Prairie Voices: Native pathfinder

Road hasn’t been easy for Harvard Ph.D who’s now tribal council chairwoman of White Earth Band of Chippewa

      Vizenor is the first chairwoman of the White Earth Tribal Council. She became chairwoman in 2004.

      Vizenor lived on the reservation all her life with an idea that she wanted to make a difference to her tribe. She served six years on the tribal council as secretary/treasurer before losing an election.

      She attended Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., where she completed her master's and doctorate degrees.

      When she returned from Harvard, she was spokeswoman for a group that accused some tribal leaders of crimes for which the leaders were indicted and convicted.

      She lives at White Earth with her family.

      How were your first days as tribal chairman?

       Whenever we have elections at White Earth, there is a period of turmoil and a mass firing of people. It is an insecure time, not only government workers but also for people in the community who have families who depend on services from the tribe.

      I wanted to put an end to what I characterize as vindictiveness. I want to be a fair and just leader. I want to build morality within the government and be responsive.

      I have lived and worked on the reservation all my life and know the politics as well as I know my own two hands.

      This campaign for the tribal council is familiar to our readers because you ran against former tribal chairman Darrell "Chip" Wadena. Tell us about your race against him.

       We went through a period of pure corruption - misuse of funds, a lack of accountability to the tribal constituency, election fraud. We knew the elections were fraudulent; however, no one would listen to us.

      During those years, I also received a Bush Leadership Fellowship in 1988. I went to Harvard and received a master's degree, then was accepted into the doctorate program in administration, planning and social policy. I completed all my course work there from 1988 to 1991. I came home, and while I was unpacking, a group of elders came to me.

      Elders and some others asked me to be their spokesperson at the press conference because a woman who had participated in the election fraud had written an affidavit that described how ballots were stuffed. This person was determined to expose the fraud and put her life on the line.

I made a decision that night before they left. I didn't even unpack my books. I drafted a press release, and I was at the tribal headquarters the next morning.

      From there, we went into five years of passive activism. We were jailed three times throughout that summer. The day I did the press conference, we had people outside the headquarters, and we wanted to meet with the council. We went into the headquarters and were told the council was going to come out and meet with us. It never did. So, we didn't leave. We stayed there that night and for three days.

      Then, tribal chairman Darrell "Chip" Wadena called law enforcement. We were arrested by a SWAT team. I remembered that incident today, when Gov. Tim Pawlenty visited the White Earth tribal office with the Highway Patrol and all his entourage. I was looking out the window and remembered back to 1991, when we saw a SWAT team come with Highway Patrol and six counties of law enforcement.

      Twenty-nine of us were arrested that day. We were carried out, put into a school bus and taken to jail.

      At that time, we had a land settlement, and we wanted accountability for that money. Miles Lord, a retired federal judge, helped us. We were released from jail. We then went back and established a camp at tribal headquarters. We were arrested again in two weeks and went back to jail.

      I took it upon myself to expose the corruption in our government. Finally, in 1995, the U.S. attorney and Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone listened to us. An investigation took place. In August, indictments came down against chairman Wadena, secretary/treasurer Jerry Rawley and councilman Rick Clark.

      The spring of 1996, a federal trial was held in St. Paul. People who never voted were called to testify that fraudulent ballots used their name. There were convictions of conspiracy, fraud, embezzlement and mail fraud.

      A week after those indictments, I got a letter from Harvard saying I needed to make substantial progress on my dissertation. I left right away for Harvard. I updated my research, wrote my dissertation and finished by April. I graduated and returned to White Earth in June 1996.

      Two days later, I was the last witness in federal court on the Wadena, Rawley and Clark case. They were convicted and sentenced.

      It is that history and background that hasn't gone away.

      So how did you feel when Wadena ran and got enough votes to be your contender?

       It shows where we lost our honor. We still have a long way to go to have a government where strong, educated, credible people can return home and be hired.

      My husband passed away when I was secretary/treasurer. I lost the 2000 election, and I thought it was time to change and move on. My youngest daughter told me they rarely saw me and wanted me to get a "normal job," she said.

      I had the best credentials in the world, but I couldn't get a job. I was a consultant for the tribal college. My sister, Dr. Helen Klassen, was the president.

      During the accreditation period of the college, she asked me to help her write the self-study. Within two months after I started writing, the tribal council fired her.

      The board of trustees went to tribal court, and they won. The council hadn't had the authority to fire her, so she was reinstated.

      The six tribes in Minnesota are under the same constitution. That constitution lets people who've been convicted of felonies run for office. Is that something you will be dealing with?

       We are six bands of the Minnesota Chippewa tribe. They are Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Boise Forte, Mille Lacs, Leech Lake and White Earth. It may be the lack of leadership or direction, but there haven't been any changes to our antiquated, outdated, inadequate constitution.

      45597White Earth comprises 52 percent of the Minnesota Chippewa tribes. At White Earth, we are recognized as a sovereign band, but our authority is under the Constitution of the Minnesota Chippewa tribe.

      As chairman, I started immediately to address constitutional reform.

      Are the six bands receptive to that change?

       There are six tribal chairs and six secretary/treasurers on the tribal executive committee of the Minnesota Chippewa tribes. They acknowledge and recognize the need for constitutional reform. I believe we will make the progress now.

      Are there any other things you would like to see changed?

       I would like the tribal college become accredited, funded and have a new campus.

      Fifty percent of our tribal members 18 years and older do not have a high school diploma. We have tremendous challenges with alcohol, drugs and diabetes. Every family is affected by diabetes. Now, we have cancer. Indian Health Services is very poorly funded compared with other similar federal organization.   The health problems are not unique to White Earth; these problems are common across Indian country. So, I want to call for a national task force on Indian health.

      I also am interested in the youth. I want them to graduate so they have choices and their lives are not determined by circumstances.

      Unemployment is about 60 percent to 65 percent. My gosh, it is incredible that people are not aware of the poverty here. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, unemployment was 27 percent, and there was an outrage.

      When I was growing up, unemployment was 90 percent. We followed the seasons and worked in the woods. pulp camps, rice camps - just day to day subsistence.

      How does the casino fit into the unemployment rates?

       To the casual observer, Shooting Star Casino looks like we are making money hand over fist, but in truth, most of what the casino provides is jobs. It probably averages $5 million a year. From that we gave about $420,000 to Indian Health Services for surgeries. Cataract surgeries were considered elective surgery, but people couldn't see.

      Many people have moral issues with gambling. So, when moralists tell me gambling was bad for people, I say there is also something morally wrong with poverty, lack of educational opportunities, and people who don't have adequate health care, too. The casino certainly is the "cash cow" for tribes right now. Many tribes have done wonderful things with casino money and that's good.

      Any final words?

       I worked all my life to make a difference.

Grand Forks Herald

www.grandforksharold.com