2022 State of the Judiciary Branch | District III Appellate Justice Sylvia Wise

Boozhoo. It is my privilege to deliver the 2022 State of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Judiciary Address today. 2021 was clouded by the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Judicial Branch did experience some rays of sunshine and hope.

Sadly, two of our Justices on the Court of Appeals, Elmer Nayquonabe and David Sam Sr. passed away in 2021. They were beloved Elders and part of their legacies are their many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Even though they both lived rich and full lives, they were looking ahead to see what could be done for future Mille Lacs Band generations.

Justice Sam said that the role of Associate Justice was one of the most meaningful positions that he proactively sought out to attain. To him, his whole life somehow pointed him in this direction. He was honored to be selected and appointed to the role. Justice Nayquonabe was a quieter soul, but he too knew that the position of Associate Justice was well-respected, and he wanted to do his part for the Band’s Tribal Court.

Both justices realized that drugs and alcohol are having a devastating impact on the Band, and its younger generation, in particular. They were invested in the planning for the Mille Lacs Band Healing to Wellness Court, Noojimo’wgamig Inaawanidiwag, the Healing Journey. In a little while, I will speak more about the progress that we have achieved in making this life-saving program a reality.

Chief Justice Ramona Applegate retired in March 2021 after four years of service on the Court of Appeals. We appreciate her years of service and the good humor that she brought to the Court. I was pleased to be appointed as a Justice on the Court of Appeals on June 26, 2017, and I have enjoyed this challenging position. On September 15, 2021, Brenda Moose was confirmed as a Justice to the Court of Appeals. Justice Moose previously served on the Court from November 1, 2010, to August 30, 2016. We are fortunate to have her wisdom and experience to guide us.

During the two years of the pandemic, our caseload numbers have dropped, but the District Court presided over by Judge Richard Osburn, remains busy. In 2021: 1,025 new cases were filed; 1,820 cases were completed; and 1,447 hearings were held remotely, through a combination of teleconferencing and videoconferencing to avoid spreading the virus.

Interestingly, by having remote ways of participating in the hearings, people were able to attend court sessions more easily and we had far fewer failures to appear. We are grateful to our dedicated court clerks and our court bailiff who processed all those cases under very difficult working conditions.

Thanks to the initiatives of our long-serving Court Administrator, Gilda Burr, the Mille Lacs Band’s judicial system is one of the most technologically advanced tribal courts in the United States today. We are the first court anywhere in the country to successfully integrate our case management system, FullCourt Enterprise, with our new electronic filing system, File & ServeXpress. By implementing this integrated system, we have kept court users safe while improving our efficiency and records management. We will be working hard in 2022 to enhance our website to help everyone be able to access justice services more easily.

The planning for the implementation of the Healing Journey program has gone extremely well. Many meetings with advisory committees of elected and appointed officials and key tribal government employees were held in 2021. A mission statement was developed from those meetings that says, “The Mille Lacs Band Family Healing to Wellness Court is an alternative to the traditional court process, and works to reunify families and build a stronger community by providing support and connections to cultural healing services for those impacted by mental health and addiction.”

On December 8, 2021, the Mille Lacs Band Assembly held a public hearing on the proposed legislation amending Title 5 of our statutes to formally establish Noojimo’wgamig Inaawanidiwag. The Judicial Branch, through Court Attorney Jill Tompkins, submitted written comments and provided testimony regarding the procedural aspects of the bill. Another step in our progress is the hiring of Theresa James as our Healing to Wellness Court Case Manager. Theresa previously served as the Lead Social Worker for the Mille Lacs Band Family Services Department, and we are delighted to have her deep knowledge and enthusiasm on our staff.

Implementing the Healing to Wellness Court is especially important to the Band’s effort to stem the tide of children being abused or neglected by caregivers struggling with addiction and mental health needs. The program will increase collaboration between tribal departments and service providers and will increase the monitoring and support of parents.

The path of one Band family was changed dramatically for the better in 2021 when their child protection case was transferred to our judicial system. For years, the parents had been addicted to methamphetamine and they were abusing oxycodone and other drugs. The drugs had such a hold on them that their children were severely neglected. When state social workers intervened, they found that the children were malnourished, in soiled clothes and diapers, had lice and open sores, and had terrible dental problems. The children were habitually truant but not because they did not want to attend school. One of the youngest children walked to school on a winter day with no coat or socks on. She told her teacher, “I’m happy to be at school so that I can eat.” Another child was so malnourished that the child had developed a medical condition that he may have for the rest of his life. It was truly a heartbreaking situation.

This family was involved in prior cases in another tribal court before the latest state court case which started in December 2019. The children had been removed from their parents’ custody several times and in one two-year period spent 589 days in foster care. Substance abuse treatment and services had been made available to the parents repeatedly, but they did not make progress on their state-court-ordered case plans. So finally, on March 18, 2020, the County filed a petition to terminate the parents’ rights. The Band received notice of this, and the Office of the Solicitor General filed to transfer the case to our District Court according to the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. The District Court accepted the transfer and in December 2020, the Band’s Family Services Department began to work very closely with the parents.

Around the time of the filing of the termination petition, fortunately, the parents seriously engaged in treatment and became sober. Mille Lacs Band Family Services was able to support them in their continued sobriety. The Band’s social workers have difficult jobs, but their dedication and persistence can make all the difference in whether a family becomes reunified or not. In this case, over the next 10 months, the assigned social worker made more than 93 contacts with the parents. Family Services and Aanjibimaadizing assisted them to connect with outpatient substance use treatment, therapy, parenting classes, housing, and dental care for the children. They received help to clear their outstanding fines and regain their driver’s licenses. Both parents became employed.

Through the hard work of the parents, in close partnership with Family Services, the family was reunified in their new house and the case was dismissed only 10 months after the transfer to our tribal court. It is not an overstatement to say that the efforts of the social workers and the courts saved the lives of these Band children.

With the implementation of the Healing Journey in October 2022, more families will be able to have the same intense services and support that this family did. We hope to reunify families more quickly and to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect that often accompanies untreated substance use disorder.

This past November 22, the legendary Oneida Nation musician Joanne Shenandoah passed away. In addition to her musical artistry, she was known for blazing a global path of “peace through music” as she advocated for the earth and for human rights. She most recently brought attention to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women epidemic.

Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma Chief Wilma Mankiller was a mentor to Joanne. Once, Wilma visited Joanne at her home and interviewed her for a book for a whole week. At the end of the week, Wilma said to her, “Joanne, long after you have passed on what will be your legacy?” Joanne spent time thinking about that question and realized that it wouldn’t have been about material possessions, but about how we used our true natural gifts to nurture our children and help them realize their potential. She then wrote Chief Mankiller the song “Your Legacy.” Some of the lyrics are as follows:

“After all is said and done, what will be our legacy? What will they say about us? What will they believe? In our lifetime on this earth what did we achieve? How did you prepare the way?

You gave your best for those unborn. And you helped to clear the way.

After all is said and done, what will be your legacy? Seeds of life we sowed. Crops, flowers, and trees. Child, great-grandchild, will see the mark you leave. Don’t let your footprint in the sand be all you leave …”

Justices Nayquonabe and Sam prepared the way and did their best for those yet unborn. We also remember and honor all the other Mille Lacs Band members who passed in this last year. Each in their own way, also left their mark to guide us and future generations of the Band.

We are mindful that the work of the Judicial Branch — saving lives, safeguarding children, protecting tribal sovereignty, and bringing about sha wa in ma when we can — is part of the Band’s legacy. Daily, we take seriously those responsibilities and do our best to make a lasting positive difference for the Mille Lacs Band.

Miigwech.