Latest news with #StateoftheTribes
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
Police searching for missing Ojibwe woman last seen a month ago in northern Wisconsin
Melissa Beson, a Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe tribal member, has been missing for more than a month as tribal and local police continue to search for her in northern Wisconsin. Beson, 37, was last seen March 17 near Indian Village Road and Chequamegon Forest Trail on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation within Vilas County. She was wearing red sweatpants, a black sleeveless shirt and a gray sweatshirt. She is 5'7' with a medium build, brown hair, brown eyes and has numerous tattoos, including on her neck, arms and legs. Beson was reported missing by her family members on March 23. Lac du Flambeau Tribal Police Chief Thomas Bill in a statement said finding Beson has been his department's top priority. 'We have conducted extensive ground searches on foot, even in severe weather conditions,' he said in a statement. 'Our officers have even come in on their days off to search for her.' Bill said search dogs appeared to have picked up Beson's scent where she was last seen and police have used drones, including an underwater one, to search the surrounding vast wilderness area. He said police have covered about 824 acres of forested areas looking for Beson as of April 14. 'Although we are expending monumental efforts in searching the area in which Melissa was last seen, we are in no way ignoring the possibility that she may be elsewhere,' Bill said in a statement. 'Our officers are working non-stop during every shift to follow up on every lead and tip that we receive.' He said police have interviewed dozens of people and have reached out to other law enforcement agencies around the state. That includes departments in the Wausau area where police followed up on a lead where Beson may have been. Other local police departments, including the Vilas County Sheriff's Office, are assisting in the search. Beson's disappearance is the latest in what tribal officials and advocates call an epidemic of murdered and missing Indigenous people. More: 'Somebody in Lac du Flambeau knows something': Siblings seek help in solving their mother's 1990 cold case murder On March 18, a day after Beson was last seen, St. Croix Chairman Thomas Fowler mentioned the crisis during his State of the Tribes address to the Wisconsin Legislature in Madison. 'We need adequate funding allocated to serve our understaffed police departments, more cohesive law enforcement training, strengthened alert systems, increased funding for tribal programs that provide shelter and increased mental health resources," he said in his address. Homicide is the third-leading cause of death for Indigenous girls and young women, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And Indigenous females are more than three times more likely to be murdered than white females, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. The Wisconsin Attorney General's Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women Task Force expects to release its report about the crisis later this year. More: Jurisdiction, human trafficking and drugs play roles in violence against Indigenous people, Wisconsin AG says Sign up for the First Nations Wisconsin newsletter Click here to get all of our Indigenous news coverage right in your inbox Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@ or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Search for missing Ojibwe woman continues across Wisconsin
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICT NEWSCAST: Wisconsin tribes bring concerns to the Statehouse, a tribute to U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva and Women's History Month.
The ICT Newscast for Friday, March 28, 2025, features the State of the Tribes address in Wisconsin. Plus, confusion over new national monuments named in California and a Women's History Month interview with Penobscot Nation basketmaker Theresa Secord. Check out the ICT Newscast on YouTube for this episode and more. A new law in New Mexico grants rights to Native students to wear traditional regalia. Family, friends, and colleagues gathered to honor the life and legacy of U.S. Congressman Raúl Grijalva, an ally to tribal nations and a man who many say never forgot his roots. St. Croix Tribal Chairman Thomas Fowler delivered the 21st annual State of the Tribes address at the Wisconsin state capitol, representing the state's 11 federally recognized tribal nations. He tackled issues such as tribal sovereignty, education, environmental threats, and public health. There is confusion over the status of two California national monuments created by former President Joe Biden. This comes after a post on the White House website hinting at the monuments' termination was later removed. Now, tribal leaders who fought for the protections want answers. Jacob Reynolds of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians helped craft the State of the Tribes speech for Wisconsin legislators. In this roundtable discussion with ICT's Shirley Sneve, he discusses the importance of state-tribe relations. Theresa Secord was a founder of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance. For Women's History Month, here's a profile of her work. View previous ICT broadcasts here every week for the latest news from around Indian is owned by IndiJ Public Media, a nonprofit news organization. Will you support our work? All of our content is free. There are no subscriptions or costs. And we have hired more Native journalists in the past year than any news organization ─ and with your help we will continue to grow and create career paths for our people. Support ICT for as little as $10. Sign up for ICT's free newsletter.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wisconsin's tribal nations state their priorities for 2025
