Indinawe maaganidog – All my relations Ogimaa Bines indizhinikaaz – The Head Thunderbird is my Ojibwe name Migizi indoodem – I am from the Eagle Clan Odaawaa Zaaga’iganing indoonjibaa – I am from Odawa Lake. That is what we call our home but the French called it Lac Courte Oreilles meaning Lake of the Short Ears from the fact we did not wear earrings like the other tribes they encountered so our earlobes were not stretched. So somehow “lake of the short ears” stuck and we are today known by what is in the Federal Register as the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

Good Afternoon - Speaker Voss, President Lazich, members of the Senate, members of the State Assembly, Constitutional Officers, Cabinet Secretaries, Justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and other honored guests.

On behalf of the 11 Tribal Nations in Way Sco Suk, I want to thank you for this opportunity to address you all today. Way Sco Suk is a Menomonee word for “a good place to live” today it is now known as Wisconsin and I know we all agree that it is in fact, a very good place to live!

We have Ogemaag representing all 11 Tribal Nations with us. Ogema is an Ojibwe word for Chief, Headman, Chairman, President or Boss.

Today we have with us:

Ogema; Melinda Danforth of the Oneida Nation Shannon Holsey of the Stockbridge Munsee Nation Chris McGeshick of the Sokaogon nation Butch St. Germaine of the Lac Du Flambeau Nation Joan Delabreau, of the Menomonee Nation

1 Brian Bainbridge of the Red Cliff nation Stewert Bearheart of the St. Croix Nation Robert “Buzzy” Blanchard of the Bad River Nation Councilman Brooks Boyd, Forest County Potawatomi Nation Wilfred Cleveland of the Ho Chunk Nation I’m humbled and honored to be speaking on your behalf today.

I want to acknowledge the Elders, as is our custom. The Elders have persevered through the toughest of times. They have amassed priceless knowledge of survival and continually pass it down to us, which aids us every single day in all of our journeys. Chi- miigwech (Big Thank you) to our elders for the path that you all have blazed for us.

I want to also recognize the First Lady of Lac Courte Oreilles, Karen Breit. She bears a bit of the brunt of the mean spirited political attacks that occur everyday as a result of my position – which I’m sure everyone on this floor understands very well. So I want to acknowledge her for putting up with that. Thank you.

Recognize a few dignitaries. TGB, Other Tribal leaders, Feds, Mike Allen and Therese Stafford & Staff of GLITC for helping to coordinate this event & LCO Representative James Edming & Senator Jerry Petrowski?

I would also like to specially recognize of a couple ladies in the room today –Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson and Ada Deer. A few years back my daughter Monica had the opportunity to speak to them about going to college and maybe someday becoming a lawyer. These ladies took the time to encourage her to pursue higher education and Justice Abrahamson displayed an awesome example of a strong woman reaching the height of the legal profession, as she was Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court. She said to Monica if I can do it then you can to.

2 I can still hear Ada Deer’s voice when she told my daughter “You go for it Honey and don’t let anyone or anything get in your way”! Well I would like to proudly report to you both that Monica just recently graduated from Marquette Law School with honors. This past year she started working for a top family law firm in Ashland Wisconsin. Monica tried to be here today to thank you both in person but this world can’t seem to get along without their lawyers. She is watching live on WisEye though. (Thank you ladies for the encouraging words)

All the Tribes can boast about similar success stories about their people, which of course rarely ever make the press. Seems like the bad kids or the bad stories about our reservations make the paper routinely. So contrary to what some believe the Tribes have many Tribal Citizens that serve as role models not just for Indian people but for all people.

We have Tribal citizens with Bachelors degrees, Masters degree’s, PHD’s, LCO Tribal member Robert Kagigibi is a Medical doctor, Paco Fralick a Lac Du Flambeau member is a dentist, Bronson Koenig is a star basketball player with our Wisconsin Badgers. He is a citizen of the Ho Chunk Nation. We have a multitude of engineers, architects, lawyers, teachers, and professors. Joe Dan Rose a Bad River member is an expert fisheries biologist whose data I would put up against any fisheries biologist in the country! We have successful entrepreneurs such as Dave Anderson from LCO. You may know him as Famous Dave.

