Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities
18 Unique Stations from Border to Border
18 Unique Stations from Border to Border
Norman Deschampe grew up traditionally with his family in the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. He has maintained a close tie to the reservation land and its people. He has served for many years with distinction as Chairman of the Reservation Tribal Council and as President of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. In an conversation with Jay Andersen of WTIP, North Shore Community Radio, Norman explains how the Grand Portage Band is a “sovereign nation” whose sovereignty is not bestowed but a given. He talks about the importance of the environment for tribal people, including the role that wild rice places in the society. He also explains the roles of treaties between the United States and Native American tribes as well as what those treaties mean today. He also discusses how the people of Grand Portage relate with the people of Minnesota’s Cook County, which lies right across the Reservation River from the tribal lands.
The Inherent Right of Sovereignty Part IV examines the sometimes complicated relationship that area tribes have with regard to environmental regulation and jurisdiction over water quality issues in our region. We hear from former Fond du Lac Chairwoman Karen Diver about the unique responsibility that tribes have as sovereign nations to protect their surroundings and Grand Portage Chair Norman Deschampe who explains federal jurisdiction over water quality on the reservation. We also talk with Red Cliff Tribal Chair Bryan Bainbridge, who candidly shares the struggles that he and Red Cliff are experiencing over 1,400 barrels of waste material that were dumped into Lake Superior between 1959 and 1962 and their effort to uncover what is actually in the barrels and who is responsible for cleaning them up.
Governor Dayton recently instructed the DNR to discontinue collaring after a number of moose died as a result of the procedure. That decision has effectively crippled the Band’s ability to partner with the DNR in moose research and may have implications for the continued health of the entire Northeastern Minnesota moose population.
In this interview with producer Jay Andersen of WTIP North Shore Community Radio, Grand Portage Trust Lands Wildlife Biologist Dr. Seth Moore talks about a letter recently sent to Gov. Mark Dayton by Grand Portage Band Chairman Norman Deschampe, asking Dayton to reconsider authorizing moose capture and collaring by the Minnesota DNR.
Article 11 of the Treaty of 1854 provides for the retained rights to hunting, fishing and gathering of resources in lands ceded by Anishinaabe tribes in 1854.
In Part 2 of the six-part series, “The Inherent Right of Sovereignty, in the Words and Experiences of Anishinaabe People,” Sonny Meyers, the Director of the 1854 Treaty Authority, and Grand Portage Tribal Chair Norman Deschampe, explain the meaning of ceded territory in exchange for retained rights and how tribal resource management differs from the State of Minnesota’s approach to resource management.
Director Meyers also stresses the importance of educating the public and local officials about treaty rights and reflects on public perceptions about the “tribal take” versus the “tribal give.”