I sometimes wonder whether people from Bemidji, MN should be called "b'midgets", though the only person I'm acquainted with from there is a substantial fellow called Tom Goldtooth. Tom is the director of the
Indigenous Environmental Network, a scrappy bunch of environmental justice warriors in Indian Country, headquartered in Bemidji. Here's Tom, no midget in either his work or his physical stature:
I don't know if IEN had anything to do with the story I tell below the fold. But their long-time presence in Bemidji must have influenced it in some way.
Cross-posted to ePluribusMedia
Bemidji, located in Minnesota's 7th Congressional District, is shown on the map below.
Reported in the Bemidji Pioneer yesterday was an incident at a local GOP fundraiser. It seems that the Republican challenger for this seat (the incumbent is Democrat Colin C. Peterson), one Michael Barrett, has decided to campaign on extinguishing tribal sovereignty over tribal waters.
At issue is the Red Lake Ojibway tribe's jurisdiction over water quality and access (for fishing) over lakes within their reservation. Recall that these are people whose traditions include gathering wild rice from lakes and wetlands on their reservation. (Red Lake is, sadly, most famous for a school shooting incident there back in March 2005.)
As it happened, Barrett was a no-show at the fundraiser:
Barrett, a Little Falls pharmacy manager, scheduled a 5:30 p.m. news conference at the waterfront -- in the middle of the 4-7 p.m. fund-raiser -- to announce his support for the federal government to enforce a 1926 U.S. Supreme Court decision giving the state of Minnesota jurisdiction over a drained lakebed on the edge of the Red Lake Reservation. That ruling, he said, and others following it, should be interpreted as giving the state of Minnesota jurisdiction of all the waters on the Red Lake Reservation, he said in a statement announcing the news conference. Barrett said he believes "Red Lake should be managed for use by the state of Minnesota and appropriate agencies so that the entirety of Red Lake is available for use by all Americans."
And so, about 40 Indians showed up to "question" the roughly equal number of Republicans at the event. The crowd of protestors, the paper speculates, was diminished by late word that Barrett wasn't going to show up.
The issue stems from a May 28 seizure by Red Lake Department of Natural Resources officers of a boat and tackle of a Princeton, Minn., man who strayed onto reservation waters. It prompted an inquiry by two state senators and Proper Economic Resource Management [PERM, a private advocacy organization], the group which led efforts to define jurisdiction of Mille Lacs Lake in the 1990s. PERM, in a letter to Gov. Tim Pawlenty, believes the state has ownership of the lakes and asks Pawlenty to order the state DNR to manage them. "We feel it is your responsibility with the state DNR to begin managing all of Red Lake for all citizens of Minnesota. The tribal people of the United States are American citizens by treaty, acts of Congress, and by birth, and should be treated equally as such."
What? There's something the Indians still have left? How'd that happen? Quick, better grab it! (Rolling of eyes.) I get the impression that the PERM fisherman's action was a deliberate provocation. How 'bout you?
The native protestors threw the event way off script, and the Republicans found themselves scrambling. One former GOP Beltrami County chair said Barrett's not speaking for "many Republicans" in the county.
Darrell Seki, Red Lake tribal Secretary:
We stand strong in protecting our lakes, land, our territories and our reservation. It's our lake. We own it and we're going to protect it. Any non-members are welcome to come to our lake, and I hope they bring their best equipment, because our DNR needs equipment. Tell the non-members to come to our lake -- we'll arrest them. We'll take their equipment also."
A neighboring tribe, Leech Lake, showed up to express support. From their Tribal Council statement:
Upper and Lower Red Lake are the ancestral waters of the Red Lake Nation and the ability to regulate those waters cuts to the heart of tribal sovereignty and the tribe's ability to maintain and sustain these waters. Any attempt to limit or do away with the Red Lake Nation's ability to regulate their own waters is a major step toward extinguishing tribal rights throughout the state.
A local State Rep tried to make nice in an embarassing situation:
It's time to put this divisive stuff behind us and continue working together to make Minnesota an even better place to live. We've made great strides working together for common goals such as bringing Red Lake's signature walleye back from the brink. We can only continue to prosper by working together.
I imagine that no one but the reporter was paying any attention to this guy's words. Too lame in a loaded situation.
Candidate Barrett may have skipped the event after stirring up the controversy, but Rep. Mark Kennedy (R, MN-06), who's given up his House seat to run for the US Senate, was there. In fact, it's quite possible he was the top-of-the-bill VIP attraction.
"It is something that is well established in federal law," he said. "We don't get a chance to deal with this much federally. The important thing is we need to honor the law that is on the books and to work closely with our communities to make sure that it is being abided."
Asked about the current Red Lake controversy, Kennedy said he lacked information and has never visited Red Lake, "but would certainly love to do so." The best thing he's found in tribal relationships, he said, "it's always best with the two communities, instead of one trying to trump one another, is to deal with this in a way that is cooperative spirit as much as possible.
In other words, Kennedy was caught flat-footed and clueless. In one of the closer Senate contests, it's nice to see the Republican candidate in a bit of a pickle. Hopefully, this back-country conflict will cost him a few votes.
A short AP story makes it sound a little more confrontation than the local paper's coverage, which perhaps wanted to avoid inflaming the situation:
Doug Lindgren, a Republican candidate for the House 2B seat, discussed the issue in his speech Monday, drawing a heated response from Red Lake Tribal Secretary Jody Beaulieu, who described his stance as racist. Lindgren strongly disagreed and a brief shouting match ensued.
Barrett is challenging incumbent Rep. Peterson, who is, according to Fox News:
Peterson is a conservative Blue Dog Democrat who knows a great deal about the nation's farm programs.
I'm no expert on Peterson, and I'm sure his politics don't match mine entirely, but I don't think his seat is in jeopardy from Barrett. Thank goodness. Once the House changes hands in this fall's midterms, Peterson will take over Chairmanship of the House Agriculture Committee, where he is currently the Ranking Member. And Richard Pombo (CA-11), who's in line to take it over for the GOP in 2008 will not have a go at it. And that's good news for us all.
Ain't it sompin' how I can find a Pombo hook to almost any story? Though of course, it's related just because House Resources has jurisdiction over all tribal matters, anyhow. As best I can tell, this minor story hasn't made it to Pombo's radar screen, as he's got troubles of his own.
Patty Wetterling's in a good position to switch MN-06 to the Democratic column over right-wing nutcase Michele Bachman. Part of what Kos user displacedyankeedemocrat characterizes as The GOP's Complete Midwest Collapse. Another diary recently about another Minnesota lawmaker, Gil Gutknecht (MN-01), who apparently has screwed up the submission of his re-election petitions, and possibly might (accidentally) not appear on the ballot. I don't know why, but I keep imagining Rep. Gutknecht as Garrison Keillor might describe him on Prairie Home Companion. Here's a picture of him. Don't you agree?
So this Indian Raid is just one more sign of the Republicans in the Midwest being in a bit of disarray. I, for one, am glad to hear it. The story didn't say whether Goldtooth was one of the rabble-rousers or not. But I'm sure his spirit was there, even if his body was not.