DOCSLIB.ORG

Tribal Narratives of Community, Sovereignty, and Treaty Rights at the Squaxin Island Museum, Library and Research Center and the Mille Lacs Indian Museum

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Tribal Narratives of Community, Sovereignty, and Treaty Rights at the Squaxin Island Museum, Library and Research Center and the Mille Lacs Indian Museum To Resist and Adapt: Tribal Narratives of Community, Sovereignty, and Treaty Rights at the Squaxin Island Museum, Library and Research Center and the Mille Lacs Indian Museum A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Karissa Elizabeth White IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Brenda J. Child December 2013 © Karissa Elizabeth White 2013 Acknowledgements I am extremely grateful for many things in my life. I feel very fortunate to have been born an Ojibwe person with loving parents. I am thankful for my brothers and their families (for my “Half-Chunk” nieces and nephews), my son Ozhigaabo, all my relatives at both LCO and Grand Portage, growing up on my reservation at Lac Courte Oreilles in Wisconsin (in both the K-Town and Boulevard communities), attending tribal school where my parents taught; hearing the Anishinaabe language being spoken by elders in my youth; engaging in cultural activities as a child; dancing at powwows, and knowing both my LCO grandma and my Grand Portage granny. My grandma Susie White (Ozhaawaashkoobineshikwe) was fifth degree Midewiwin and my granny Amelia LeGarde taught language and culture for many years in the Duluth Public Schools. I have been inspired by both women’s commitment to their education and I hope to gain the same level of wisdom and knowledge they both possessed when they entered into the spirit world. I am also thankful for the fact that wherever I travel and live, I know I always have a place to call home. Lac Courte Oreilles will always be an important part of who I am. I feel blessed that I can visit my parents and other relatives who still live on the family’s original allotment land. This doctoral program would have been more difficult without my first encounter with graduate school. If I had not taken the plunge to apply for the museology program at the University of Washington in Seattle, I would not have gained the experience of working as a tribal museum curator for the Squaxin Island Tribe in the South Puget Sound. I am indebted for my UW professors who supported my work by introducing me i to the Squaxin Island Museum, Library and Research Center, where I met Charlene Krise, Dale Clark, Liz Yeahquo, Jeremiah George, Theresa Henderson, Dale Croes, Margaret Seymour-Henry, Joe Seymour, and many others in the community who positively influenced my direction in life. I am always happy to visit the Squaxin Island Tribe and attend the Canoe Journey events whenever I can. At Mille Lacs, I would like to acknowledge all of those who work at the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and affiliated with the Minnesota Historical Society. This second venture into graduate school at the University of Minnesota has been quite the journey. My son Isaac was only four months old when I walked into the American Studies department and into my first class. I would especially like to thank my advisor, Brenda Child and my committee members Pat Albers, Jeani O’Brien, Kevin Murphy, and John Borrows, for their support and feedback along the way. Miigwech to those in the American Indian Workshop who read portions of my work and offered their feedback as well. Also, miigwech to John Nichols, Edna Day, and others in the American Indian studies department for helping me in my RA or TA work over the years. Miigwech also to Bruce White, Marc Slonim, and Erik Redix for their scholarly expertise on Ojibwe history and treaty rights. Most importantly, I am extremely grateful to have been a part of the best cohort ever. I could not have continued on without their support, advice, volunteer child care, and overall love. I am glad to be life-long friends with Jasmine Kar Tang, Emily Smith-Beitiks, Catie Watson, and honorary cohort member Jessica Guisti. Isaac and I miss and love you all. ii I have been fortunate to receive funding to support my research from a number of different sources, beginning with the University of Minnesota Community of Scholars Program for the DOVE Fellowship (a one-year and a summer research grant), the American Family Empowerment Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation (for a short-term child care grant), the Graduate Research Partnership Program Race and Ethnic Studies Summer Grant, the National Academies Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral and Dissertation Fellowship, the University of Minnesota Diversity Pre-Doctoral Diversity Teaching Fellowship at Morris (special thanks to Noro Andriamanalina), the American Studies Summer Dissertation Research Grant, and the Northland College Native American Studies Teaching Fellowship. Chi-miigwech to my friends and family who have supported me during this long and often arduous process. My parents always believed in my ability to get through school and remain strong throughout my life’s endeavors. Their love and support has been tremendous. I believe what kept me going was knowing that even if I failed they would always be there for me and for my son. Miigwech to my brothers Odawa and Charles and their families for their love and perspectives on Native education. To all my other relatives at Lac Courte Oreilles and Grand Portage—miigwech to all my uncles, aunties, cousins, and family friends from powwows and Big Drum for your support. To everyone mentioned in this paragraph, I continually admire your strength to persevere throughout difficulties. You