We have EMT’s, Firefighters & Police Officers– My sister Michelle Martin is an officer that protects and serves in Whitewater Wisconsin. We even have movie stars. Apesan’equat from the Menominee nation and Sheila Tousey from the Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation are successful Hollywood actors. Patty Loew a Bad River member is a famous local TV personality. Electa Quinney a Stockbridge

3 Munsee was the very first professional public school teacher in Wisconsin history!

Tribal people are succeeding in all aspects of society just like the non-Indian people do.

I want to acknowledge my son Mukoons – little black bear for leading us in the pledge of allegiance today. Last year he won an essay contest and as a result of the win he had to speak in front of several large audiences so I figured he could handle this minor gig.

His winning essay was about his grandfather-my father and his experience in the war in Vietnam. It was gripping. The essay brought back the feelings I had when my father was away and we weren’t sure if he was ever coming home. Fortunately he did come home and I would like to recognize him in the audience today – dad please wave.

I would like to take this time to thank and recognize all veterans for their service to our country and state. Something that many of you may already know but some may not is the fact that Native Americans have served in the U.S military in greater numbers than any other ethnic group and have since the Revolutionary war!

We step forward when duty calls!

Today in the audience I have 3 shining examples of heroic service by Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Citizens

US Navy Seaman 1st Class Louis Gouge Sr. who served on the USS Yorktown in World War II,

Army Air Corps Private 1st Class Bertha Christiansen WWII

4 Navy Signalman 2nd Class Daryl Coons Sr. He served in the South Pacific in WWII.

One other LCO WWII Veteran was unable to be with us today: US Navy Petty Officer Richard Smith. He fought at Iwo Jima. He went on to become a Sergeant in the US Army and served in the Korean War.

We have Purple Heart recipients; Bronze Star recipients and also POW’s. All the 11 Tribal nations can provide examples of heroic service to our Country.

I have recently been made aware that an assembly committee was considering a bill that would change the role of County Veteran Service offices. We are in a time when there is an increase in demand for services. It is extremely important we remain vigilant in not only maintaining the current delivery of benefits but also seek addition resources to effectively serve our Veterans. Our Tribal Veterans rely heavily on our County Veterans Service office and call on the assembly to protect and enhance these offices.

Many people know about the Tribes as they exist today and our contributions to the State and Country but many do not. Stereotypes, Misconceptions and myths about Tribes and our citizens persist.

The questions I get sometimes from seemingly well-educated people when I’m in meetings in Washington DC, Madison, speaking at colleges, and from the general public can be jaw dropping. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked if we still live in Tepee’s and ride horses.

The Ojibwe people never did live in Teepees we lived in wigwams. Some Tribes used teepees and some used long houses, as each Tribe is separate and unique. While some tribal people maintain a

5 wigwam or teepee for cultural or spiritual purposes, today we live in houses and drive cars. We are a highly adaptable people.

I used to get a bit perturbed at those questions but over time I learned that usually the questions are not meant to be insulting but merely the fact that those individuals really know very little about the Tribes and our adaptation.

Now when I get the question; do you still ride horses and live in Teepees I respond back with a question - do you still drive a stagecoach and live in a trapper shack?

Sometimes the questions are mean spirited though and meant as insults. One such comment which seems to be a talking point of the anti-treaty establishment and I have heard fairly often over the years is, “I really don’t have a problem with you exercising your Treaty Rights but why do you use a metal spear and aluminum boat? You should spear from a birch bark canoe and use a wooden spear like you all did when you signed the treaty”.

My response to that comment is - there are 2 parties’ to the treaties – the US and the Tribe -You signed the Treaty too. Why should one party to a treaty stop in time and not the other party? If we have to use birch bark canoes and wooden spears when we harvest fish than you must harvest wheat with a sickle and till your field with a horse?

Another mean spirited comment I hear repeatedly is, “you don’t even know your own language”. This in not true as Niizhoo Sullivan showed this afternoon when he did our invocation for us. Niizhoo is 12 years old and in 6th grade and speaks our language proficiently. (acknowledge Niizhoo)

6 Niizho goes to our LCO k-12 school, which has a language immersion educational track called Waadookodaading, which means Helping each other.

The Waadookodaading kids sang at Governor Walkers inauguration singing Somebody to Love by Queen and Lazy by Bruno Mars entirely in Ojibwe mowin.

