This week on Minnesota Native News we hear about how American Indian tribes may soon have a greater say in what happens at University of Minnesota campuses across the state. And Fond du Lac photographer and retired wildland fire fighter Vern Northrup has a new photography exhibit in Duluth. It’s called Ishkode [ish-koh-tay] – the Ojibwe word for fire.
Transcript
STORY #1 - NEW UMN AMERICAN INDIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL PROPOSED
HOST: American Indian tribes may soon have a greater say in what happens at University of Minnesota campuses across the state.
Reporter Melissa Townsend has that story and more.
REPORTER: A few years ago leaders at the University of Minnesota Office of Equity and Diversity were urged to update the school’s policy on consulting with American Indians.
JOHNSON: Some tribal leaders weighed in and said if you are revising the policy, you need to consult with Indian tribes.
That’s where Tadd Johnson comes in.
He is a member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe and a Professor in American Indian Studies at University of Minnesota Duluth.
He was tapped to meet with the leadership of all 11 tribes and American Indian students and faculty across the 5 U-M-N campuses.
For more than two years Tadd and his colleagues Rick Smith and Tammy Lawler - got an earful.
JOHNSON: We got the comment several times that the University of Minnesota is land grant institution and they have to remember where the land came from.
Now each University campus already has an American Indian advisory board made up of students anf faculty.
And those boards can meet with their campus Chancellor to share their experiences ands hopefully ikmpact policies on campus.
But when Tadd was meeting with tribes around the state, he heard them say they wanted greater access to top university leadership.
JOHNSON: So that tribal sovereignty is constantly enhanced, programs for American Indians are constantly being modernized and improved or kept the same if that’s what they want. A lot of folks talked about being culturally sensitive when doing research.
The goal is for the University be a destination institution for American Indians across the country. (possibly collapse this idea into voice track ahead of above sounds bite).
So Tadd Johnson and his team drafted a proposal for a new advisory committee.
It would be a new University-wide Native Nations Advisory Board.
It would have representatives from each tribe in Minnesota.
This Board would meet quarterly and have direct access to the University President.
JOHNSON: This board will offer meaningful consultation on matters related to research, discovery, teaching and learning, outreach and public service aspects of the missions of the university as it affects Native people.
This proposal for a new University tribal Advisory Board to the university is currently being reviewed by university officials.
In other news…
STORY #2 - VERN NORTHRUP HAS A NEW PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT IN DULUTH
Fond du Lac photographer and retired wildland fire fighter Vern Northrup has a new photography exhibit in Duluth.
It’s called Ishkode [ish-koh-tay] - the Ojibwe word for fire.
The show features photos Northrup took at a fire on Stockton Island last October.
It was the first managed burn on the island in nearly 100 years.
Vern Northrup says Natives in the region used to burn small patches of land regularly.
NORTHRUP: I remember watching my relatives burning for different things - burning for strawberries, burning for blueberries, burning around the rice lakes to help give more nutrients into the rice lakes. Burning for a just an opening in the woods so that you could hunt there because animals gravitate toward those little openings.
Those fires were outlawed by white settlers in the early 1900’s and only became legal again about 30 years ago.
Northrup says this managed burn on Stockton Island was especially meaningful to him.
NORTHRUP: They asked me to light the first spark. That was a great honor. They did a ceremony and they asked for help in having a good burn and hoping that nobody gets hurt.
He says according to Ojibwe teachings, fire is a spirit.
NORTHRUP: A spirit that’s older than all of us. I’s like the spirit of the rock, or the ground or the spirit of the moon or the spirit of the sun. They are all way older than us.
With this exhibit Vern Northrup wants to highlight suicide awareness.
He says 17 wildland fire fighters took their own lives last year.
That is an especially high number of suicides.
One of those lost was his own grandson.
NORTHRUP: So I’m going to dedicate this show to my grandson. He was a firefighter. I love him and miss him. And I’ll never understand why he hurt himself but this show is for him.
The show is on display at the American Indian Community Housing Organization in Duluth through February 8th.
For Minnesota Native News, I’m Melissa Townsend.