County/State Officials Visit Oshkii-maajitahdah (New Beginnings)

On Thursday, July 11, 2013, officials from the Minnesota Department of Human Services, and Beltrami County visited Oshkii-maajitahdah (New Beginnings) at the request of New Beginnings Director Jerry Loud.

Loud had two messages for those gathered, he wanted to demonstrate that New Beginnings had a new beginning, and with that he wanted to explore how the three government entities could work better together for the benefit of all people.

Immediately upon arrival, Loud took his guests on a tour of the facility before the group settled into a comfortable conference room.

After introductions and a short history describing Red Lake Nation uniqueness, Loud told the attendees that he did not really have an agenda. "I'd like to discuss and explore ways that the County, State and Tribe can work together more efficiently and have better communications."

Loud also pointed out New Beginnings improvements and plans for the future. "The original name of New Beginnings was the Whitefeather/Moe Tech Center," said Loud. "I'd like to back to Tech, to more computer basics, and down the road to Community Education."

"We need to offer more services to more people," said Loud. "But reliable transportation stands in the way for many people at Red Lake, and even if you do have a dependable vehicle, one must drive thirty miles down the road to find a job. Red Lakers are just like everyone else, we like to work where we live. We need to teach the skills that will help create jobs here."

As part of Oshkii-maajitahdah's new beginning, two new 18-passenger vans have been obtained, acting as but one cog in the wheel of solving client transportation problems.

The informal meeting attendees, in addition to Loud, included; Beltrami County Commissioners Tim Sumner and Joe Vene, Beltrami County Administrator, Kay Mack, and Mary Marchel, Beltrami County's Director of Human Services.

Those attending from the Stare of Minnesota were: Vern LaPlante, Tribal Relations Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Human Services; Chuck Johnson, Deputy Commissioner for Policy and Operations, Minnesota Department of Human Services; Alicia Smith, Indian Policy Specialist, Office of Indian Policy, Minnesota Department of Human Services; and Kate Lerner, Director of County Relations, Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Ideas for Better Services Discussed

Several ideas for working together better were discussed. Commissioner Joe Vene said, "I want to get away from the "them and us,"…to establish good relationships." Administrator Mack said, "we need to build a new relationship and to let go of the past."

One elephant in room, as everyone knew, was the County's closing of the Redby Office several years ago. All agreed "that it wasn't done very well."

Commissioner Sumner wants to break down barriers. "We need to bridge the perspectives between county and tribe for our kids and families." Commissioner Vene added, "It is good to have this meeting. I know about Red Lake sovereignty, more than many, but I need to learn more."

Director Marchel asked, "How can we make this whole thing more efficient?" She then suggested further meetings between Tribal Family and Children's Services, County Social Services, and the State Department of Human Services. (DHS) "We need to build relationships and trust," she said.

Loud not wanting to end the meeting without some kind of plan asked "what can we do? How do we stand together with our policy makers?"

Tribal Relations Coordinator, Vern LaPlante said "there are some huge hurdles, but there is a need and there is a will. We need creative thinking, we need to look for something different. We are fortunate to have Commissioner Sumner as a bridge between the county and the tribe."

A key to better training and educational services at Oshkii-maajitahdah, Loud noted that the facilities Interactive TV (ITV) needs to get up and running. "We have most of the equipment and a nice classroom, but we need to get hooked up," said Loud. Loud then asked county and state representatives for help lobbying for funding to update the facility's ITV room.

The group also agreed to hold regular meetings, both as a group and with various entity employees with similar job descriptions.

Most agreed that the County Redby office needs to be put back in service, in that it would be more efficient for the county, and very helpful for Oshkii-maajitahdah's clients by saving them the 60 mile round trip to Bemidji. "We are all in the business of helping people" said Loud.

Finally a team was formed to take a closer look at opportunities for better relationships and working together. Team membership will be Mary Marchel from county, Kate Lerner and Vern LaPlante from state, and Jerry Loud from tribal.

Loud thanked his guests for traveling to Red Lake to discuss these important issues. "Mostly I wanted to demonstrate that things are different. We have things in place, scholarships, new programs. We want to get working."