also know and keep all persons and
communities informed of our financial status and the people could decide
how our monies and resources should be utilized. The Reservation Business
Committee would then carry out those directives from the people/communities.
The people are the government.
By forming and implementing local councils, the decisions can and
should be made by the people they affecting. Though progress is slow, the
need for the Leech Lake General Council is great. Right now, Leech Lake is
involved in a power struggle between two factions of the reservation's
administration. The struggle is over who controls the money.
What roles do the people now play in our government? None, except
to vote these guys into office; then, if they don't do the job right or
misspend the money, there is nothing, no recourse for the people whose
heads are counted and whose monies this administration is really fighting
over.
Some believe the Reservation Business Committee should have total
governing authority, authority they already have been "illegally assuming."
Obviously, this IRA (Indian Reorganization Act) government, the RBC/TEC,
has been good to some. Some people, tribal members and non-tribal members,
have become very rich and have all the luxuries of the white man's world,
and want to keep it that way. This group we'll call the "status quo,' which
includes the state of Minnesota and its member counties that lie within
reservation boundaries.
This group will work very hard to undermine or sabotage the
traditional "council concept" of government for our people. The status
quo does not want government reform of this type. By keeping people
misinformed or uninformed, or with scare tactics, such as losing the
casinos or federal funding, they persuade the people not to be involved.
There are many rumors and false statements about the forming of
council government. These are meant to keep people away. Yes, some have
used the forming of councils to try and further their agendas, but people
working for true government reform need to keep working, keep questioning,
getting information out to the people, and work together for the "common
good of all people."
People need to be involved in tribal government. It does not have
to mean you are for one faction of the RBC or the others, but that you
truly car about out people, our status as a nation, and our future
generations. They have taught us to think "I" instead of "We," and "mine"
instead of "ours."
The treaties that some would tell you are old, or not important,
are still very legal and binding. We are treaty people who have certain
rights that some don't agree with, such as the right to form and operate a
government that is for the people, by the people.
We must get away from the factionalism and divisions these RBC's
have created. We must work together for a better future. Education is a
big part of that process. The true history of our people has be left out
of our education, until now. Now we must begin to teach the truths of our
history so we don't have to keep repeating these mistakes for the future
generations.
Roxanne LaRose
Leech Lake Anishinaabe
Cass Lake