Niizho and his little brother Preston sang for President Obama last year at the Tribal White House Summit. They brought the crowd to their feet. The normal protocol of playing the melody Hail To The Chief when the president leaves the stage was suspended. Niizho and Preston had the honors of hand drumming and singing as the President exited. Bimaadiziimagad Ojibwe mowin (Our Ojibwe language is alive and well)

Our languages survive today despite the millions of dollars and concerted effort by the federal government to eradicate them. I remember back in the 1980’s when the anti-treaty protests were occurring across the northern part of Wisconsin. The late Walt Bressette from the Red Cliff nation was confronted with that comment by a hateful protester. When he said “ you don’t even know your own language Indian”, Walt replied, “yes I know my language, and I know yours too”.

I still hear us referred to as Pagans. The dictionary defines pagan as irreligious or of a religion that is other than those of the main world religions. In some cases Tribal citizens are of religions other than the main world religions but we are not and never were irreligious.

Today we practice religion in much the same manner as the general population of the United States. We have a lot Tribal people that practice Native religions but we also have people that belong to the wide variety of churches that line the streets of

7 America. We have Baptists, Lutherans, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews and Muslims. I myself went to catholic schools in Milwaukee for 6 years. I am a recovering Catholic.

We Are Not Pagans!

While I’m at it I would like to attempt to debunk a few other myths and misconceptions that seem to persist about Native people.

Tribes are not all rich from casinos! Some are doing quite well. We are proud of them however most of us especially in the rural areas are certainly not rich.

The myth about Indian people getting a free education is completely false. It took me 10 years to pay off my student loans. Monica has almost $200,000 dollars in student loan debt.

Bronson Keonig a Ho Chunk citizen may be getting a free education at UW but he works his tail off for that athletic scholarship and if he keeps whuuupin Illinois like he did a couple weeks ago I think we are all ok with that.

The myth that tribal people barely vote is not true. We sure do vote and in higher numbers every year. In fact we make the winning difference in many cases.

I also hear that when we vote that we only vote democrat – again not true.

Former Senator Bob Jauch a democrat received full support from Lac Courte Oreilles. Mark Kelsey a republican received our full support for Sawyer County Sherriff. Senator Janet Bewley a Democrat received our full support. Some of you may remember Dave Zein – kind of a low- key republican –he received our support. Representative Beth Meyers a democrat received full

8 Tribal support. Honorable John Yackel a republican received our full support for Sawyer County judge.

We support people who support us no matter what party they are affiliated with, republican, democrat, green or independent.

The reason these individuals have received our support is because they visit us. They attend our events. Not just during campaign season but throughout the year. They meet regularly with our Tribe in a “government to government” relationship. They get coffee or tea in our Ojibwe Java coffee shop. They serve on some of our boards like the LCO Boys & Girls Club board. They talk with our people and know us, and our issues. Doesn’t mean we always agree but they know us.

Recently Lac Courte Oreilles has been redistricted – without any consultation or input from us. We are still quite upset by this especially the no-consultation. My advice to our new representatives or anyone who wants to represent a district that has a Tribe in it- and I say this with all due respect - if you want our support then follow the examples I mentioned.

Unless you believe the myth that we don’t vote. One candidate who unsuccessfully ran against Bob Jauch many times finally came to the realization that the Tribal support for Sen Jauch was impactful so she came and visited us. I asked her why, after all these election cycles did she finally come visit us. She said that she was quite frankly “afraid”. We said “afraid of what”? She said she had always heard that if you ever get a flat tire on the rez just keep driving or you could be in danger. I could not believe what she said. Again we replied “in danger of what”? She would not specify. She did not get our support.

9 I’m here to tell you that if you are driving on any of our reservations and you get a flat tire what is the most likely scenario is that someone will stop and help you change your tire.

These myths as well as others highlight the need for greater education. Act 31 was passed in the 1989-1991 Biennial budget bill to do just that, but I am not convinced that it’s being as effective as we had hoped. I’m not convinced that schools across the State are complying with Act 31. I would like to call on the Tribal/State relations committee to consider adding an enforcement mechanism to Act 31. The issue of teaching Tribal history, living history not just the 17 and 1800’s but the 1900’s and as we exist today is extremely important to the Tribes, as we know this will improve Tribal-State and community relations.