have all inspired me in many ways and will always have a special place in my heart. Miigwech for the past, present, and future memories. iii To my friends at the Squaxin Island Tribe and my relatives at Mille Lacs. I am inspired by your courage and I look forward to teaching my son and others about the history of your community. iv Abstract The power of Western institutions, namely the museum, lies in their colonizing agendas to deny contemporary Native identities and cultures. Standard colonial museum narratives have supported non-Native notions of authenticity and cultural representation, which federal and state governments utilized to attack the rights of tribal nations as stipulated by treaties. Many tribes built museums to preserve and revitalize their cultures, assert their own tribal and cultural identities, and maintain their inherent sovereignty. Tribal museums serve as a central site in which to consider larger narratives of colonialism, conflict, resistance, adaptation, identity, sovereignty, and empowerment. This dissertation examines and compares the struggle for treaty rights as an assertion of sovereignty in two reservation communities—the Squaxin Island Tribe in Washington State and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota— through their tribal museums. I explore their cultural landscapes and histories, treaties, perceptions of sovereignty, and complex relationships with federal and state governments and local non- Native communities. This project reveals how Native nations have at times recreated and reconstituted their tribal and cultural identities through tribal museums in an effort to further their most significant political causes aimed at maintaining their inherent tribal sovereignty. Comparative analysis of these community’s histories, their historical struggles to retain treaty rights, and their museum structures reveals important insights into the place of tribal museums within broader sociopolitical relationships. The museum is one way tribal nations are simultaneously resisting and adapting to their socio-political, legal, and economic circumstances throughout history and into the present. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. i. Dedication ......................................................................................................................... iv. Abstract ...............................................................................................................................v. Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. vi. List of Figures ................................................................................................................... ix. Introduction ........................................................................................................................1 Prologue...........................................................................................................................1 Organization of the Dissertation ....................................................................................17 Chapter One: Western Museum Origins, Collecting Native-Made Objects and Tribal Museums Meanings ........................................................................22 Western Museum Origins and American Cabinets ........................................................23 Collecting Practices in the U.S. ......................................................................................26 The Western Museum as Powerhouse ...........................................................................32 Authenticity and Representation in Western Museum Exhibits ....................................38 The Display of Ethnographic Objects ....................................................................39 The Museum Effect .................................................................................................41 Ethnographic Objects and ‘Others’ on Display: More on Authenticity and Cultural Representation .........................................45
Load more

Recommended publications
  • M-37032 NOV 2 0 2015 To: Secretary
    United States Department of the Interior O FFICE OF T HE SOLICITOR 1849 C STREET N .W. WASHINGTON, DC 2024 0 M-37032 NOV 2 0 2015 To: Secretary From: Solicitor Subject: Opinion on the Boundaries of the Mille Lacs Reservation I. INTRODUCTION This opinion provides my legal conclusion regarding the current status of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's (Band) Reservation boundari es. The basis of this opinion is a very in-depth, careful review of the relevant historical documents pertaining to the United States' treatment of the Band's land over the course of more than one hundred years. Sadly, this historical overview reveals that the United States' dealings with the Band were not always a shining example of fa ir and honorable dealings, as it reveals a series of interactions fraught with hidden agendas, arbitrary shifts in policy, utter confusion, and broken commitments. As reflected in the discussion below, on several occasions, the United States was aware of the unauthorized encroachments within the Band's Reservation, but due to external economic and settlement pressures, the government fa il ed to maintain a consistent and clear position on the status of the Band's lands, leading to a gradual , ad hoc opening of the reservation to settlement and development without the requisite, clear Congressional intent to change the boundaries of the Band's Reservation. Although not necessary to the underlying legal determination, thi s opinion honors our modern day values and principles of fairness, transparency, and accountabili ty, and strives to set the record straight and not commit the errors of the past.
