Governor Mark Dayton has appointed key Mille Lacs Band Police leader to the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training. And the art and photography exhibit of Mazinaakizige: American Indian Teen Photography Project is on display at Two Rivers Gallery.
Transcript
This is Minnesota Native News, I’m Marie Rock.
Coming up… Governor Mark Dayton has a new appointee to the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training - he’s tapping a key Mille Lacs Band Police leader.
And we'll look at… the art and photography exhibit of Mazinaakizige: American Indian Teen Photography Project, on display at Two Rivers Gallery…
Reporter Leah Lemm has these stories and more….
STORY #1 - SARA RICE APPOINTED TO THE MN BOARD OF PEACE OFFICER STANDARDS AND TRAINING
LEAH: The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe 2018 State of the Band Address was held on January 9th. Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin acknowledged hardships the band has faced in the past year, including losing many to the drug epidemic and the revoked Mille Lacs County law enforcement agreement.
BENJAMIN: As a Band government, we made progress together in many areas in 2017. Still, this was a tough year for our Band community. We faced many challenges, but none so heartbreaking as losing so many people to the drug epidemic. (:17)
LEAH: In her speech, Benjamin reported that since Mille Lacs County revoked the law enforcement agreement that would provide public safety for band members in District 1, they have had more than 75 overdoses and 15 deaths, as compared to 2015 which saw 7 drug overdoses.
But Benjamin also talked about “A New Warriorism” and how more band members are stepping up to fight for a better future.
BENJAMIN: There is hope of a better day. Because the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe never gives up and never gives in – we are fighters who stand our ground, and that is why we are called the Non-Removables. (:13)
LEAH: The latest success is Governor Mark Dayton’s appointment of Mille Lacs Band Chief of Police and Band member, Sara Rice, to the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST.
According to the Mille Lacs Band’s press release, Rice is the first tribal police chief on the Minnesota POST Board. The board oversees peace officer licensing and can establish policies and standards for licensees state-wide.
During her speech, Benjamin updated Rice’s job title from Interim Chief of Police to the permanent Chief of Police of the Mille Lacs Band Tribal Police Department. Benjamin credited Rice as instrumental in gaining resources for the band from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and for being a great leader of the Mille Lacs Band police force during QUOTE “a time of great stress and uncertainty.”
STORY #2 - TWO RIVERS GALLERY IS SHOWING YOUTH DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT
LEAH: In other news…
Mazinaakizige: American Indian Teen Photography Project is a youth program that is a partnership of the Minnesota Historical Society and Two Rivers Gallery at the Minneapolis American Indian Center. The internship program took place last Fall, and now, selected works will be shared with the public.
The display includes youth presentation on January 19th at Two Rivers Gallery. The exhibit, called “FORWARD” will travel across Minnesota after its time at the gallery.
Maggie Thompson is the Gallery Manager at Two Rivers Gallery.
THOMPSON: The program is to introduce students to digital photography skills, that’s the more concrete part. (:05)
LEAH: The program also teaches students how to write artist statements and put on an exhibit. The students have in-depth conversations with one another and artist mentors… and come away with much more than technical skills.
One question Native artists often have to answer for themselves is: What is Native Art? The youth in this program are no exception. But luckily they have one another and the mentors.
THOMPSON: Even adults tackling that question have difficulties with it. So the fact that they’re between the ages of fourteen and eighteen and they’re talking about these issues I think is really important for them. And to do it in a group with other Native students, because they go to high schools from around the Twin Cities, and some students don’t necessarily have a safe space or a group to talk about these issues with in school. (:30)
LEAH: The title of the exhibit, FORWARD, was decided upon by the youth.
THOMPSON: They thought, FORWARD. This day in age, being a teen with thinking about technology and stereotypes - [it’s] what it means to them to a modern native person. (:11)
Leah: Thomspon mentioned one’s student’s work… and how it reflects on how their culture and people are continuously moving forward with the times… and that this was key in learning about their identity… that Native people and culture don’t just exist in the the past, but continue on.
The exhibit at Two Rivers Gallery is up through January 26th.
For Minnesota Native News, I’m Leah Lemm.