Red Lake, Canadian First Nations hold historic gathering

By Molly Miron

Pioneer Editor

      RED LAKE - Leaders from the Red Lake Band of Chippewa and eight Canadian tribes opened a conversation Wednesday that could lead to direct commerce across the international border.

      One of the possibilities suggested by the Canadian representatives would be a pharmacy at the Seven Clans Casino in Thief River Falls to sell lower-priced prescription medications imported from Canada. The joint Dakota Ojibwe Tribal Council operates a pharmacy in Winnipeg licensed by the Manitoba Pharmacy Association. Stan Myron, Dakota Plains health advisor, and Chief Orville Smoke of Dakota Plains Wahpeton Sioux offered a preliminary business plan for opening a branch pharmacy as a Red Lake Nation business.

      “We need to reaffirm our ties with our brothers and sisters to the north,” said Red Lake Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr., welcoming the chiefs from Canada.

      “As our elders have taught us, that line is not ours,” said Red Lake Secretary Judy Roy, referring to the international boundary. “It was put there by other people. It should not separate us.”

      The meeting of the tribal leaders to discuss trade nation to nation was envisioned by late Chairman Roger Jourdain during his 1959-1990 tenure in office. However, the discussion only became reality in August after Colleen Hocaluk, business and economic development technician for the Dakota Ojibwe Tribal Council, contacted Red Lake Economic and Development Director Roger Head.

      Head, Michelle Johnson of Red Lake Economic and Development Department, and Hocaluk and Ken McKay, Dakota Ojibwe Tribal Council Economic Development advisor, organized Wednesday’s meeting to discuss the trade corridor.

      Chief Dennis Meeches of the Manitoba Long Plain First Nation cited the many businesses the Dakota Ojibwe Tribal Council operates, including urban housing, trucking, a travel agency, a share in a Winnipeg arena, and agriculture, such as potatoes and hay.

      As for the pharmacy opportunity, Red Lake members receive medications free at the Indian Health Service clinics, but non-members could access a pharmacy at the Seven Clans Casino and save money on their prescriptions.

      Myron estimated U.S. patients would save 50 percent on average on their medication costs. He said the business could be set up as a combination store-front, mail-order and Internet pharmacy. There would be no duties on shipping to the United States, he said; however, the pharmacy wouldn’t handle narcotics and other controlled substances.

      He estimated an investment of $167,000 for the project with a payback and beginning profits in one year. Profits would be shared between Red Lake and the Dakota Ojibwe Tribal Council.

      “We want to partner with you,” Myron said. “It’s a doable operation.”

      Chief Terrance Nelson of the Roseau Anishinabe First Nation also urged the Red Take Tribal Council to appoint an ambassador to the Dakota Ojibwe Tribal Council to discuss other potential business deals and maintain contact with Winnipeg.

      Following the formal meeting, the visitors from Canada presented Red Lake Tribal Council members and staff with jackets and pen sets commemorating the 2004 30-year anniversary of the Dakota Ojibwe Tribal Council. Red Lakers’ gifts to the Canadian First Nations representatives included Red Lake wild rice and a pictorial history of the Red Lake Nation.