    [Show full text]
  • UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT of MINNESOTA Mille
    CASE 0:17-cv-05155-SRN-LIB Doc. 225 Filed 02/01/21 Page 1 of 109 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, a federally recognized Indian Tribe; Sara Rice, in her official capacity as Case No. 17-cv-05155 (SRN/LIB) the Mille Lacs Band Chief of Police; and Derrick Naumann, in his official capacity as Sergeant of the Mille Lacs Police Department, PLAINTIFFS’ MEMORANDUM OF Plaintiffs, LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY v. JUDGMENT THAT THE BOUNDARIES OF THE MILLE County of Mille Lacs, Minnesota; LACS INDIAN RESERVATION, AS Joseph Walsh, individually and in his ESTABLISHED IN 1855, REMAIN official capacity as County Attorney INTACT for Mille Lacs County; and Don Lorge, individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff of Mille Lacs County, Defendants. CASE 0:17-cv-05155-SRN-LIB Doc. 225 Filed 02/01/21 Page 2 of 109 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES .............................................................................................. iii I. INTRODUCTION. ....................................................................................................... 1 A. Legal Standards. ............................................................................................................ 1 B. Argument Summary. ..................................................................................................... 5 II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND. ..................................................................................... 9 A. The Mille Lacs Reservation. .......................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Mille Lacs Tribal P2: Action to Reduce and Eliminate Mercury in Tribal Life of the Misi-Zaaga’Igani Anishinaabeg
    What's Happening in the Arena of Tribal Pollution Prevention? Mille Lacs Tribal P2: Action to Reduce and Eliminate Mercury in Tribal Life of the Misi-zaaga’igani Anishinaabeg Charles J. Lippert, Air Quality Technician Dept. of Natural Resources & Environment Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians May 10, 2006 The Misi-zaaga’igani Anishinaabeg (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) Location Size • Two Reservations in East • Total Area: about 64,500 Central Minnesota with Acres scattered off-Reservation • Population: about 3,900 areas, forming eight Tribal members plus family communities stretching from members and employees the Minnesota-Wisconsin who are non-Tribal Indians boarder to the Minnesota- and non-Indians, serving North Dakota Boarder. total population of about 7,000 people. Map – Showing Misi-zaaga’iganiing and Gaa-Mitaawangaagamaag, the eight communities, three districts, one sub-district and the remainder of the 1837 and 1842 Treaty-ceded Territories the Misi-zaaga’igani Anishinaabeg practice traditional hunting, fishing and gathering The Misi-zaaga’igani Anishinaabeg (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) Brief History • Mde Wakan (Lake Mille Lacs): Spiritual Centre of the Sioux Nation • Mille Lacs Indians: Union of the Mille Lacs Band of Mdewakanton Sioux and the Mille Lacs Band of Mississippi Chippewa • Treaty of Washington (1855): Establishes 6 Mississippi Chippewa and 3 Pillager Chippewa Reservations (10 Stat., 1165) • Sioux Up rise and Repercussions: Dismantling of the Sioux and Chippewa Nations, but Mille Lacs and Sandy Lake saved • St. Croix
    [Show full text]
  • Indian Affairs Council 2006
