Preserving tradition and building partnerships a theme at forum

RED LAKE -- Candidates for Red Lake School Board agreed that preservation of the Ojibwe language in the schools is a top priority and that student-teacher communication is key in the students' development.

Kathryn "Jody" Beaulieu, Chris Jourdain, Roy Nelson and Tina Stately took part in a candidate fair at Seven Clans Casino and Event Center in Red Lake on Wednesday. The event was presented by the Red Lake Political Education Committee, a tribal non-profit, non-partisan organization. In addition to Red Lake School Board, candidates for Minnesota House Representative District 2A and Beltrami County Attorney candidates responded to questions posed by a crowd of about 100 people.

Red Lake Political Education Committee co-chairmen Michelle Paquin and Tim Sumner, a Beltrami County Commissioner, said Wednesday's event was well-attended. Sumner said the new absentee polls in Red Lake are an example of great collaboration between the county and tribe.

In opening comments, Nelson said he supports stronger academics for all students. Beaulieu, a former School Board member and a substitute teacher, introduced herself in Ojibwe protocol and said she wants to revive the language. Jourdain, currently serving an appointed two-year term on the board, said he can provide a perspective from both a school board member and as a teacher. Stately also introduced herself in Ojibwe and said she would like to be part of teacher observation, curriculum selection and parent involvement.

The candidates all said preserving the Ojibwe language is important for the district. Jourdain said the language is part of the culture.

"A lot of our kids don't know who they are and where we came from," Jourdain said. "We come from a long line of survivors."

Beaulieu said through the language comes values the district wants to teach the students.

"When I worked in the school, we only had the language for a half-hour every eight days," Stately said. She said that isn't enough and supports preserving the language and culture. Nelson said he has been pushing for language immersion for years.

Jourdain said millions of dollars are being cut from the school's budget because representatives in Washington, D.C., are "playing politics." He likened Republicans and Democrats actions at the Capitol to gang mentality, sticking with the red or the blue, which is affecting programming for students on a local level.

Building relationships

Rep. Roger Erickson, DFL-Baudette, and his GOP challenger Dave Hancock of Bemidji are vying for the Minnesota State Representative District 2A position. Both men said they have been trying to create stronger relationships with Red Lake.

During the forum, Erickson and Hancock fielded questions on a wide range of topics, including the state's wolf hunt, funding for domestic assault programs, pipelines, voter ID issues and aquatic invasive species prevention.

Beltrami County Attorney Candidates David Hanson and Annie Claesson-Huseby also responded to questions on domestic assault issues, as well as reducing the number of Native Americans in the Beltrami County Jail and the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Claesson-Huseby said domestic assault no-contact orders (DANCO) are important and can save lives, and that violating them is an additional crime. Hanson said the orders are an important tool but can sometimes be overused. Hanson said rather than using DANCO as a blanket policy, he would look at the necessity on a case-by-case basis.

Beltrami County Sheriff Phil Hodapp and Beltrami County Auditor/Treasurer are running unopposed but attended the event to show their appreciation of the Red Lake community. Hodapp noted the relationship between the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office and Red Lake has continued to improve, especially with patrol officers supporting one another. Hodapp added the only way to address the Native American population in the Beltrami County Jail is to continue working together.

Treat was part of implementing a satellite absentee voter site in Red Lake. She applauded the Red Lake Political Education Committee's get out the vote campaign.

"The four precincts in Red Lake, Redby, Ponemah, Little Rock and Red Lake are the highest turnout in Beltrami County," Treat said.