This report is in collaboration with ICT's partners at PBS Wisconsin. Erica AyisiPBS Wisconsin + ICT MADISON, Wisconsin — Tribal sovereignty, education, environmental threats and public health were just some of the issues raised in the annual State of the Tribes address on March 18 at the Wisconsin State speech to the full Wisconsin Legislature was given on behalf of the state's 11 federally recognized tribes by Chairman Thomas Fowler of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin. 'My grandparents, great-grandparents and ancestors knew that a positive relationship between tribes and the state and federal governments could only strengthen our communities,' Fowler told address brought into sharp focus the concerns of life and land, health, and the future for tribes across Wisconsin, reminding the audience that fully realizing tribal sovereignty and self-governance is possible by working with governments and administrations. Tribal nations seek common-sense policy reforms that strengthen our ability to govern, and protect our own people, and preserve our own cultures, and control our own lands and resources within our own boundaries,' he said, 'because tribes are not children of the government.'Here are some highlights of the speech. EducationAmong the federal government's treaty and trust responsibilities to tribes are education said Native students on tribal lands have unique challenges, and asked for more support for the state's two reservation-based colleges, the College of Menominee Nation and the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe schools offer options for students, such as those from his tribe, for higher education, he said.'St. Croix is in an educational desert, and our kids won't all find success moving so far from home, away from their support systems and culture,' Fowler said. Fowler also urged passage of bills in the Assembly and state Senate that would permit Native students to wear traditional regalia with feathers and beads during public school ceremonies.'We ask that this body supports legislation that serves our students like AB 98/SB 85, so that school boards and charter schools don't prohibit American Indian students from wearing traditional regalia at a graduation ceremony,' Fowler Danforth, a member of the Oneida Nation who attended the State of the Tribes address, applauded the legislation, saying it's time for Wisconsin to follow the lead of other states.'Many are the first ones graduating from high school in their family, so wearing the traditional regalia really honors that tradition of accomplishment,' she said. Environmental issuesOn the environment, Fowler called for a unified voice between the state and the tribes over the transport of oil and gas through their lands.'Tribes have never been silent on their concern of the environmental hazards that come with pipelines,' he said. 'Our lands and waterways are at risk, putting our food, water, medicine, cultural practices, at risk.'Fowler also spoke to environmental protection, including the need to address climate Hill, Oneida, who also watched the speech from the chambers, said the message was impactful.'Climate change is real. We're seeing the effects,' Hill said. 'Maple season is in full effect right now, and the sap is running slow … because we haven't had a real hard winter hit us for some time. The wildlife and trees all depend on the environment.' Mental health servicesFowler's address also touched on many difficult issues, including opioid addiction in Wisconsin's Native communities. As one prescription, he called for the legalization of medical marijuana.'We need medical marijuana for chronic pain management, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress and addiction,' said Fowler. 'Addiction has left no family untouched in Indian Country.'For her part, Danforth said such legislation should proceed with caution.'I really encourage them to think about our kids when they're looking at legislation and legalizing cannabis in our state, and how they're protecting our children from abusing and using and having access to cannabis,' she said. Missing and murdered peopleFowler called Missing and Murdered Indigenous People a public health crisis.'This is too common for our people and it must stop,' he DeLong, vice president of the Ho-Chunk Nation, echoed the call and beseeched the state task force on the missing and murdered to focus its attention.'There are so many disproportionate numbers to our missing and murdered Indigenous relatives, and that task force needs to be prioritized with funding,' DeLong said. Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT's free newsletter.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Noem's successor hits ‘reset' after she insisted there was ‘No Going Back'
Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during a bill signing ceremony March 6, 2024, at the Capitol in Pierre as Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden looks on. (David Bordewyk/South Dakota NewsMedia Association) For a condemnation of Kristi Noem's performance as governor, just look at what her former lieutenant governor is doing. You won't get him to admit that, of course. Larry Rhoden insists Noem did 'great things' for South Dakota. Yet Rhoden has also positioned himself as Governor Reset after taking inspiration from a Native American tribal leader, Chairman J. Garrett Renville of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. Noem's departure to serve in President Donald Trump's Cabinet was imminent when Renville delivered a State of the Tribes address to the Legislature on Jan. 15. 'Today, let's reset,' Renville said, sensing an opportunity for better state-tribal relations. 'Today, let's rebuild. Today, let's start to listen and actually hear.' Rhoden could have fired back. That's what Noem did two years ago after Crow Creek Tribal Chairman Peter Lengkeek used his State of the Tribes address to call for better state-tribal collaboration. Her office retaliated against Lengkeek with an 800-word email to the media saying his speech was a 'message of division' that perpetuated 'false narratives.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX When Rhoden delivered his first address to the Legislature as governor on Jan. 28, he chose to respond differently than Noem. He quoted Renville's reset invitation and accepted it. 'I could not agree more,' Rhoden said. 'We've had our ups and downs over the years, but I am asking our tribal leaders to make a fresh start with me.' Then he took the reset theme and ran with it, using it repeatedly in his public communications. 'I see so much division today — even between those within the same political party,' Rhoden said in a Feb. 28 press release. 'As South Dakotans, we need to regain perspective and unite. We need to talk with each other and not at each other. We need to reset.' During his first two months as governor, Rhoden pushed the reset button so often that his fingers must be cramped and blistered. He pushed reset on Noem's penchant for filling her staff with out-of-state ideologues, instead choosing two lifelong South Dakotans with deep experience in state government — Matt Michels and Tony Venhuizen — for two of his first and most important hires (Michels as senior adviser and counsel, and Venhuizen as lieutenant governor). He pushed reset on Noem's combative relationship with the media, holding more press conferences during his first two months in office than Noem did during her last two years. He pushed reset on several years of sharply rising property taxes by quickly ushering his own plan into law, after Noem failed to even propose an idea. He pushed reset on property rights by signing a ban on eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines, after Noem let the issue fester and divide her party to such an extent that 14 Republican legislators lost to challengers in the June primary election. He pushed reset on Noem's vindictive attempt to cut state support for South Dakota Public Broadcasting, and he appears ready to sign a budget restoring full funding. He pushed reset on Noem's usurpation of legislative power with his signing of three bills — proposed by Chris Karr, the top-ranking state senator — that require greater legislative oversight of state budget transfers, building projects and leases. And he pushed reset on Noem's prison debacle by forming a 'Project Prison Reset' task force to study South Dakota's correctional system, after Noem spent and obligated a total of $54 million pursuing an $825 million prison construction plan that lost support during this year's legislative session. We need to talk with each other and not at each other. We need to reset. – Gov. Larry Rhoden In other areas, Rhoden has missed opportunities for resets by following Noem's misguided lead. He signed bills allowing concealed pistols at colleges and bars. He approved legislation inviting self-appointed toilet police to clog up the courts with lawsuits accusing people of using the wrong restroom. He praised President Donald Trump's Oval Office tantrum against the president of Ukraine. But even those who disagree with some of Rhoden's decisions would have to admit he's showing how much governors can do, and how quickly they can get it done, when they focus on the job they've got and strive for civility instead of sowing division. Noem declared last year in the title of her infamous book — the one with the slain dog and goat and the imaginary meeting with Kim Jong Un — that Trump broke politics for the better and there's 'No Going Back.' How richly ironic it is, then, that her handpicked successor has been 'going back' ever since she left, by resetting the state to its pre-Noem brand of politics and accomplishing more in two months than she did in some whole years of her administration.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State of the Tribes address touches on Trump, Line 5, education, cannabis, treaty rights
