For my brother 'Dwayne'

Well people the time has come to throw your hats into candidacy of the various offices that have opened up for election, if any of you can do it better, by all means, I could support that. A lot of people are very opinionated and critical about what Nicole Beaulieu and Greg Paquin are taking on for our people and community, their still isn't any indians standing up for us outside of tribal politics besides Nicole and Greg, and thats where most of our problems stem from. This is where our leaders learned their dastardly ways in the aftermath of the Indian Reorganization Act which robbed us of our traditional tribal governments. This is where the white politicians influence our tribal governments to undertake their bidding within our tribe, and this is where we can initiate a process of repairing the corrupted relationship between these two governments, this is where we can show our tribal leaders there is more to us then casinos, poverty, and pow wows. Take our treaty rights for instance, we have nobody speaking on our behalf, protecting our interests in those senate halls, our way of life has been utterly and completely vulnerable to the insensitivity of the white men in charge of running Minnesota without without any of our input. We have nobody standing up to run for any Bemidji Council seats, where we can institute of having tribally run business to return the native dollar to our sovereign nations instead of going to the racist business owners of Bemidji, where we can mandate cultural sensitivity training for business owners and government workers to be more understanding and compassionate toward those being victimized by systematic institutionalized racism. We have been presented with opportunities to bring about long over due change for the American Indian of Northern Minnesota, yet alot of indians remain silent unless its comes to criticizing others indians whom are brave enough to stand up for those of you who are yet to stand up for yourselves and support these Indian candidates. Internalized Oppression has allowed the white racist to sit back and watch the indians destroy themselves in a lot of instances, a lot of indians have allowed themselves to be indoctrinated into the systematic institutionalized racism victimizing their people, so it leaves me with the frustrated question of why are our people so resistant to helping and supporting those of us trying to get our people out of these messes we have allowed the white man to put us in? Some indians will claim we did this to ourselves, some of us did, but we sure had a lot of encouragement from these outside influences, so instead of blaming others, blame yourselves for your lack of logic, your lack of compassion, for your lack of strength to stand up and say 'we support you' because we support all of you. Even those of you too defeated, too indoctrinated, too ignorant, too naive, too insensitive to stand for yourselves. A lot of critizism comes from indians with credentials spewing their indoctrinated gibberish at everything we do, these people with their pompous arrogant attitudes believe their a pinnacle of knowledge of overcoming a lot of these downfalls victimizing our people. A lot of elders pretentiously regurgitate teachings with out adhering nor practicing those teachings themselves, if these people hold all this knowledge to help our people then why are our communities in the state of despair today? but no, they want to sit there belittling everything we are doing because our action might discredit a lot of their supposed stature within our community, we would appreciate it if these people would become involved, and help us build what we are attempting to create for the American Indian of Northern Minnesota. If these people stood up for us I would gladly support these people, my best friend, Clarence 'Dwayne' Meat was murdered 4 years ago, he was attending Harvard University, he had big plans of coming home and fixing our community. Besides my father, he was one of the most intelligent Indians I have ever had to opportunity of knowing, he would have had the credentials to attract these arrogant indians attention, a lot of these ideas we are standing behind belonged to him. We have talked for hours of these things we have taken up today, his spirit lives on in our actions, his voice still guides us to find hope for our people, that day we buried him was one of the hardest days of my life, but I know hes still here with us. He knows he has to see this through, I don't think he will rest until he knows his people will have the strength rise again.