    STATE OF tC\t INDIAN AFFAIRS COUNCIL 2006 3801 Bemidji Ave., Suite 5 • Bemidji, MN 56601 • phone: 218.755.3825 • fax: 218.755.3739 • Minnesota Relay Service 1.800.627.3529 161 St. Anthony St., Suite 924 • St. Paul, MN 55103 • phone: 651.296.0041 • fax: 651.296.0309 website: http://www.mniac.org • email: [email protected] Protocols for Working with Tribes 3-4 Council Description and Background Information 5 Vision Statement. 5 Mission 5 Indian Affairs Council -At-Large Membership.............. 5 Board of Directors 6 Executive Board 6 Board Members 6-9 Urban Indian Advisory Council (UIAC) 10 Members 11 Ex-Officios 11 Commissioners 11 Governors Office 12 House 12 Senate 12 MIAC Staff 13 Bemidji Office - Headquarters 13 St. Paul Office - Legislative Program 13 Liaisons 14 Specific Programs 14 Indian Business Loan Program 15 Indian Economic Opportunity Program 15 Activities 15 Cultural Resource Program 15-17 MIAC FY2006 Third Quarter Budget and Expenditure Report 18-19 2005/2006 Legislative Report 21 Policy Issues 22 Liaison Reports 23 Department of Education 23-25 MN Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) 26 MN Department of Health 27-28 MN Department of Human Services 29-30 Minnesota Historical Society 32-33 Minnesota Housing Finance Agency 34 Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mndot) 35 Map of Minnesota Indian Reservation 36 The Dakota Communities 37 Lower Sioux 37 Prairie Island 38 Shakopee Mdewakanton 39 Upper Sioux 40 The Anishinabe Communities .41 . Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT) .41 Elections 41 Membership 42 Bois Forte (Nett Lake) 42 Fond du Lac 43 Minnesota Indian Affairs Council 2006 Annual Report Grand Portage 44-45 Leech Lake 46-47 Mille Lacs 48-50 White Earth 51 Red Lake Nation 52-54 2 Minnesota Indian Affairs Council 2006 Annual Report Minnesota Indian Affairs Council Protocols for Working with Tribes The following list of suggestions is provided to help you develop sound relationships with tribal officials.
    [Show full text]
  • Native People of Western Canada Contents
    Native People of Western Canada Contents 1 The Ojibwa 1 1.1 Ojibwe ................................................. 1 1.1.1 Name ............................................. 1 1.1.2 Language ........................................... 2 1.1.3 History ............................................ 2 1.1.4 Culture ............................................ 4 1.1.5 Bands ............................................. 7 1.1.6 Ojibwe people ......................................... 9 1.1.7 Ojibwe treaties ........................................ 11 1.1.8 Gallery ............................................ 11 1.1.9 See also ............................................ 11 1.1.10 References .......................................... 11 1.1.11 Further reading ........................................ 12 1.1.12 External links ......................................... 13 2 The Cree 14 2.1 Cree .................................................. 14 2.1.1 Sub-groups .......................................... 14 2.1.2 Political organization ..................................... 15 2.1.3 Name ............................................. 15 2.1.4 Language ........................................... 15 2.1.5 Identity and ethnicity ..................................... 16 2.1.6 First Nation communities ................................... 17 2.1.7 Ethnobotany ......................................... 17 2.1.8 Notable leaders ........................................ 17 2.1.9 Other notable people ..................................... 20 2.1.10 See also ...........................................