We were heartened recently by the demise of AB 620, which would have resulted in the desecration of burial and effigy mounds. All of Wisconsin’s Tribes stand with our Ho-Chunk relatives in their opposition to this bill. For us Ojibwe, we experienced firsthand the effects of an education system that failed to properly educate and inform our neighbors about whom we are as a Native people, about our origins, our history and our identity. We were objectivized and victimized. We felt the pain of rocks and ball bearings slung from slingshots at northern Wisconsin boat landings simply because we were lawfully and peacefully exercising our constitutionally protected treaty rights.

At LCO, the flooding of the Chippewa and Chief Rivers destroyed our villages and burial sites. There were times when the bones of our ancestors were being washed up on the shores of what is now known as the Chippewa Flowage.

AB 620 rekindles those excruciating memories for us. It sends the wrong message and would reinvigorate the types of misinformed attitudes, stereotyping and hateful behavior that we saw at the boat

10 landings and in our schools back in the 1980’s. Big thank you to the representatives responsible for killing that bill.

With stronger education about Tribal history and culture we believe these types of issues will arise less often.

To highlight how things can and should work in our education system, I want to acknowledge the Superintendent for the Hayward Community School District Craig Olsen and touch on a few of the things he’s initiated in the Hayward schools. (Where are you at Mr. Olson?)

Mr Olsen makes sure that the kids in our schools get instruction about our Tribes history, Treaty reserved rights and culture as outlined in Act 31 but he goes beyond that. He hires local Tribal citizens as staff to do the teaching. He brings in Tribal entrepreneurs, Tribal Leaders and Tribal people from a wide variety of professions to make presentations to the students.

Through meetings of the Indian Parent advisory committee and meetings with Tribal Government officials we have come up with many other initiatives to promote a true understanding between Native and non-native people of our community and put to rest misconceptions that have persisted throughout the years.

Sports have been a tried and true method of improving relations between cultures. Mr. Olsen has opened up all the sports programs at the Hayward Schools to students from our Tribal school. In many cases we have our own teams such as basketball. However we don’t have a football team – we do now – the Hayward team is now the LCO/Hayward football team. It does wonders for the community relationship having the bleachers filled up with Indian and non-Indian families all cheering together.

11

The initiative that I believe has had the biggest impact though is when Mr. Olsen set up a bus tour for his entire staff and administration to visit our reservation. 4 big yellow school busses visited our Tribal Government, Tribal k-12 school, our LCO Boys & Girls Club and our LCO Ojibwe Community College. One bus went to each place than after 45 minutes they would switch places so everyone got everywhere.

Questions such as some of those reoccurring myths were answered. Mr. Olsen will tell you about staff members here and there saying – “I thought we were going to see teepees”.

The comments about the tours that we received were tremendous. Many of them didn’t know we had such beautiful facilities, didn’t know we had a government and if they did they didn’t know it was a constitutionally based Government. We answered many questions during those tours.

I challenge all superintendents to follow the example set by Mr. Olsen and go beyond Act 31 – this will improve Tribal State and community relations.

Here’s another myth-the Tribes the State or the Tribes and their neighbors are locked in perpetual battle – that all we do is fight. This is false.

While there are areas in which we do battle now and then, there are also many positive partnerships and initiatives that we are engaging in on a daily basis.

The Menomonee Nation and the State of Wisconsin DNR worked on a joint project to restore Sturgeon populations in the Menomonee River.

12 The Ojibwe nations and Ho Chunk Nation worked with State DNR, USFS and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to reestablish Elk herds in our collective homelands.

The Oneida Nation established a partnership with our Green Bay Packers. The Oneida Nation Gate is something that Tribal Citizens across the WI are proud of.

The relationship between Forest County Potawatomi and the Milwaukee Brewers makes us all proud as well.

The Red Cliff Nation has worked with the Feds and the State to establish the first Tribal National Park in Wisconsin. Those are just some examples of partnerships with individual Tribal Nations.

We have some collective partnerships going as well.

The relationship between all the Tribal Nations and the Department of Transportation is a very good and productive relationship.

The DOT has hired Tribal citizens as staff to promote meaningful and reliable communication. The results from this dialogue resulted in several DOT initiatives. The WisDot Tribal Task Force, transportation safety programs, cultural and environmental coordination and the Statewide Native American labor initiatives are a few.

