Red Lake Chairman Floyd Jourdain
visits with US Senate candidate Al Franken
By Michael Meuers
Red Lake Public
Relations
DFL U.S.
Senate candidate, Al Franken had lunch with Red Lake Chairman Floyd Jourdain and others at Perkins Restaurant in Bemidji on Thursday July
5th, 2007. Franken had requested this reporter to set up the meeting.
Others attending the meeting included Holly Cook Macarro,
Red Lake
member who lobbies for the tribe in Washington, D.C., along with her husband Mark Macarro,
Chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in Tamecula, California.
Although Franken is somewhat familiar with National Indian issues, his purpose
was to learn more about the needs and challenges of Minnesota
tribes, and in particular Red
Lake as a non-public law 280 tribe. “If I am elected to the U.S. Senate”, said
Franken “the two committees that I will seek to serve for sure, are Indian
Affairs, and Veterans Affairs.” “I know that Indian people serve in the
military in a greater percentage than much of the rest of the population”, said
Franken. (Franken has visited White Earth, Mille Lacs,
and had an appointment to visit with Chairman George Goggleye
of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe on Friday.)
Jourdain and Cook Macarro
took the opportunity to explain to Franken
Red Lake’s
unique status among Indian tribes. “Although we are unique in Indian
Country”, said Jourdain, “we
do work closely with the other ten tribes in Minnesota, as well as state and local
governments when appropriate”. Many issues were discussed in the hour and
a half meeting, with Franken being a good listener, too rare among today’s
politicians.
Too often, Indian Country does not get the attention it deserves except just
before elections. After expressing thanks to Franken for making the effort
to reach out and learn more about Indian Country, Jourdain
invited Franken to visit Red
Lake and take a tour and
learn even more first hand. Franken accepted and said he looked forward
to the visit.
Franken hopes to be endorsed by the DFL in 2008 and run for the seat currently
held by Republican Senator Norm Coleman, who won election after former U.S.
Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash about two weeks before the
election on October 25th, 2002. Wellstone served on the Senate Indian Affairs
Committee and was a frequent visitor to Red Lake.
Many people will remember Al Franken as a comedy writer/actor on “Saturday
Night Live”. He is a satirist, comedian, and author of several books
including “Rush Limbaugh is A Big Fat Idiot”, “Lies and the Lying Liars Who
Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right” and “The Truth (with jokes).”
He has been most recently associated with “Air America” radio, a liberal talk
radio program meant to counter the Rush Limbaugh’s of the world.
Holly Cook Macarro is a partner at Ietan Consulting, LLC. Prior to joining Ietan Consulting, LLC, Holly served as a Senior Public
Affairs Advisor in the Public Policy & Regulation group at Holland &
Knight LLP, a Washington DC law firm with a significant tribal and
governmental affairs practice.
Mark Macarro, tribal chairman of the Pechanga Band of
Luiseño Indians in California,
was first elected in 1992 and is serving his sixth term on the council and
fifth term as chairman.
