Cass Lake, the location of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation as well as the St. Regis Paper Company Superfund Site, held a public meeting in June concerning cleanup options for contaminated soil. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a meeting at the Cass Lake-Bena Elementary school to discuss their plan for cleaning up the former wood treatment area,and to listen to public comments about the ecological problem that has been a cause for health concern in the area for over 25 years.
From 1958 until 1985, the St. Regis Paper Company treated wood with chemicals such as Dioxin, pentachlorophenol, (PCP) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to increase the longevity of its wood products. The consequence of using these chemicals, however, was the exposure of the areas, its soils, and its facilities to substances that have been shown to cause cancer in humans.

Proposed sulfide limit increases
in Minnesota's lakes would
endanger natural wild rice growth.

At the State Capitol, Governor Mark Dayton vetoed legislation that, among other measures, would have threatened the growth of wild rice on Minnesota's lakes and rivers. For weeks, debate on the budget had been stalling an omnibus environmental, energy, and natural resource financing bill named HF 1010. The legislation proposed budget cuts across the board, which would have affected the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) in such areas as staff levels, salaries of state employees, and reduction of water quality tests for Minnesota's lakes.
One particular amendment to the bill concerned the treatment of wild rice that grows naturally in Minnesota. The bill called for increasing the sulfide limit in Minnesota's bodies of water, endangering natural wild rice growth and threatening the way of life for many in Northern Minnesota.
Opposition to the bill begun at the grass-roots level. An open member group, Protect our Manoomin, speaks against the dangers of tampering with the delicate balance of wild rice stands, the beds harvested on the lakes of Northern Minnesota. The group has organized protests and rallies to bring attention to the issue, and has allied itself with other organizations concerned about the well-being of Minnesota's lakes and their ecosystems.

In a remote town, 16 year old Fred Martinez became one of the youngest hate-crime victims when he was brutually murdered a quarter mile from his house. The documentary, Two Spirits, directed by Lydia Nibley, is the tragic story of Martinez, a Navajo boy that was beaten to death because of his gay identity, interwoven with a look at a time in history when Native American culture was not split into solely male and female genders.
Martinez's mother, Pauline Mitchell, serves as the main source in Martinez strory and along with Navajo anthropologist Wesley K. Thomas, Gay and Lesbian activists; Richard LaFortune, Cathy Renna, John Peters-Campbell, Mark Thompson among many more gay/lesbian community members who share their insight into Martinez's short life.
In the Navajo tradition, there was also a fourth gender called nadleehi, a person born as a male and as an adult assumed the role of a woman in society. Nadleehi was not uncommon and those who held that position were respected and worked as negotiators, healers, matchmakers within the tribe and when children were orphaned they became their caretakers. This tradition of nadleehi is a position that Martinez occupied and a demonstration of his struggle to follow his Native traditions while being himself.

Last month's BIG NEWS was, of course, the death of Osama Bin Laden, U.S. codename Geronimo. What? Really people? Of course there was a war cry (kidding!) by Indian writers who very rightly questioned why the name of a worthy and famous man who defended his people and homelands was likened to a mass murderer.
Geronimo is implicitly racist and unworthy of any president, never mind an African-American president who has himself been the recipient of inherent racism. It confirms just how far this country has NOT come to an understanding of Native People and our cultures. Obama, your non-action by nixing codename Geronimo is an action affirming America's xenophobic culture. You make me sick.

So, where was the Follies last month? I took the month off to celebrate my 68th birthday. So Sioux me.
**** Fond du Lac Follies motored to the Reservation Business Committee open meeting held at the Sawyer Center this time. I could have walked but would you if you had a chance to drive a '64 Corvette Sting Ray on a sunny day with the top down? Didn't think so.
At the meeting I learned the casinos are still making money and our per capita payments are not affected by the economic slowdown.
I also heard about Enrollee's Day here on the Rez. I learned that Gary Farmer and his band will be here to entertain the Fonjalackers and families.
Someone asked the Chair, Karen Diver, if she thought Minnesota might open gambling throughout the state. She said she didn't think so because of the lack of progress in the Minnesota Legislature.

Cedar Lake, long famous for its skinny-dipping beach, was the site of an unusual treaty rights demonstration on May 13. Local Dakota activists put a net into the south Minneapolis lake and caught several dozen fish, which were confiscated, along with the gill net, by Department of Natural Resources officers.
The Dakota are asserting their rights under the 1805 Treaty between the United States of America and the "Sioux Nation of Indians." As I recall, there is a bronze marker on a large rock by Lake of the Isles that shows a map of the treaty area, which extends from Ft. Snelling across the scenic lakes in south Minneapolis. The treaty describes the Sioux land cession, about 100,000 acres, as "from below the confluence of the Mississippi and St. Peters [Minnesota], up the Mississippi, to include the falls of St. Anthony [in downtown Minneapolis], extending nine miles on each side of the river."
Many Americans misunderstand the nature of treaty rights, and think that hunting and fishing rights are something given by the U.S. to the Indians. Rather, in 19th century land cession treaties, the Indian nations (which often had military supremacy over U.S. forces) gave up land and retained their rights to hunt, fish and gather in their traditional way.