    [Show full text]
  • 241 County Motion for Summary Judgment
    CASE 0:17-cv-05155-SRN-LIB Doc. 241 Filed 02/01/21 Page 1 of 112 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA Court File No. 17-cv-05155 (SRN-LIB) Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, et al., DEFENDANTS’ Plaintiffs, MEMORANDUM OF LAW v. IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT County of Mille Lacs, et al., ON RESERVATION CESSION Defendants. CASE 0:17-cv-05155-SRN-LIB Doc. 241 Filed 02/01/21 Page 2 of 112 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ..................................................................................... V INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 STATEMENT OF UNDISPUTED FACTS ................................................................ 2 A. The 1837 Treaty .................................................................................... 4 B. 1855 Treaty creates a reservation ........................................................ 5 C. The Dakota War of 1862 ...................................................................... 6 D. In 1863 the government opens negotiations to consolidate the Chippewa band at a new reservation. ................................................. 9 E. In 1864 Hole-in-the-Day negotiates a new treaty. ............................ 12 F. In 1867 the White Earth Reservation was created. ........................... 12 G. Timber interests and settlers seek to enter the former reservation.......................................................................................... 13 H. The Folsom Decision. .......................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Ojibwe Absent Narratives in Minnesota Forest Park History Elizabeth Steinson St
    St. Cloud State University theRepository at St. Cloud State Culminating Projects in History Department of History 3-2018 Ojibwe Absent Narratives in Minnesota Forest Park History Elizabeth Steinson St. Cloud State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/hist_etds Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Steinson, Elizabeth, "Ojibwe Absent Narratives in Minnesota Forest Park History" (2018). Culminating Projects in History. 15. https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/hist_etds/15 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at theRepository at St. Cloud State. It has been accepted for inclusion in Culminating Projects in History by an authorized administrator of theRepository at St. Cloud State. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ojibwe Absent Narratives in Minnesota Forest Park History by Elizabeth Ley Steinson A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of St. Cloud State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History March 2018 Committee Members: Robert Galler Jason Eden Robbie Mann 2 Abstract A discursive analysis of Minnesota conservation history, with particular emphasis on the establishment of national forests, follows a recognizable pattern of the benign development of federal and state initiatives to ameliorate environmental despoliation around the turn of the twentieth century. Tensions over the creation of bureaucratic institutions to solve these problems are also generally described in terms of binary struggles between local special interests and conservationists who argued over proper management the land and its resources. Absent from these narratives are the indigenous populations who continued to use these lands and resources and resisted federal and state efforts to impede further loss of their homelands.
    [Show full text]
  • An Ethnographic Study of Indigenous Contributions to the City of Duluth
    An Ethnographic Study of Indigenous Contributions to the City of Duluth Turnstone Historical Research July 2015 THIS PROJECT WAS FUNDED IN PART BY THE ARTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FUND Making Indigenous People and their History and Culture Visible in the City of Duluth Throughout the planning of this project and in the current phase of research one major theme was evident, the belief among Indigenous people living in Duluth that their presence and their history have not been visible to the wider population of the city and to visitors. Aside from highly public disputes about the revenues from the Fond du Luth casino, Native people do not believe that their contributions to the city, either in the past or today, have been appreciated. The invisibility of Indigenous people was a prime factor in motivation for the Duluth Indigenous Commission, formerly know as the Duluth American Indian Commission, to undertake this study. The guiding intention was and continues to be the gathering of information on Indigenous people in Duluth, from archival and written sources, oral histories, and archaeological evidence, and the beginning of a discussion of various means to use this information to educate present-day Duluthians about Indigenous history and culture. The current study is described as an "ethnographic study," one which studies both the historical character of Duluth and the cultural influences the region of the city has felt over many hundreds of years. It would be equally accurate to call the study an "ethnographic history," though it is important to note that the goal is not only to study the historic past but the prehistoric one as well through archaeology, and also to try to understand the points of view of Duluth Indigenous residents today and their understandings of their culture and history, through the process of oral interviewing.