Hunting and Gathering Justice

Recanting this years already eventful proceedings, I have come to the conclusion of numerous things concerning our community and those that reside here. Disappointment and realization to my expectations of those I once viewed as competent are now debunked by their own insistent fumbling and self serving attitudes. these people whom I have obviously have given more credit then they deserve, with their blahzay attitudes and glory seeking self centered demeanor towards anything significant and pertinent of overcoming any social ills victimizing our shared community is virtually completely ignored by these arrogant behaviors emanating from these people. If they are not downright misconstruing the issues to their benefit, they are exploiting our oppression for their own personal recognition, their behavior and demeanor only re-enforces stereotypes and social bias our people are subjected to within our community. These people are involving themselves on the sole purpose of creating some sort of stature for their act of involvement, where their only results they intend on receiving from their supposed dedication is just a pathetic attempt of attracting attention. well then, if that is the case, you have gotten my attention, and you and I are going to have it out. I'm looking forward to confronting not only you, but also anybody ignorant or naive enough to buy into your deception and manipulations, you with your pompous pretentious arrogant self serving attitudes are going to realize you have made a mistake trying to stand for yourselves, trying to stand in the ways of those of us that are charging the walls of injustice. You will be trampled, you will be maimed, you will carry the mental scars that will remind you of your self centered mistakes, this is bigger then any one person or their excuse, people talk about revolution, how can anyone whom is such a corrupted naive weak hearted person lead out anykind of charge strong enough to change anything besides our opinion of your pathetic childish proceedings. Don't expect me to stand by to pity you, your feeble decrepit mannerism will not prevent me from pursuing change for my children, this isn't about just one person, or just one family, this concerns all of us, I alone know what I'm capable of, and I am capable of acknowledging my worth to my community if I make myself selflessly devoted towards any and all hopes my people are struggling to provide for our children, I see you people, scrunning around playing dumb, acting smart, looking stupid, being pathetic. My band of guerrillas and I have been preparing for moments like these, moments you blindly involve yourselves in in hopes of capturing glory for yourselves, well then, you unknowingly have made enemies with the wrong savages, you talk of respect in hopes that that alone will save you from my wrath, you talk of peace as if it will protect you from my onslaught of awareness, you talk of revolution as if its a little picnic that only people you wish to attend are to eat off the cloth you have provided to veil your selfish meals of deceit. Well, my colleagues and I are on the hunt for justice, and we require skilled, brave warriors to bring down these beasts that have been ravaging our resources and holding our people hostage with fear, and we will not end our hunting expedition until we can provide a feast for all.

Charlatans of the lodge smoking their pipes pretentiously

I see a lot of people claiming to be lodge people, or spiritual people living the most hypocritical and disrespectful towards their beliefs and our teachings more than people that actually adhere to these gifts of enlightenment and balance, and I see them for who they are because I ask the manidos to help me stay away from these type of people. A lot of them use our lodge to try and invoke fear, some use it to raise their social status, some use it as a means to take advantage of our people that seek refuge from this chaos we are subjected to within this society where there is a great deal of oppression, and distrust. At the root of a lot of these problems are corrupted people, with the ability to not only manipulate the interests of their household, but to cause a disruption of harmony throughout our shared community. I put out my tobacco and ask Gichi manido to please give these people some teachings so they may find balance and share within the actually beauty of being Anishinaabe, but they fill their pipes with propaganda and lite them with money, and they pray for only themselves, because they have not only disrespected our way of life with their obvious corrupted, selfish hearts, but they drag those along with them that I care for. Am I to stand by watching these hateful-hearted people lay waste to my friends and relatives? Or should I consider involving myself with these people to maybe influence them into being honorable and honest, kind and compassionate? The manidos help me see these people for who they are to help me be a good person, so I can Identify them and help others not fall under their deceptive influence they try to as of yet perpetuate abusing our teachings, yet I am not the one bit intimidated nor threatened by these so-called 'medicine people.' Their corrupted medicine has no power over me nor my life, because the elders I surround myself with are transparent, they have good hearts, and remind me that not only are they standing behind us, but our ancestors are as well, and I feel this, and I pray one day these corrupted people do as well, because its apparent that the spirits neglect them because that are to full of themselves. They make no room in their lives for enlightenment and balance, because they are overflowing with their egos and arrogance, their hearts have become filled with selfishness, there is little to no wisdom for these people to share with those that ask them for answers, Gichi Manidou must give these people an abundance of humility until they can see past themselves, I would gladly share my humility with them in hopes of them finding humility for themselves. So they can see past to what truly matters, and I pity these people, because they are lost, everyday I tread new ground, because everyday I become more aware then the previous day in hopes of not only attaining self fulfillment, so maybe one day I can help these people that are obviously lost, I have devoted my life to teachings of my people, and that alone gives me the direction I need and ask for, it points me in the right direction of those that help me along the way, these people and their arrogant pretentious attitudes hold no answers for themselves nor those that blindly seek their help, this is sad, but it is also a very valuable lesson for those that are seeking true enlightenment, Gichi Manidou gives us these people to make us stronger, so we may in turn help these people become stronger then these things that may be preventing them from the fulfillment of their worth to our people. Sometimes I get angry at these people, but Gichi Manidou shows me how to pity them, and maybe some day they'll understand themselves as much as I am allowed to understand them, at least I pray they do.

