The Chief Bemidji Statue Project committee has established a fund at Northwest Minnesota Foundation for the purpose of accepting tax-deductible contributions from individuals, businesses, and organizations. Project funds will be used to commission an artist to create a new, realistic sculpture of Chief Bemidji that will be made of stone or bronze. The new statue will be located in Library Park, and will depict Chief Bemidji in a dignified and respectful way. Living descendants of Chief Bemidji from the Leech Lake area are actively involved with the committee's work and provide guidance throughout the process.
The Chief Bemidji Statue Project committee hopes to raise $116,500 through grants and donations. The George W. Neilson Foundation recently awarded the project a $25,000 grant, with a requirement of equal matching funds.
To make a tax-deductible contribution, make checks payable to "Chief Bemidji Statue Project Fund" and mail to: Northwest Minnesota Foundation, 4225 Technology Drive NW, Bemidji, MN 56601. For telephone assistance call the Foundation at 218-759-2057

Club staff unanimously selected Darion Cobenais as Red Lake Nation Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year 2010.  Chosen from among eleven other  youth, Cobenais will compete against other Boys & Girls club members for the Minnesota State Youth of the Year title and a $1,000 college scholarship from Tupperware Brands Corporation. 
"Being named Youth of the Year is the highest honor a Boys & Girls Club member can receive", said Michelle Graves, Red Lake Nation Boys & Girls Club Program Director.  Cobenais is a sophomore attending the Red Lake High School, ISD District #38, and has been a member of the Red Lake Nation Boys & Girls Club for three years.  He worked as a Junior Program Assistant the past two summers and volunteered over 50 hours at Club. Darion lives with his grandparents, Nickel and Missy Cook. 
If Cobenais wins at the state competition, he will compete for the title of the Northwest Regional Youth of the Year and an additional $10,000 scholarship from Tupperware Brands. Five regional winners will advance to Washington, D.C. in September to compete for the title of BGCA'S National Youth of the Year.

Hunting The Rez is a new Native American owned magazine that features hunting and fishing opportunities on North American Indian lands. Hunting The Rez staff and their quarterly magazine, which is distributed nationally, provide news and information for outdoors enthusiasts, big game hunters and fisherman all over the country. They are also a liaison between tribal Fish & Game Departments, State and Government Departments, local businesses and outdoor sports enthusiasts.
Belcourt, owner of Hunting The Rez Magazine, says, "We not a shot-em-up magazine, we actually about conservation." Belcourt says the magazine is geared toward the non-Native hunter; highlighting the hunting opportunities available on tribal lands, while showcasing the conservation efforts of Native tribes.
The first issue of the Indian-owned and operated magazine was published in Decemer, 2010. Belcourt says they have a circulation of 16,000 and are in major chains likes Barnes and Nobles, Checkers in Canada, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Border's, Hastings and Waldenbooks. But Belcourt says they are hoping to expand into smaller reservation stores. In Minnesota they are can be found at Other Store in Redby, MN.
When asked how he came up with the idea for the magazine, he said, "Hunting for us is a way of life and ties us to our culture heritage. My background is in business, so I?just put two and two together."

Eight tribes, representing some of the largest reservations in the United States, have formed a new organization to represent their concerns.
The Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) will address land, economic, jurisdictional and funding issues faced on large reservations. The Coalition want to educate the Obama administration, Congress and other tribes about their needs.
"Congress and the Administration need to understand that tribes with large land holdings, like those who have already joined COLT, face higher costs when they try to provide the same level of services as tribes with small reservations and smaller populations," said Tex Hall, the chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota, one of the founding member tribes.