Recently WisDot’s Statewide Native American Labor Initiative is supporting two additional programs, which will be delivered to the Red Cliff, Bad River and LCO communities. This public/private/tribal training model is called Transportation Alliance for New Solutions or TrANS.

13 TrANS successfully prepares Native people with the skills they need to contribute to the transportation construction industry as laborers and apprentices.

WisDOT and the Tribes have very good relationship. I use it as an example with other agencies as to how we should work together. I would like to recognize DOT Sec. Mark Gottlieb and Tribal liaison Kelly Jackson for their dedication to fostering this relationship.

The Tribal/State relationship with the Dept. of Tourism is another great one.

Tribal Nations make huge positive economic impacts in this State but I rarely ever hear that mentioned by state officials. (I will come back to this issue later) Dept. of Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett is someone who does mention Tribal impact and we really do appreciate that!

I hear her in speech after speech (and she makes a lot of them) regularly reflecting credit on the Tribes for their positive economic impact on the States tourism data. She will point out that our contributions to tourism are not just in the gaming arena like many people think. Our natural areas, lakes, rivers, resorts and especially our cultural based attractions like powwows and museums are huge tourism draws. Thank you Sec. Klett for the acknowledgments that you give us and the time and effort that you put in to maintain our partnership.

Each Tribe has their own individual tourism and marketing departments but the Tribes also have tourism initiatives that we do collectively through an organization called Native American Tourism of Wisconsin or NATOW.

14 The State Tourism Department is funded by $8,967,000 of Tribal Gaming Compact revenue. NATOW is funded by $200,000 of gaming revenue. I would like to call on the representatives here to increase funding to NATOW up to $500,000 at least and I can guarantee that the money will be used to increase cultural tourism which will in turn benefit Tribal and State treasuries alike.

Here is another example of a great Tribal/State partnership. This partnership is between all of the Tribes and the WI Department of Health Services. We have been working on so many issues I just don’t have the time to mention all of them so I will just highlight a few.

We have partnered up to fight a Federal battle.

All of the Tribal Nations together with the DHS have been meeting with our Federal counterparts in the Executive and legislative branches of Government to obtain support for a Home and Community Based Waiver application that we have submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. If approved the waiver will enable Tribes in our sovereign capacity to bill Medicare/Medicaid for services in the same manner in which States do. Doing this will save the Tribes AND the State money which could be budgeted to meet other unmet health care needs.

I want to acknowledge Sec. Kitty Rhoads, her staff and all the Tribal Health Directors and staff for their efforts that will benefit us all.

The Tribes and DHS are also working together on a problem that is having a negative effect across all sectors of our Tribal and State populations. That issue is drugs and youth violence.

15 The State and Tribes with the Dept. of Justice, Attorney Generals office, Tribal/State/County police, Native American Drug and Gang Initiative, WI DHS, Indian Health Service, Tribal Health Centers, and several other partners have been looking at this problem from all angles.

The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program was a major step in working through complicated Federal, State and Tribal jurisdictions.

Individuals were taking one prescription and making the rounds of several pharmacies to obtain more medication then was prescribed. Those people would eventually be identified through the pharmacy reporting requirements but by that time these guys were long gone.

With this new monitoring program if a prescription was picked up it would be entered into the computer and ALL the pharmacies were made aware of it instantly. If anyone tried to get that prescription filled anywhere else the computer would alert the pharmacist and the medications would be denied. The pharmacy could also then alert authorities.

This initiative has stopped a lot of pills from hitting the streets.

The data that we look at regarding kids and drugs clearly shows that a child who is involved in extra-curricular activities is more likely to succeed then their peers who are not involved.

We would like to see more funding go to schools and Boys & Girls Clubs so they can provide sports, band and other after school activities.

Sports for example is a tried and true anti-gang and anti-drug program. Due to funding issues sports tend to be one of the programs that always get cut. The costs then get passed on to the

16 parents. What may happen then is only the families that can afford it can participate. Kids that need it most like those of single parent families can be left out. Some families with more than one child find it almost impossible to bear that large financial burden. The cost to play hockey, which require a lot of equipment, could be over $1000. In my day sports were free to families and I will say over and over – I believe sports are what kept me in school.