1855 anishinaabe treaties for 2010 indians

I am a direct descendant of the survivors of the American holocaust, the strongest of the strong, war, disease, boarding schools nor commodities didn't stop my people. My father, one of the last full blood Ojibwe taught me of who I was. My mother, a half breed taught me to be proud of who I am. But my spirit taught how to live free like ancestors once did, but that got me taken away from my parents and shipped off the correctional facilities where I was to be broken of my 'savage,' rebellious ways as one judge put it. But in there I watched and learned these men that were to 'rehabilitate' me and indoctrinate me into being a 'good indian,' but they only taught me of how pathetic the white man could be, yet I became brothers with whites boys, Mexican boys and black boys that we're subjected to the same 'rehabilitation' we all were subjected to. Although the white boys were treated better, we all missed our families equally, and we became family for each other, after I left those places, I stayed in touch with a lot of my brothers. I still wonder how they are, even more then I wonder about my Dad's half white kids that hate my family because we are just indians to them. My Mothers half white, but that's because her mom was raped by a white man, and she was raised amongst our people. My brother and sister were taken away from my dad by their white mom and were taught how to be white and hate my father. I loved my dad, he was the best indian I ever knew, I miss him everyday, my dad taught me our ways, but he took me to church, he brought me to confession for my sins, yet he brought me to Jimmy Jackson for direction. He gave me both ways so I could choose the strong way, which were the ways Jimmy Jackson gave me. My dad taught me how to hunt, I grew up watching my dad hunt, we only ate what we could kill most of the time, but besides being a good hunter, my dad was a good school teacher, he taught English at the Red Lake High School. My mom is also a teacher, she teaches Ojibwe at the Bugonaygiishig School. When I was young I wanted to be a teacher as well, but Kichi Manido gave me a different path, he gave me a spirit that questioned everything and that could do anything. When I was 16 I brang back a Warrior Society to my community with my friend John, we got tired of seeing our young warriors being mislead by gangs, we wanted them to be proud of our people and community again. We went out and spread our teachings to all that would hear them, all the young men at the time were listening and vowing their energy to the protection of our people and our way of life. Yet there were those that were threatened by our message we were bringing back from our ancestors to protect our community, and I fought with these 'gangbangers.' These gangbangers are our own people. They learned how to hurt and exploit our communities from these gang teachings they we're bringing into our community, and we were showing our young men how to resist these people that were bringing this sickness into our community. That angered these men I was fighting, they killed me one night after a pow wow, but some white men brought me back to life in a helicopter, they took me to the hospital, they fixed me up and put metal parts in me, they hurt when its cold. I wonder if the spirits see them in me when I'm in the lodge. But after they killed me, the word stayed that I was dead, I went into hiding, rebuilding myself, making myself stronger, learning these men that killed me, teaching myself how to forgive these men, teaching myself how to help them quit being sick. Today they claim my homelands as their territory, our tribal leaders gave them access to our community, now these men hold my community hostage with their drugs and violence. While these men are ravaging my community my people are scurrying about worrying about our treaty rights. My dad told me, even without these treaties, we are still Anishinaabe, and these treaties meant little to the indians as well as the white man. Now their making a spectacle of our inherent right to our ancestral lands, why? Because they want to be viewed as real anishinaabe. As if standing in front of these treaties are going to make us any more indian then we where last year when those treaties didn't mean nothing to either of these people, now here we are threatening our white brothers that we're going to be Indian. Why? because our tribal leaders have allowed this to turn into a fiasco because they have dollars signs in their eyes, they are going to sell our rights away to the state right in front of all of us if we let them. We! That most of us are guilty of putting these crooks, liars and thieves into office. We! who have put these people in charge of the future