    [Show full text]
  • Native American Nonprofit Economy Report
    Native American Nonprofit Economy Report By Jane Harstad D.Ed A joint project of Native Americans in Philanthropy and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. 2 On March 1, 2013, The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, Native Americans in Philanthropy and Northwest Area Foundation sponsored a public forum held at All Nations Church in Minneapolis for the release of the Native American Nonprofit Economy Report. The report was presented by Jane Harstad, project researcher with MCN and Daniel Lemm, director of programs and finance, Native Americans in Philanthropy. A Community Response Panel was moderated by Laura Waterman Wittstock, president and CEO, Wittstock and Associates, and panel members included Chairwoman Karen Diver, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa; Suzanne Koepplinger, executive director, Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center; Rhiana Yazzie, founder, New Native Theatre; and Bill Ziegler, president/CEO, Little Earth of United Tribes. Introductions and background to the report were provided by Martin Jennings, program officer, and Kevin Walker, President, both of the Northwest Area Foundation. Streaming video of the March 1st report presentation and panel discussion are available online, with links available at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and Native Americans in Philanthropy websites: www.minnesotanonprofits.org and www.nativephilanthropy.org/. 3 Table of Contents Overview page 5 Minnesota History and the Parallel Evolution of Organizations Serving Native Americans pages 6 - 7 Tracking Development of Minnesota’s
    [Show full text]
  • Tracing the Text of Ojibwa Hymn No. 35 from 1910 to 2010
    BABAAMIINWAJIMOJIG (PEOPLE WHO GO AROUND TELLING THE GOOD NEWS): TRACING THE TEXT OF OJIBWA HYMN NO. 35 FROM 1910 TO 2010 By Janis Angela Fairbanks A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of American Studies - Doctor of Philosophy 2015 ABSTRACT BABAAMIINWAJIMOJIG (PEOPLE WHO GO AROUND TELLING THE GOOD NEWS): TRACING THE TEXT OF OJIBWA HYMN NO. 35 FROM 1910 TO 2010 By Janis Angela Fairbanks My dissertation is based on a question: Why do Ojibwa people continue to sing Ojibwa hymns in Ojibwa even though many of the singers no longer understand the words they are singing? To find answers, qualitative methods were used. I found 22 people to participate in interviews that took place around the Great Lakes in both the United States and Canada. The people interviewed are known as the Anishinaabeg (Ojibwa People), although one person interviewed is not indigenous, but has worked with indigenous students teaching Ojibwa language and hymns for over half a century. As an Ojibwa woman, I felt it was important to consider primary-source oral history of current-day Ojibwa people, and to include secondary sources of information, such as CDs, phonograph records, books, articles and Internet websites in my research. Five themes emerged from analysis of the interview transcripts. These are (1) language translation issues, (2) the importance of the Thunderbird as a cultural icon, (3) spirituality, (4) community and individual identity, and (5) continuity of culture. Within these categories is evidence that the continued use of hymn no. 35 in the Ojibwa Hymnal 1910 (Kah-O-Sed 1910:35) demonstrates both continuity and change in the Anishinaabeg western Great Lakes Diaspora.
    [Show full text]
  • Indian Affairs Council 2002 Annual Report
    Indian Affairs Council 2002 Annual Report 3801 Bemidji Ave., Suite 5 Bemidji, MN 56601 Phone: 218.755.3825 Fax: 218.755.3739 website: indians.state.mn.us "GI-NEW---GUAN-NAI-AUSH / GWE,..WII-ZAINCE" 1912.., 2002 Roeer A. Jourdain dedicated his life to India.n people, the land, the culture, aud more specifica.lllj his "fellowtribesmen". In 1959 Roger Jourdain was elected as the first Tribal Chairman of the Red Lake Nation, a position he held for 31 years. Chairman Jourdain, in his new position, did not abandon the traditional ways of the Red Lake Nation, but rather retained the hereditary chiefs as advisors to the Tribal Council. Under his administration, new homes were built, better roads constructed, retail centers were established in both Red Lake and Ponemah. The Red Lake Nation Tribal Information Center, Library and Archives was established as well as new and improved health services. The creation of the Jourdain/Perpich Nursing Home was hailed as "unique" a tribal, federal and state effort not seen elsewhere in the United States. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Minneapolis Indian Health Board, and the list goes on. Roger Jourdain's influence on the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, which /' reorganized in 1976, was evident when the eleven sovereign Tribes became members of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC) by virtue of their elected positions within their respective reservations. Through the MIAC the tribes have cemented their authority over State Indian Affairs and their authority to speak for the estimated 60,000 American Indians in Minnesota. Chairman Jourdain, along with Senator Leonard R.
    [Show full text]