Indigenous communities unite for change at 27th Annual Tribal Leadership Summit

Chairpersons encourage Native youth to take action in upcoming elections

Hundreds of people erupted into thunderous applause as Turtle Mountain Chairman Jamie Azure energized the crowd. “That’s it! The louder you clap, the more people will hear!” he called out over the rising wave of sound.. 

“We proved in 2018 that if we band together we can change that outlook on how the state moves forward with their voting output, and we did that by standing together,” he said. “This year is one of the most important years to get out and vote, especially for the five tribes of North Dakota. Not only for presidencies; we have tribal elections and districts within North Dakota. Across the board, we need to get out and vote.”

Around 400 educators, students and community organizers from around the region attended  United Tribes Technical College’s 27th Annual Tribal Leadership Summit in Bismarck for its opening day on Sept. 4. The conference features two days of sessions addressing topics including the environment, media and social justice, education, tribal and state politics, public safety, health, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples. 

Chairpersons from four of North Dakota’s five federally recognized tribes – the Spirit Lake Nation, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Nation and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians – spoke at the opening ceremony. Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation Chairman Mark Fox did not attend. 

Azure, also chairman of the UTTC board of directors, stressed the importance of education. United Tribes doesn’t favor certain tribes, he said. Chairpersons from North Dakota’s tribes discuss issues and find solutions for all students.

“We don’t do what’s best for Standing Rock, Sisseton-Wahpeton and Spirit Lake,” he said. “We get together and we do what’s best for the collective group of Native nations in our territories. It’s not an easy thing to do, but we do it, right? We do it for the people that are sitting in front of us. We do it for the people that aren’t here yet.”

UTTC President Leander Russ McDonald said the main reason for the college’s annual Events Week is to raise student scholarship money. Five days of festivities include the Tribal Leadership Summit, a golf tournament, a pow wow run, and a high school basketball tournament, which take place between Sept. 3 and 8. The International Powwow from Sept. 6-8 caps off the week on a high note.

The Spirit Lake citizen is considered a knowledge keeper in the UTTC community. He said one of the most vital aspects of reform is to use Indigenous cultural models. Language revitalization is critical to change. 

“The language-culture revitalization movement is impacting what we’re doing in education; it’s impacting what we’re doing in regard to legislation at the tribal level,” McDonald said. “So when we look at our constitutions, our ordinance and bylaws, we can include that cultural knowledge that we’re bringing back to help us be better at what we’re doing and to create cultural models that help us to serve our people better.”

McDonald also emphasized the importance of Indigenous energy sovereignty and the need for more research and data on American Indians in this region. While some tribes and organizations are doing a lot of this work, he said many of these initiatives require the community’s support to make an impact. 

“Those things are so important at that level, as well as the relationship building that we need to do with our state, city and federal partners,” McDonald said. “So as we go forward, it’s all about relationships. It’s all about being a good relative and including those cultural values that a lot of us have, whether we’re tribal or not.”

Standing Rock Chairwoman Janet Alkire, one of two chairwomen in North Dakota, has fond memories of UTTC. While in first grade in 1967, her father was the first student to graduate from the carpentry program. Throughout the summit, leaders highlighted the necessity of learning trades and encouraged people to continue acquiring those skills. Looking out at Native youth, she told them, “You are the next generation. You are our future leaders.”

She also advised students to vote and take action, even after November’s upcoming election. “When the election’s over, the work still continues,” Alkire said. “Whoever is in that office, it’s about building that relationship and building those bridges so that we can work together to do good things for our people, and one of the things the chairman [Azure] said, he’s right: when one tribe wins, we all win, but when one tribe loses, we all feel the loss.”

State and local government officials also spoke or had representatives speak on their behalf. Bismarck Mayor Michael Schmitz acknowledged the contributions American Indians have made in the community and is excited to see the next generation of Native youth become leaders.

“Bismarck and North Dakota certainly have a strong, rich history of many cultures, and quite honestly, I’m thrilled to see the cultural shift that is occurring in the city of Bismarck,” said Schmitz. “The Native culture is important to us, and honestly, you bring a sense of family that I think a lot of us need to learn about –– please continue to foster that.”

Dateline:

BISMARCK, N.D.