Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
The background on two bills before the Minnesota Legislature.
An eagle carving sits atop a totem pole at the Red Lake Nation. The bill "about Upper Red Lake talks about giving state-owned land in the Red Lake State Forest that is within one mile of the shoreline of Upper Red Lake - only the land that is already owned by the state - to the Red Lake Band. The bill about the area over by Mahnomen says that the White Earth Band should get first chance to purchase tax-forfeited land when it goes up for sale," the writer says.
Friday afternoon featured a rally at the Minnesota State Capitol that was advertised as a political demonstration against a pair of bills presently before the Legislature. HF 4780/SF 5080 would give state-owned land within one mile of Upper Red Lake back to the Red Lake Band. HF 4304/SF 3480 would give the White Earth Band first option to buy tax-forfeited land.
There was a small crowd on the main floor of the rotunda. About a hundred people came from different parts of the state to hear four or five speakers. Many wore brown T-shirts that said "Public Land Owner" on them, apparently reflecting their feelings of personal ownership and affection for state-owned land near their own. Conversations with several of these citizens revealed their strong personal ties in the nearby communities of Mahnomen and Waskish.
The emcee announced the presence of quite a number of organizations, ranging from the Izaak Walton League to Ducks Unlimited. Some of the people attending may have belonged to those organizations but did not represent them in any official capacity. None of them actually spoke about the bills before the Legislature. Most of them spent their five minutes talking about their dogs and how nice it is to get outside.
https://www.startribune.com/whose-land-is-this-land/600357303/
Reader Comments(0)