of our children. Our enemy isn't the white man, DNR, or the State of Minnesota, its these tribal leaders that have been allowing us to be victimized by these violations of not only our treaties, but also our humanity. They have been selling our people away where ever they can, so as we sit here bickering about treaty rights and allowing ourselves to be distracted from the real source of this problems we have made for ourselves, our community suffers, our lands and children are being exploited, our warriors are defeated. These treaties don't make us Anishinaabe, nor have they ever, and today, those we put in charge do not live Anishinaabe. Today we look around at assimilated indians, not Anishinaabe, defeated people we have allowed ourselves to become, but not I, nor the people I assciate myself with. Kichi manido has shown me what is important, and it isn't these treaties, its those in charge of violating these treaties to keep the indians in line, its those in charge leading us around by our noses. Yes we are all guilty of allowing these leaders to mislead our people, not only the leaders of Leech Lake and White Earth, but also all the other leaders within the MCT. We must abolish this current government the white man has perverted our interests with, we must bring back our old ways, our traditional governments, with traditional leaders, with traditional interests, not these sit-around-the-fort indians that exploit our people every chance they get. As anishinaabe we are taught to respect all beliefs, even our own that we have allowed to be ignored for far too long. We must review and revise our tribal governments so the real interest of the Anishinaabe people that still exist within our communities can bring back the harmony that was stolen way from us as our rights have been. When are we going to fight for our culture? When are we going to protect our beliefs? When are we going to fight for our children? We have for the most let the white man teach us how to mistreat, abuse and neglect our children, how to blame our children, when are you going to hold yourselves accountable for failing our future as Anishinaabe? Today? Tomorrow? Maybe the day before the state fishing opener? Either way, the people at large are all guilty of failing our children. Why? Because all of you are just playing along, playing indian, is this demonstration going to eliminate tribal corruption? No it isn't, not until we give the power back to our people. These leaders don't speak on the behalf of me, these ain't my leaders, I don't look to Archie Larose, Erma Vizenor, nor Buck Jourdain for any guidance what so ever, because I see past all this bullshit they have put in front of themselves to fool our people. They have did nothing to repair any real damage that was present before the current corrupted so-called tribal government allowed all the other sit-around-the-fort indians to put these so-called leaders into office. We must remove the corrupted influence of the DLF Democratic Party from within the infrastructure of our tribal governments. We indians have always demonstrated democracy, we do not need the white man to teach us how to maintain our governments. We have traditional ways of conducting our councils to provide our people with real leadership. Our clans were the basis of these ways we governed ourselves, our elders gave us guidance, our spiritual leaders gave us direction, and our children gave us meaning, not these treaties. Not until we go back and fix the things we left behind, not until we go back a pick up what was left behind we cannot call ourselves the Anishinaabe people. Although there is Anishinaabe people that live within the boundries of these treaties, most of our people have forgot how to respect our teachings. My dad said we lived Anishinaabe, I like to think I still do as much as I'm allowed. Be thankful for that he'd say, because alot of these indians don't, they have no teachings, they have no honesty, only excuses, they have no humility, only pride, they have no truth, only lies, they have no wisdom, only logic, they have no bravery, only cowardice. They lost their respect and most only love themselves. There are only a few of us left to be honored by those treaties, because most of these so-called 'indians' are not Anishinaabe They're only using these treaties to fool not only our white brothers, but also themselves. These treaties didn't give us the right to be Anishinaabe, it only initiated the thief and mistreatment of the Anishinaabe people, our way of life is endangered, we must first protect that. Then, we would have the strength to over come these violations of our ancestors rights. A lot of these people are fussing about these treaties are not even Anishinaabe, not anymore, at least not yet.