From Trump cuts to legalizing cannabis to fighting a Canadian energy company, Thomas Fowler, chairman of the St. Croix Ojibwe Tribe, delved into a range of issues during the 21st annual State of the Tribes address to Wisconsin legislators in Madison. 'Wisconsin's collaborative relationship with tribal nations can be an example for the entire nation to look up to,' he said in his speech. 'We are all better when working together.' Fowler asked legislators to support tribal nation initiatives, reminding them that tribes are huge economic drivers in the state, including with more than $600 million a year in tax revenue to the state from casinos alone. The St. Croix Tribe, like other tribal nations in Wisconsin, is among the largest employers in the counties in which it is located. For example, with about 1,200 tribal members and 4,600 acres of land in far northwest Wisconsin, the St. Croix is the largest employer in Burnett Country and second largest employer in Barron County, employing about 2,500 people. Fowler's speech came after some controversy in how the day was set up. First, here are some of the issues. Fowler said tribal leaders currently are uneasy about recent changes in the federal government. The Department of Government Efficiency has targeted Bureau of Indian Affairs offices for closure in Wisconsin. These offices help to maintain the federal government's treaty responsibilities with tribal nations and manage land transfers for tribes and tribal members. DOGE also has targeted billions of dollars in federal funding for tribal education, healthcare and other services for possible cuts. Fowler said tribal nations have had poor relations with past presidential administrations and have endured them. He said tribes will continue to rely on their experienced attorneys and advocates to defend their rights. Fowler said Indigenous peoples have long used cannabis for cultural, spiritual and practical purposes. 'The deep knowledge of medicinal plants, including cannabis, was passed down through generations,' he said. Fowler said the vast majority of people, regardless of party affiliation, support the use cannabis for medicinal reasons. He urged the Legislature to legalize it. Fowler said Act 31, which mandates that education about tribal nations be taught in Wisconsin public schools, has never been strong enough. He said students from many school districts in Wisconsin don't even know why Act 31 was passed. Act 31 was a response to the 'Walleye Wars,' which gained national attention in the 1980s and 1990s after federal court rulings upheld the treaty rights of Ojibwe tribal members to hunt and fish off-season in northern Wisconsin. Non-tribal protestors attacked tribal members practicing those treaty rights, employing violence and expressing racism. Act 31 was meant to reduce bigotry against Indigenous peoples and increase understanding about treaty rights. Fowler also asked legislators to support several bills at the state and federal level. One bill at the state level would allow Indigenous graduates to wear Native regalia, such as tribal stoles, during their graduation ceremonies. A bill at the federal level, S.1723, establishes a 'Truth and Healing Commission' to investigate the atrocities committed at Indian boarding schools in the nation's recent history. Fowler asked legislators to support tribal nation initiatives for clean water in the state and to increase regulations for agricultural and industrial runoff. He also asked for support in the tribal fight against the Canadian oil company Enbridge, which has pipelines running through Wisconsin. One of its pipelines spilled nearly 70,000 gallons of oil just west of Milwaukee in Jefferson County late in 2024. The Bad River Ojibwe Tribe in northern Wisconsin is fighting to remove Enbridge's Line 5 oil pipeline from its reservation and is opposed to a planned reroute near the reservation. Fowler spoke about the epidemic of violence against Indigenous peoples and the movement addressing it known as MMIW, Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. He called for cohesive law enforcement training and support and funding for tribal police departments and mental health resources. The Wisconsin Attorney General's MMIW Task Force expects to release its report about the crisis later this year. The State of the Tribes Address is typically the only agenda item for the day, but this year it was more than an hour for it to get started as members of the Legislature paid tribute to Democratic Representative Jonathan Brostoff, who died by suicide last year. Richard Ackley, a retired Bad River tribal judge and community advocate, said tribes support mental health concerns, but thought the tribute to Brostoff could have been done at another time to avoid the conflict. Mark Webster, an Oneida tribal member and community advocate living in Milwaukee whose children died by suicide, blamed Assembly Speaker Robin Vos for setting up the agenda to delay the State of the Tribes. 'This moment was not one for grief, instead it was about leveraging pain," Webster said. "He orchestrated the emotions of Democrats wanting to speak to get in the way of a timely and customary start of the State of the Tribes.' Sign up for the First Nations Wisconsin newsletter Click here to get all of our Indigenous news coverage right in your inbox Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@ or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: State of the Tribes address touches on Trump, treaty rights, Line 5
