This week on Minnesota Native News, Red Lake Chairman calls out Trump’s Budget, St Cloud State hosts their popular annual pow wow, Mille Lacs tests Ojibwe knowledge and Inuit games come to Minnesota.
Transcript
HOST: This week on Minnesota Native News, Red Lake Chair calls out Trump’s Budget, St Cloud hosts their popular annual pow wow, Mille Lacs tests Ojibwe knowledge and Inuit games come to Minnesota.
STORY #1 - (1:20)
HOST:Darrell Seki has been Chairman of the Red Lake Nation for nearly 3 years.
He has emphasized internal planning and organizing to promote sovereignty and economic stability.
On March 31st he gave his annual State of the Band address to Red Lake citizens.
Reporter Melissa Townsend has some highlights.
REPORTER: Chairman Seki’s speech comes mere weeks after President Donald Trump announced his national budget proposal which includes deep cuts to the majority of federal agencies.
Seki began his speech denouncing these cuts.
He said specific treaties outline the federal governments responsibilities to Native Nations health and wellbeing.
He said these duties can not be horse-traded in budget negotiations.
Chairman Seki noted budget cuts specifically in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the USDA, HUD, EPA and Health and Human Resource will hurt the Red Lake Nation.
The threatened cuts come at a time of historic growth for the tribe.
Red Lake Nation will soon break ground on a new solar farm that will generate electricity for tribal properties and the region.
There’s also a new treatment center in the works as well as two new fire houses, new housing on the reservation AND 114 units of affordable rental housing for Band members living in Minneapolis.
For Minnesota Native News, I’m Melissa Townsend.
STORY #2 - St. Cloud State Pow Wow
HOST:Campuses across Minnesota are holding their annual pow wows this time of year.
St. Cloud State American Indian Center hosted a week of speakers and events to raise awareness of American Indian culture just before their pow wow on April 8th.
Jim Knutson-Kolodzne [kuh-NOOT-son kuhl-AWZ-nee] is Director of the campus American Indian Center.
KNUTSON- KOLOZNE: The activities and programs are for Indian students as well as non-Native students. The More non-Natives learn about American Indians, the easier it is for American Indians, on campus, in society, whatever. And that works for any culture. The more you learn about other people, the easier it is for both people. (:16)
HOST: Out of 14-thousand students at St Cloud State, just over 200 identify as Native.
Knutson-Kolozne says about 1-thousand people attend the campus pow wow every year.
And next year the crowd may be even bigger because the St Cloud State will be partnering with
Local school district 742 and St. Cloud Technical College —
KNUTSON- KOLOZNE: We’re trying to get the entire community to learn and be more aware of American Indian history, language and culture as well as our individual American Indian students. (:12)
HOST: There are more than 200 American Indian students in the local K-12 school district and the technical college.
Starting next year the annual pow wow will rotate locations among the three sites.
STORY #3 - MILLE LACS QUIZ BOWL (1:10)
HOST: 14 teams recently competed in the 4th annual Mille Lacs Ojibwe Quiz Bowl.
NAQUANABE: We had teams from Cass Lake/Bena, Fond du Lac, Menomen, Grand Rapids, Greenway, White Earth. (:09)
HOST: Chris Naquanabe, is the Indian Education Coordinator for Onamia Public Schools which hosted the event.
She says the competition gets young people learning the language and some of the culture.
Students in grades 5 through 10 can participate.
NAQUANABE: They get really, really into it. We had a couple of overtime matches and kids were at the edge of their seats to try and buzz in. So it’s really something special. (:14)
Naquanabe says going into the competition, there was one team favored to come in first.
NAQUANABE: There’s a team from Northland Rymer that knows a lot of Ojibwe, so they are kind of the team to beat. (:08)
And indeed the Northland Rymer [reemer] team took the trophy for first place
Second was the team from Fond du Lac, third went to Grand Rapids, 4th to Circle of Life Academy at White Earth.
And the sportsmanship award went to the host team from Onamia.
STORY #4 - NATIVE GAMES (:55)
HOST: Autumn Ridley is the current world champion and record holder in the Alaskan High Kick Event at the Native youth Olympics.
Here she describes her event in a youtube video produced by Indie Alaska.
RIDLEY: Set my hand down, get situated, make sure my shoulders are square, make sure everything feels comfortable, I sit there and wait until I get this feeling and my body tells me to go up and I have to wait for it because if I force myself, I won’t kick the ball. (:20)
HOST: Later this month, Autumn Ridley and others will be teaching Minnesotans the events featured in the Inuit games.
The Demonstration and practice sessions for youth and adults will tour among sites in Bemidji, Cass Lake and Red Lake April 22nd, 23rd and 24th.
The events are part of an effort statewide to revitalize engagement in traditional Native games.