‘ IF WE WANT CHANGE, WE HAVE TO GET INVOLVED’ - March 2025
By Lilah White, MCT Delegation Committee Member, Urban Area
A statement from our Delegation was made reflecting on MCT Constitution reform and our Band members concerning the future generations of our tribe and others. “Things are changing; if we want change, we have to get involved.” Things are changing. Recently, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe proposed accepting Red Lake Nation blood in their enrollments. It was voted for approval by the Tribal Executive Committee (TEC).
Before we proceed with the updates, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce the Band’s MCT Delegation Committee for any Band members who are not yet familiar with us or still have questions. We are a grassroots project, the Mille Lacs Band - Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Delegation Committee. We are made up of two representatives of each district and one at-large.
District I – Michele Palomaki and Danielle Smith
District II – Mike Davis and District IIa – Paul Sam
District III – Julie Hernandez and Birdie Roberts
Urban – Al Olson and Lilah White
At Large – Craig Hansen, representative at large (a member of the constitution committee when it stopped in 2010, it picked back up in 2018 with some of our current members list ed above).
As a non-profit grassroots project, our mission is to create a collaborative voice for the people on MCT Constitution reform.
This year, the Delegation Committee will be in-person at various community events, visiting the ALUs and community centers, and reaching out to you — the Band members — in public spaces. In addition to the monthly community meetings, the next event the Delegates will attend is Treaty Rights Day on Friday, March 21, at Grand Casino Mille Lacs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Delegation will have a booth to greet you with educational information to take home! There will be signs high lighting discussion points they have researched extensively because they want you to understand and ask questions about them! Please come out to meet our Delegation and foster relationships among people to enhance understanding of our future within our constitutional rights and government.
Please follow us for more information and reminders about upcoming events we will attend. Additionally, we hope to hold meetings exclusively for Band members to connect with the Delegation Committee soon.
Contact information: Email us: mlbdelegates410b@gmail.com Check out our Facebook page: Mille Lacs Band Delegates.
Follow YouTube links to view informative videos by the Delegation Committee (links available on FB page or below):
• intro video: https://youtu.be/LBAAFkg08D4
• session 1: https://youtu.be/mmqAbCGghaY
• session 2: https://youtu.be/g4G7ouWxYI8
• session 3: https://youtu.be/7jQJjkWNd0o