the realitivity of irreverence

I constantly advise of the avoidance of distractions that may consume us if we so let them. There comes a time in ones life when we must part ways with those that we once relied on to bring forth strength, one can take only so much disappointment before the realization that he must move forward, forward from those that have been deceptively discouraging ourselves from dedicating our full attention to the tasks at hand. Tasks that give meaning to life from our own energy, some can blame jealously, some can blame fear, either way, these tests that temper the souls of the willing shan't be devoid of meaning if we allow ourselves to acknowledge these distractions that hide behind the veil of friendship or fellowship. I have been hypocritical to the degree of allowing myself to be distracted by those I held in the utmost ignorant respect, catering to their selfish mannerism in order to gain the approval of their opinion, even when their opinion holds no water to nourish the seeds of understanding. A common bond has been broken, and as they bleed out ignorance, we shouldn't tend to their self inflicted wounds of their jagged egos, time heals all wounds, and only time will tell if these self inflicted wounds have crippled these men to a decrepit state. To where they are of little to no use to society at large, one must ask themselves, was this their original intentions to be shiftless and insensitive, withholding and tedious. Yet looking back, we take notice of our attempts to encourage fulfillment in these empty husks these people have allowed themselves to become. They dedicate themselves to serfdom to provide themselves with their self centered shortcomings, religiously praising these selfish idols within their lives. Encouraging those they surround themselves with to partake in their sacrilegious practice of dedicating themselves to the shiftless servitude of self, manipulating those unlucky enough to play audience to these poor quality individuals that only wish to make you available to be utilized as a resource to fuel their selfish behavior. These people will become rather irate and defensive if we attempt to provide these stubbornly ignorant people with answers, answers that will not only dispel their insensitive ignorance, but answers that may fulfill enlightenment. Gifts of enlightenment that have been gifted to us to pass on to those we feel are not only worthy, but to those that are in dire need of some wisdom. Wisdom distilled down through history to share with our brothers, these elements of wisdom know no master, they belong to us all, when we dispense our gifts discriminatory, we not only rob others of our worth. We rob ourselves of a chance of showing the world the beauty we are capable of through selfless dedication towards our fellowman, but these people that fail to adhere towards reason of wisdom will allow jealousy and envy to assist them of trying to ridicule those that have strength. attempting to drag them off their mountain of obstacles that they have overcame, yet we mustn't shrug these people off and ignore them, be alert to when they come to term with their own shortcomings, and lend them a hand to help them up their hill of adversity.

Agaasenimowin (Humility)

Humility, thats one of the most neglected teachings amongst our people. We can live without it, but then that is overwhelming us with the burden of the undisciplined diluted reality of ones own self centered behavior. Humility gives us the ability to let other teachings come into our lives, it humbles us, shows us pity, shows us strength, teaches how to understand each other and respect not only ourselves but all of the creation that surrounds us, Those that falsely feed off their delusions of grander offer no real value to the reality of any situation that those of us that are rich in these teaching have to offer toward those good spirits that inhabit our struggle. These people allow others to be deceived by their inept attitudes that allows them to practice their gifts of knowledge with no real wisdom to use it properly, where does one stand if he doesn't stand for nothing at all? Because I know they're not here standing beside me, but yet where does one stand that wishes to stand against those with good in our hearts that these teachings have allowed to show us the right path? Does this keen attitude toward anything logical compensate for their lack of humanity? Is this to validate their lack of compassion through their so-called intelligence that it allows them to not only neglect themselves but also the people they supposedly cherish and respect? I have been knocked down many times in my life by my own selfish behavior, but at least I had the courage to confront myself for my own shortcomings. Some people just hide away refusing to let themselves live up to any hypocritical standards they have ignorantly placed in front of themselves. It's not hard for me to understand these people that wish to believe they are to well versed and complex to be confronted with the ills of the world, they act as if they should be rewarded for their lack of concern until when it threatens there little hiding places that allows them not to be challenged. These people refuse to listen to their hearts, and this prevents them from being humiliated, because they believe humility will destroy them, and people fear what they know little of. When in fact, it will only give them strength, it will re-enforce the walls of knowledge they ignorantly build around themselves with the wisdom to use it properly. Not just to protect themselves, but even to protect those they love, it will allow them to be compassionate and not ridicule others for the ability to adhere to the teaching of humility. Humility will open up the doors of understanding, we are all pitiful, every last one of us, and this teaching should not be used as an excuse to refuse ourselves the gifts life is willing to show us. We should embrace our humility, we mustn't hide ourselves away from it, because it will catch up to those of us and kick us down if we do not adhere and respect these simple teachings of the Anishinaabe, it will teach us the value of our own self if we allow it, it tends to withhold itself from the most pretentious amongst us that constantly try to pontificate their ideals down upon those of us that they attempt to discourage from utilizing our opinions, although they are the most worthy of this teaching.