Rural and Native Boys & Girls Clubs struggle with funding issues. The reason for this is that Clubs tend to rely on corporate donors. This model works great in urban areas where there a lot of corporations however in rural areas such as LCO, Bad River and Menomonee there are really no corporations to seek donations from. Our clubs then become reliant on grants, which are cyclic. We would like to see some of our gaming compact dollars going to fund operations of Tribal Clubs.

For kids that have become dependent on alcohol or drugs, the State and Tribes are working collectively to build and operate a juvenile treatment facility. We hope to centrally locate this facility possibly in Lac Du Flambeau. Right now our kids are being transported all over the place and sometimes to great distances away.

Drugs and drug related crimes have put a lot of people in jails and prisons.

We’ve also been taking a look at programs within the Wisconsin prison systems to assess their effectiveness. The community reintegration program I believe is a program that is effective. Through a tour, I got to see first hand the educational and training opportunities that are being provided to inmates who must soon re- enter our communities.

The money that is spent on those programs in my opinion is well worth it. The cost of housing an inmate is staggering. When an

17 inmate receives an education or learns a trade, the data shows that they are less likely to re-offend. This saves us a lot of money in the long run.

I say us because besides our taxpayer dollars, gaming compact revenue is also used to fund these prison programs. We support the continued use of those dollars in that manner and think it is money well spent.

I spoke earlier of how we don’t hear many of the State officials speak of our Tribal contributions to their respective missions. One such area is in the area that has been the topic of a lot of speeches lately– jobs.

I have heard speeches and presentations by WI Department of Workforce Development, Chamber Directors, Economic board Chairs, State of the State addresses – I have yet to hear about the Tribal contributions to the State jobs numbers. Our numbers are a big part of this states economy!

In Sawyer County, Lac Courte Oreilles entities are an economic force. The Tribal Government is the top employer in the county, with the LCO Casino, Lodge & convention center second. LCO also has several other prominent employers that make the top lists of the sawyer county economy, our K-12 School, LCO Headstart, LCO Ojibwe Community College, LCO Health Center, LCO Development Corporation (our construction company). We also have 3 gas stations, grocery store, The Landing resort and many more private businesses. Recently we purchased Al Capone’s Hideout and plan on making that a tourist attraction.

When you take all the payroll, payroll taxes, vendor purchases from vehicles to napkins (and we shop local as much as possible) our impact is in the millions. We contribute more to the local

18 treasury than our area Wal-Mart or McDonalds? Do they buy local?

The rest of the Tribal nations can boast similar impacts. Together the Tribes contribute over a billion dollars in economic impact to our State. Well over $100 million dollars of that Billion goes to Federal, State and payroll taxes. Add to that over $4 million of charitable contributions. We certainly are not the burden that ignorant people say that we are; we DO contribute our fair share.

We call on State officials to acknowledge our contributions every time they are mentioning their own. Not for the simple bragging rights but for the opportunity to educate people and to stop myths that are extremely hurtful and demeaning to us, especially the myth that we are a drag or burden somehow on the State, that we are all on welfare and taxpayer funded programs. That myth is complete manure!!

I’ve mentioned several areas in which we have good partnerships or relationships but yes there are areas in which we do not always agree.

The areas of natural resource management and environmental protection are rife with differences. And, for the life of me, I can’t figure out why. These are areas where we have much in common and should be working hand-in-hand. Pristine water, clean air, lush woodlands, healthy and clean fish and wildlife populations benefit us all. Our state’s overall public health and well-being, as well as a sustainable economy are dependent on clean air, clean water and clean land.

Tribal nations, though each separate and distinct, share the same reverence for the earth. We consider her our Mother who provides us with our sustenance and nurtures our spirit. We understand that

19 every one of us is an integral part of the environment. We know that everyone thing around us can survive without us human beings, but that we humans cannot survive without the gifts that Mother Earth provides. What is detrimental to the environment is detrimental to us.

I understand how easy it is to draw distinctions about Tribes and the State approach to natural resource management. For example, our Tribe manages fish for subsistence, while the State manages fish primarily for sport. I would venture to say that we all have heard at one time or another the debate surrounding the “harvest” ethic of Tribes vs. the “sport” ethic of the State. Frankly, I find this debate to be unproductive. It preys upon long-standing myths that somehow a dead fish at the end of a spear is different than a dead fish at the end of rod.

