To Protect and Serve – Ganawenjigeng miinawaa Naadamaageng

You may have recently noticed something new on the Bemidji Police Department squad cars. We added a decal that affirms our purpose in the Bemidji community. The decal simply states "To Protect and Serve". This is a common theme among law enforcement agencies and appears on other departments' squad cars. However, we also added the phrase To Protect and Serve in Ojibwe; Ganawenjigeng miinawaa Naadamaageng.

Our purpose is to continue to build trust and legitimacy with our Native American community. The Bemidji Police Department has worked with community members and the Bemidji Ojibwe Language Project to bring this initiative forward. For many years, the officers of the Bemidji Police Department have worked diligently to build trust and legitimacy with the community we serve. We are hopeful that by adding the Ojibwe language to our police vehicles we are sending a message that we are here to provide exemplary police service to all members of our community.