Abandonment by Betrayal

Well then, the Democrats insist on forcing those of us that are acute to their treachery to abandon them, to embark on a movement for truth and equality, to release our people from their bondage of fear and the withholding of proper education that is instituted amongst the indian people, that is subliminally encouraged in almost every aspect of society here in northern Minnesota. In their efforts of preventing us from ever rising above these discrimination, discrimination that is meant to keep us uneducated, to keep us asking for their meager help, help that barely if never compensates for the freedoms they have robbed us of as human beings. They provide us with programs and polices meant to keep the indian hindered by their woes created to handicap our population, to indoctrinate those lucky enough to have the opportunity to rise above discrimination to be consumed into the dynamics of this discrimination. Yet meant to prevent all of us from ever questioning their insensitive institutionalized systematic racist treatment and polices made against our people. We are now going to launch an aggressive campaign to educate the indian people of these false glorification of our problems that they attempt to over complicate in hopes of discouraging our people from ever overcoming them, most wither away in fear and defeat in the face of these tremendous problems they have inflated with lies, that they re-enforce with propaganda. Now is our time to revolt against these illusions that they placed before us, to protest their every racist implication of our degradation, their over exaggerated attempts to overwhelm us with their over complicated process can be simplified. If we as oppressed people just simply pursue the truth to find the source of these problems inflicted upon the indian people, then these raciest politicians that are constantly threatening our integrity and equality will no longer have that power of fear and confusion over our people, we will rise out of this racism and establish our right to participate in this society they have long encouraged prevention of us from involving ourselves. Darrell Auginash and his republican soap box made of bibles is even the furthest from the truth we can get from hopes of ever creating change for the indian people, yet he is right about one thing, we have for the most lost our moral direction. I was raised catholic against my will, yet I converted to my ancestors traditional beliefs when I stepped into adulthood to help me find true meaning for who I am as an Anishnaabe man, I am not here to try and tell indian people how to think, but the thing our indian communities are in dire need for is for the return of our traditional teachings that provided us with that balance and strength our ancestors once had even in the midst of the society the white man was attempting to build for himself within our communities. The white man once outlawed our religion to stripe us from those teachings which gave us such strength, that was viewed as a threat to the white mans progress, yet the white man has failed. He has not only failed to assimilate the indian but he has also failed his white constitutes from perverting and polluting the bonds of brotherhood that we initially established when we first came in contact with out white counterpart. The greed of the ancestors of the white man has been institutionalized within our communities here in northern Minnesota, it is very much alive here today, I am not attempting to demonize the white man, but idly sitting by questioning every attempt we are making to repair and revitalize the indian people in our community should not be tolerated. I am not pointing fingers, I am in efforts of repairing our community, and those that wish only to debate and bring opposition to our struggle for equality should be ashamed of themselves. Most white men are inherantly racist if they like it or not, racism is nothing short of stupidity, and if you insist on continuing to live within a stupid community amongst stupid people, then you might want to consider moving somewhere where racism is going to be tolerated, because we're fed up here. This will not be the way of life for my children, we are going to break the back of institutionalized systematic racism. Racism is going to be so crippled and decrepit that it will no longer pose to be a threat to the indian people of northern Minnesota any longer after we get done, and we're just getting started. The 'Warriors for Justice Party', is going to wake people up, red, white, black, yellow and brown. Yes indians founded this political party in hoped to find justice and equality for our people, but everybody must benifite from the efforts of our struggle, this is the voice of freedom, to free ourselves from the faithlessness and the shiftlessness by our leaders that manipulated themselves into power to victimize the people at large. Our fight for justice and equality is a fight for all walks of life being oppressed and ignored, we step away from the democrats because we are brave enough to tell them where and how they are failing us, and if they want to hold on to the support of our people, then they should first hold themselves accountable for failing us.