Ultimately, and most important, this type of debate distracts us from the real issues that we must address together – declining fish and wildlife populations, loss of spawning grounds, declining wild rice beds, invasive species, a changing climate and extreme weather events, and the toxic effects of pollutants.

We – the Tribes and State together -- must recognize that it is no longer a matter of who gets to harvest which fish. It is a much more urgent matter to make sure that fish remain to be harvested. It is incumbent upon us to protect rather than destroy habitat and to control pollution so that fish are safe to eat.

Tribes are particularly attuned to issues of who defines acceptable levels of pollution. This is because of our reliance on natural resources for much of our diet. For example, there are four major foods that we are required to have at our feasts and funerals. These foods also make up a large portion of our non-ceremonial diets as well. The 4 foods are Fish, Deer, Wild Rice and Berries. If there are any contaminants in these foods we are putting basically

20 putting those contaminants right into our bodies and they can bioaccumulate to harmful levels.

We must stop destroying habitat and the polluting our water and air. We must preserve what we have and restore what we have lost. We are witnessing the consequences of our failure to act when have the science and should have the wisdom to know better. For example, we see the dead zone in Green Bay, the toxic algal blooms in Lake Erie, and the contamination of drinking water because of the failure to control agricultural run-off and concentrated animal feeding operations.

This is why LCO and other Tribes strongly oppose measures like AB 600, which would permit the destruction of our wetlands and our wild rice. It’s also why Tribes are concerned about things like:

 frac sand mining and the loss of local control over such operations;  the proposed Penokee mine and the legislative changes that accompanied that proposal;  Uncontrolled shoreline development and the lessening of shoreline protections;  inadequate control of pollution and nutrients from cranberry operations;  the continuing failure to effectively address chronic wasting disease (CWD) in captive deer herds thereby putting the wild herd at unacceptable risk;  a proposed swine CAFO operation in the Chequamegon Bay region in a watershed that already is impaired by unacceptable phosphorus levels; and  An apparent trend toward what I would call the privatization of public and tribal treaty resources for the benefit of a few and contrary to State’s constitutionally enshrined public trust doctrine.

21

Let’s address these matters together to protect Mother Earth for everyone’s well-being today and for generations to come.

The Tribes would rather fight with than battle against the State when it comes to protecting fish, maintaining clean air, maintaining clean water, and supporting fully functioning ecosystems and wetlands that provide healthy natural resources for us all. We must remember what we have in common and how we can overcome differences that some so vigorously try to exploit in an effort to divide us. It is better to seize upon similarities and tackle issues together rather than to be separated and divided by differences, actual or perceived.

I wanted to not use this platform to stand up here and complain about anything or bash anyone but there is one thing that has really got me shaking my head.

Reading the newspaper last Saturday I learned about the deer that were infected with Chronic Wasting Disease that had escaped from a deer farm in Eau Claire County last year in May. In June a CWD doe was found ON that same property. Then in September more animals escaped from the same farm. This disease poses a major threat to Tribal and State harvesters alike and for the life of me I can’t understand how this can be allowed to happen.

The Tribes for several years now have been asking DATCP and DNR to work together to make sure these fences are escape proof; we even offered to do the compliance checks ourselves. Now we have more escapes of CWD deer from captive herds.

That’s one head shaker, but to read in the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel that the deer farm owner who is ultimately responsible for the deer escaping was in fact Paid $298,770 by

22 DATCP general fund revenue because his herd was destroyed. The money for that fund comes out of taxpayer dollars. We should all be shaking our heads at that. Is DATCP an insurance company?

My family, as well as many Tribal families relies heavily on venison. Chronic Wasting Disease worries the Tribes greatly! We need a partnership with WDNR, DATCP, Tribes and everyone in the State to pull together on fighting CWD.

Again - Not all is Bad.

Some examples of Tribal-DNR-Community partnerships in this regard are the “Summer Youth program” and the fairly new “walleye initiative” and the partnership between GLIFWC, St. Croix Tribe, the county and lake property owners on rehabilitating the wild rice on Clam Lake”. Let these examples remind us not to waste money on attorneys settling our differences in court. Let’s find ways to work together to support healthy communities that have a sustainable relationship with all of the gifts that Mother Earth provides for us.

There are a number of venues where we can work together.

For the Ojibwe tribes, we have the LCO v. Wisconsin case stipulation process. For all of the Tribes collectively, we have the Legislative Council’s Special Committee on State-Tribal Relations.

