Darwin Sumner succeeds his father as Red Lake Hereditary Chief

RED LAKE - During the monthly meeting of the Red Lake Tribal Council on March 8, Darwin Sumner was sworn in as one of Red Lake's Hereditary Chiefs.

Sumner succeeds his father, John Sumner, who died on Dec. 20.

He was sworn in by fellow Hereditary Chief James Loud.

A hand drum honor song followed the swearing in. Red Lake, one of two closed reservations in the U.S., is touted as having the first modern indigenous democratic governance system in the nation, while maintaining a hereditary chief system.