And, let’s not forget about the tried-and-true government-to- government relationship that the State has or should have with each Tribe. Good faith and fair dealings go a long way to destroy myths, build bridges and strengthen our communities, as the examples I’ve noted, illustrate.

23 When it comes to Chippewa Treaty Rights, we need to make good use of the LCO case stipulation process.

As I said earlier, the Tribes are not historic relics. We are fully engaged natural resource managers and are constantly collecting data on our harvests, harvest methods, and the health of our natural resources and their habitats. When our biologists tell us there are more efficient ways to harvest that will not harm the resource, then those ways should be seriously considered by the State.

The data we have today coupled with the data the State has, is tremendous. I state regularly and this is a fact – “Because of Chippewa Treaty Rights we have better data on the resources in the ceded territory than ever before.” It is biology and recommendations from the biologists that should drive decision- making and not politics!!

I would like to take the time to recognize the executive Director of the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission and thank him for all the great work he and his staff do on behalf of our tribes – Jim Zorn.

The Special Tribal/State Relations committee is the other venue that should be used more to find policy solutions between the state and the tribes. While there have been many successes, there are several issues that we are still working on.

Some successes include the GLIFWC Warden Bill, Tribal License Plates, Tribal Charter Schools, Mutual Aid and Act 31 as it pertains to Native American education in our public school systems.

We are still working on the Wisconsin Safe Haven Law. This law

24 is extremely important to the Tribes. The Safe Haven Law acknowledges the Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act, however, there are conflicts when it comes to Native American children being relinquished. Identifying information regarding the child is imperative in order for the child to become a member of their Tribe. We must protect the best interests of Native American children to promote stability and security of our Tribal families. Another issue we face is the lack of full recognition of the Tribal Identification cards. In the past, tribal members who had difficulty obtaining Wisconsin identification cards relied on Tribal IDs as a primary identification. This proved difficult acquiring such things as medicine from pharmacies, and permits for conceal and carry and even voting. Bill AB130 may require additional work, as the Tribes would like to see tribal IDs fully recognized as a valid form of ID throughout the entire state. Current Bill AB704 will facilitate Tribal College libraries to become public libraries and we urge support for that. I mentioned Act 31 in earlier remarks. This Act, while a good start can be improved. It is only fair that a true representation of the tribes be shared with all of our children, so they can appreciate the rich history of our state. The 11 tribes rooted in this State welcome the opportunity to assist in developing curriculum for our public school systems to reveal an accurate portrayal of unique history of Wisconsin. Let’s build upon these successes to make even more progress. A couple of issues that have been on the table that need a shot in the arm are support funding of non-Indian students at Tribal Community Colleges, the issue of tribal law enforcement officers’ eligibility to be in the State Retirement system, and Tribal registration of ATV’s and snowmobiles.

The issue of not being able to legally serve traditional foods such

25 as venison, wild rice or maple syrup in our headstart, schools and elderly centers is an issue we hope to make a priority. We are working with DATCP and USDA but this may be a Tribal/State Relations Committee issue as well– hey whoever’s faster. We certainly understand food safety as a priority with these more susceptible populations but logically speaking, for over 1000 years these foods made up such a large portion of our diets with no instances of outbreaks or sicknesses that changing those rules should worry no one. I would like to give a special thank you to the Chairman of the Special Committee on State/Tribal Relations Representative Jeff Mursau and all of the members for your work and dedication to this committee and DATCP Sec. Ben Brancel for your work with the Traditional foods issues.

Brazilian author and Educator Paulo Freire said, “Trust is established by dialogue”. When we examine all of the successful partnerships and projects that we have done together there is a common thread. That common thread is meaningful dialogue.

I could go on and list many more myths and misconceptions. I could also go on and on and contrast successful and not so successful partnerships.

The most important point I hope that I have made today - what I would like everyone to take from my remarks today is that by increasing our dialogue and increasing our trust, across all areas of our State/Tribal relationship we will be able to dispel those myths and misconceptions. By increasing our dialogue and increasing our trust we will be able to move our State and our Tribes forward to benefit all our citizens.

26 The State of the Tribes is Good and getting better! We are alive and well in the 21st century.

Miigwech Bizindawiyeg – Thank you all for listening! Mi’ew – I am done

27